Lai Kee Dim Sum
107 Clementi Street 12 #01-K1
207 Bukit Batok Street 21 #01-118
143 Teck Whye Lane #01-243 69 Bedok South Avenue 3 #01-468
190 Toa Payoh Lorong 6 #01-528
2 Lorong Lew Lian #01-56
https://www.burpple.com/lai-kee-dim-sum
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| Dim Sum Meal Flat Lay |
Tasty Dim Sum At Heartland Prices
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 5
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 4
Value for Money: 9
Spent about SGD $5 per person.
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Established way before April 2012 by founder Ah Lai, the Lai Kee Dim Sum brand has since expanded to 5 outlets across Singapore, from its humble beginnings in the Clementi area. Sometimes known as Lai Kee Pau, Lai Kee Dim Sum is best known for their delicious, quality hand made dim sum, all at affordable prices.
Ambience at Lai Kee Dim Sum leverages on the coffee shops it's located in. Think bright open areas with closely packed modern functional furniture, and a noisy, bustling atmosphere. Their large signage, with colourful, eye-catching photos of dim sum, make them stand out in the crowd.
Service at Lai Kee Dim Sum is completely self-service. Ordering, payment, and collection of orders is all over the counter, but there is usually a short queue to place orders and for collection. Staff will offer recommendations if there are seasonal specials. Cleaning up is performed by the coffee shop cleaners.
Food at Lai Kee Dim Sum is all about the beloved Chinese Cantonese dim sum. Hand made fresh daily and with consistently above average quality, the menu offers sufficient variety for it to remain interesting through multiple visits. Portions are sized for communal sharing. Prices are very affordable, budget about SGD $5 per person.
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| Lai Kee Dim Sum Signage |
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| Lai Kee Dim Sum Facade |
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| Menu |
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| Menu |
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| Lai Kee Dim Sum Price List |
The Dim Sum Meal here is among the more affordable, value-for-money around, particularly since their quality of dim sum tends to be above average.
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| Dim Sum Meal |
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| Dim Sum Meal |
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| Dim Sum Meal |
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| Dim Sum Meal |
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| Dim Sum Meal |
Felt the Shrimp Dumplings (SGD $2.50), also known as Har Gow, was pretty good. While the dumpling skin was a little too sticky, and thus tore easily when lifted, the filling of juicy bouncy deshelled shrimp / prawns had a lovely bright sweet savoury flavour. Worth ordering!
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| Shrimp Dumplings (SGD $2.50) |
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| Shrimp Dumplings |
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| Shrimp Dumplings |
There's 2 different versions of Siew Mai here. The Siew Mai Pork Dumplings (SGD $2.20) consist of solely minced pork, and have a juicy tender texture with a light bouncy chew. This has nice meaty sweet savoury flavour. The Siew Mai Pork And Shrimp Dumplings (SGD $3.50) or Seafood Siew Mai has the additional ingredients of deshelled shrimp / prawns and garlic chives, lending a depth of sweet savoury vegetal flavour to the dumpling. Worth ordering!
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| Siew Mai Pork Dumplings (SGD $2.20) |
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| Siew Mai Pork Dumplings |
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| Siew Mai Pork Dumplings |
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| Siew Mai Pork And Shrimp Dumplings (SGD $3.50) |
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| Siew Mai Pork And Shrimp Dumplings |
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| Siew Mai Pork And Shrimp Dumplings |
The Xiao Long Bao (SGD $3.50) is only available on weekends, but it's underwhelming. The dumpling skin is medium thin but overly sticky, and tears off easily when lifted from the foil base. The filling of minced pork, leek, and pork broth is nicely tender juicy soft in texture, with a muted meaty savoury sweet flavour. Served with a dipping sauce of black vinegar and shredded ginger. Could be improved.
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| Xiao Long Bao (SGD $3.50) |
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| Xiao Long Bao |
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| Xiao Long Bao |
Loved the Pork Ribs In Black Bean Sauce (SGD $2.20). The pork ribs are meaty with a light juicy chew to texture, and the black bean sauce imparts it with good earthy savoury salty flavour. Portion size is good value-for-money, nicely satisfying. Highly recommended!
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| Pork Ribs In Black Bean Sauce (SGD $2.20) |
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| Pork Ribs In Black Bean Sauce |
The Beancurd Skin Roll (SGD $2.20) is different from other versions elsewhere. Here, the thin white slippery smooth beancurd skin lacks the roasted aroma, but holds a generous filling of bouncy moist fish cake within. More meaty sweet savoury in flavour, it lacks the earthy edge to round it out. Worth ordering!
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| Beancurd Skin Roll (SGD $2.20) |
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| Beancurd Skin Roll |
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| Beancurd Skin Roll |
In contrast, the Beancurd Skin Roll In Sweet And Sour Gravy (SGD $2.20) has a dense firm filling of moist fish cake within the thin brown slippery grainy beancurd skin, and is much smaller in size. However, the robust gravy saves this with its sweet and sour flavour. Overall, this tastes better, but has poorer texture... if only the best of both could be combined. Could be improved.
