Gim Tim Restaurant 2022

Gim Tim Restaurant 2022
157 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 #01-546

https://www.gimtim.com.sg/

Steamed Red Grouper Fish With Minced Chye Poh (SGD $9 for 100g, $72 for 800g)

Exquisite Modern Chinese Fare

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 9
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $62 per person.


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Founded in 1975 by Oh Joo Chong as a catering business, Gim Tim Restaurant opened its flagship outlet in 1989 in 157 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, where it remains to this day. For over 33 years, Gim Tim Restaurant has positioned itself as a Modern Chinese mid-range dining experience, and it still draws in the crowds especially on weekends. Reservations therefore, are a must.

Ambience at Gim Tim Restaurant is modern classy, with a touch of sophistication. The air-conditioned interior is flanked by glass windows offering a view of the quiet estate, while warm lighting casts a soft glow over the white clothed tables and cushioned high back chairs. A small chandelier gleams at the ceiling entrance, lending an air of elegant luxury. The exterior al-fresco seating is sheltered and just as comfortable, with a serving table at center stage.

Service at Gim Tim Restaurant is affable and attentive. The mature staff engage guests in jovial lighthearted banter, yet work efficiently at taking orders, fulfilling requests, and clean up quickly when diners leave. Sometimes, they proactively ask to clear finished plates and top up drinks. Staff demonstrate good product knowledge and offer astute recommendations. Gim Tim Restaurant launched a membership scheme recently, which offers decent promotions.

Food at Gim Tim Restaurant is Modern Chinese cuisine, centered around Hokkien, Cantonese, and Teochew cuisines. Chef Lai Yong Meng draws on the best techniques honed over the years, and with fresh premium ingredients, each dish is a delight. Popular award-winning favourites and unique signature house creations feature on their extensive menu. Portions are sized for communal group sharing. Prices are mid-range for a restaurant, budget about SGD $62 per person.


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Gim Tim Restaurant Exterior

Gim Tim Restaurant Interior

The Tea Pu-Erh (SGD $2.50 Per Pax) is warm with earthy flavour, decent but not as strong as elsewhere. It's also refillable.

Tea Pu-Erh (SGD $2.50 Per Pax)

The Braised Peanuts In Soy Sauce (SGD $2.50) feature peanuts braised in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, 5-spice powder, palm sugar, cinnamon, garlic, and star anise. The braised peanuts are super soft and tender, with robust nutty salty savoury herbal flavour. Good!

Braised Peanuts In Soy Sauce (SGD $2.50)

The Deep-Fried Xia Zao (SGD $12) or deep-fried minced pork and shrimp balls have a tightly packed blend of ingredients. The crisp beancurd skin crackles and yields gently when bit, then you get a burst of the juicy savoury salty sweet flavours of the filling. The crunch of the water chestnut within is a sign of an old-school traditional recipe. Served with a sticky sweet plum dipping sauce on the side. Highly recommended!

Deep-Fried Xia Zao (SGD $12)

Deep-Fried Xia Zao

The Shark Fin Soup With Crab Meat & Caviar (SGD $15 Per Pax) is a luxurious soup / broth. With a thick gloopy texture but light sweet savoury herbal flavour, the soup / broth holds generous deshelled crab meat chunks with fresh meaty sweet savoury flavour, and succulent stringy shark's fin which picks up the flavours of the soup / broth. Garnished with juicy caviar which lends a briny salty refreshing note. Worth ordering!

Shark Fin Soup With Crab Meat & Caviar (SGD $15 Per Pax)

Shark Fin Soup With Crab Meat & Caviar

The Stir-Fried Scallops & Wild Mushrooms With X.O. Sauce (SGD $20) is a classic Chinese wedding banquet dish. The bed of crunchy juicy celery and bell peppers / capsicum holds vegetal sweet bitter flavour, while the tender shimeji mushrooms lends vegetal earthy savoury flavour. The bouncy scallops are fresh and meaty sweet savoury in taste. The dish is well marinated with X.O. sauce, which primarily tastes of spicy dried shrimp, enticing the palate. Worth ordering!

Stir-Fried Scallops & Wild Mushrooms With X.O. Sauce (SGD $20)

Stir-Fried Scallops & Wild Mushrooms With X.O. Sauce

Loved the Stir-Fried Broccoli And Mushrooms In Oyster Sauce (SGD $24). The fresh crunchy broccoli florets have good vegetal sweet flavour, while the tender soft shiitake mushrooms hold bold vegetal earthy sweet flavour. The rich but balanced oyster sauce lends a savoury salty earthy flavour, just enough to pique the palate, but not overly seasoned, just right. This was an off-menu dish that staff kindly put together on our request. Highly recommended!