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| Beancurd Skin Roll In Sweet And Sour Gravy (SGD $2.20) |
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| Beancurd Skin Roll In Sweet And Sour Gravy |
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| Beancurd Skin Roll In Sweet And Sour Gravy |
The large Scallop & Pork Dumplings (SGD $2.50) feature a base of tender juicy minced pork and crunchy garlic chives, topped with a single whole fresh scallop that is soft and moist. This luxurious dumpling has delicate sweet savoury flavour, and is rather filling. Good!
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| Scallop & Pork Dumplings (SGD $2.50) |
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| Scallop & Pork Dumplings |
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| Scallop & Pork Dumplings |
With its large size and vibrant green dumpling skin, the Emerald Prawn Dumplings (SGD $2.50) looks so appetizing. Bite into this tender minced pork and spring onions meat ball dumpling, and you get a bold burst of juicy sweet savoury salty flavours. Topped with a small deshelled shrimp / prawn which holds good sweet shrimpy flavour, and has a juicy bite to texture. I understand the jade green colour of the thin dumpling skin is supposed to be symbolise purity, elegance, and nourishment. Highly recommended!
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| Emerald Prawn Dumplings (SGD $2.50) |
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| Emerald Prawn Dumplings |
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| Emerald Prawn Dumplings |
The creative Unagi Buta Odango (SGD $3) is a Japanese inspired dumpling, featuring a tender slice of unagi / grilled fresh water eel, coated in sticky teriyaki sauce, laid over a bouncy tender juicy minced pork dumpling, and wrapped with a thin chewy sheet of dried seaweed. Also known as an Eel And Pork Dumpling, this tasty treat has lovely layered meaty sweet savoury salty flavours. I enjoyed this. Highly recommended!
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| Unagi Buta Odango (SGD $3) |
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| Unagi Buta Odango |
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| Unagi Buta Odango |
The 4 Treasures Chicken (SGD $2.50) is so named for the 4 ingredients within the thin beancurd skin, including boneless chicken, carrots, yam / taro, and shiitake mushrooms. With a tender chew to texture, this has mild earthy sweet savoury herbal flavours. Overall, it didn't quite appeal to me.
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| 4 Treasures Chicken (SGD $2.50) |
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| 4 Treasures Chicken |
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| 4 Treasures Chicken |
The Yam Taro Puff (SGD $1) here is rather weak. While the crust is beautifully crisp, the creamy yam / taro filling is lacking, though it's still earthy sweet in flavour. Also, instead of minced pork, they've used barbecue marinated minced pork char siew instead, which makes this more sweet than savoury. Could be improved.
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| Yam Taro Puff (SGD $1) |
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| Yam Taro Puff |
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| Yam Taro Puff |
The Yam Taro Cake (SGD $0.90) features soft yam / taro, mashed and shaped into a soft, bouncy cake. After frying, the edges turn nicely crisp. Studded with generous bits of dried shrimp, which lend bold salty savoury earthy flavour. Good!
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| Yam Taro Cake (SGD $0.90) |
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| Yam Taro Cake |
The Daikon Radish Carrot Cake (SGD $0.90) features soft daikon radish, mashed and shaped into a soft, bouncy cake. After frying, the edges turn nicely crisp. Studded with bits of carrot. This has a delicate salty savoury sweet flavour. Good!
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| Daikon Radish Carrot Cake (SGD $0.90) |
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| Daikon Radish Carrot Cake |
Their version of Lo Mai Gai (SGD $1.80), also known as Chicken With Glutinous Rice, is just average in quality. It features sticky glutinous rice, topped with tender boneless chicken chunks and shiitake mushrooms. Has a meaty earthy savoury sweet flavour, but lacks the other ingredients (such as lup cheong / dried Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, and scallions) to give it a depth of taste. As is, this is pretty one-note, and boring. Could be improved.
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| Lo Mai Gai (SGD $1.80) |
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| Lo Mai Gai |
A classic Chinese Cantonese breakfast dish, the Fan Choy (SGD $1.80) features a base of sticky glutinous rice, topped with tender char siew / marinated roast pork loin, chewy dried Chinese pork sausage, and a slice of hard boiled egg. With smoky meaty savoury sweet salty flavours, the version here is decent enough to satisfy. Worth ordering!
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| Fan Choy (SGD $1.80) |
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| Fan Choy |
The Chee Cheong Fun Shrimp (SGD $3) features slippery smooth rice noodle rolls (made from rice flour, tapioca flour, water, salt, wheat starch), filled with bouncy juicy chunks of fresh deshelled shrimp / prawns, which hold delicate sweet savoury flavour. Served in a thin tasty Hong Kong style soy sauce gravy (made from light soy sauce, sugar, water, chicken stock, sesame oil), with bold salty savoury notes. Garnished with crunchy fried shallots, crisp fresh spring onions, and a house chili on the side. Better than other versions elsewhere. Highly recommended!
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| Chee Cheong Fun Shrimp (SGD $3) |
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| Chee Cheong Fun Shrimp |
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| Chee Cheong Fun Shrimp |
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Disclaimer: All our visits here were before COVID-19, and thus, before the circuit breaker in Singapore was implemented.
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CONVERSATION