Stir-Fried Broccoli And Mushrooms In Oyster Sauce (SGD $24)

Stir-Fried Broccoli And Mushrooms In Oyster Sauce

Loved the Steamed Red Grouper Fish With Minced Chye Poh (SGD $9 for 100g, $72 for 800g). The medium red grouper fish is fresh and clean-tasting, with natural sweet savoury flavour, and fish meat that is moist and flakes off easily in large boneless chunks. The superior soy sauce gravy lends beautiful salty savoury herbal flavour, while the crisp minced chye poh / preserved radish lends a burst of vegetal salty savoury notes. Completed with fresh crisp spring onions, this fish dish was easy to carve and eat, so yummy. Highly recommended!

Steamed Red Grouper Fish With Minced Chye Poh (SGD $9 for 100g, $72 for 800g)

Steamed Red Grouper Fish With Minced Chye Poh

The Fried Prawn Ball With Creamy Pumpkin Sauce (SGD $20) features succulent juicy tender fried deshelled prawns, generously coated in a creamy thick pumpkin sauce. Each bite releases the natural sweet savoury taste of the fresh prawns, then you get the mild mellow vegetal earthy sweet flavour of the pumpkin sauce. Served with crisp kai-lan / Chinese kale / Chinese broccoli with vegetal sweet flavour. Good!

Fried Prawn Ball With Creamy Pumpkin Sauce (SGD $20)

Fried Prawn Ball With Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

The Fried Prawn Balls With Salted Egg Yolk (SGD $32) features succulent juicy tender fried deshelled prawns, generously coated in a crisp crunchy salted egg yolk sauce batter. The delicious aroma hits first, a hint of the deep and tasty sweet salty savoury spice flavour of the salted egg yolk batter coating around the fresh prawns. Served over a bed of fresh lettuce coated with the salted egg yolk sauce, picking up the vegetal sweet salty spice flavour. Highly recommended!

Fried Prawn Balls With Salted Egg Yolk (SGD $32)

Fried Prawn Balls With Salted Egg Yolk

Served in a standard size, the Deep-Fried Yam Ring Topped With Assortment (SGD $28) is beautifully presented, and carved at your table. The walls of yam / taro are crisp outside, soft inside, nicely moist with lovely earthy sweet savoury salty flavour. Within the basket is an assortment of seasonal ingredients, during our visit, we had crunchy baby corn, firm cashew nuts, tender boneless chicken chunks, juicy bell peppers / capsicum, tender shiitake mushrooms, crisp water chestnuts, and fresh coriander. The combined assortment, coated in a rich chicken gravy, has robust meaty vegetal sweet savoury salty earthy nutty flavours. Good!

Deep-Fried Yam Ring Topped With Assortment (SGD $28)

Deep-Fried Yam Ring Topped With Assortment

Deep-Fried Yam Ring Topped With Assortment

The Chicken Skin Coated With Sotong Paste (SGD $15) is a unique house signature dish. Here, crispy roasted chicken skin is used to wrap succulent bouncy moist squid paste. Bite in, and you get the initial hit of the smoky salty savoury chicken skin, then the mellow savoury sweet squid paste within. As for the chicken meat, most of it has been removed from the dish, though the odd piece still remains. Works as a nice appetizer. Worth ordering!

Chicken Skin Coated With Sotong Paste (SGD $15)

Chicken Skin Coated With Sotong Paste

The Braised Bean Curd With Crab Meat & Luffa Melon (SGD $14) has large, soft silky tofu beancurd pieces, surrounded by tender soft luffa melon, garnished with flaky chunks of deshelled crab meat and crab roe, served in a thick generous beancurd gravy. You get the big bold taste of the gravy and its savoury salty notes, but the natural vegetal sweet flavours of the luffa melon, and sweet savoury flavours of the crab meat and crab roe, still shines through. The tofu beancurd holds grainy sweet savoury salty flavour, having picked up the gravy. Best paired with white rice. Good!

Braised Bean Curd With Crab Meat & Luffa Melon (SGD $14)

Braised Bean Curd With Crab Meat & Luffa Melon

For the Peking Duck 1st Serving (SGD $60 for Whole Duck), the whole roasted duck is first presented to diners, then taken aside to be carved. But staff went beyond just carving it expertly, they also took the trouble to wrap each piece of duck skin within the thin wheat egg pancake crepes. Plated with the remaining carved duck skin in the center, there were about 16 - 20 pieces in all. Each bite of the wrapped thin pancake crepe with succulent duck skin, juicy cucumber, crisp spring onions, and thick bean sauce, released addictive smoky meaty savoury salty vegetal sweet grainy fatty flavours. Highly recommended!

Peking Duck 1st Serving (SGD $60 for Whole Duck)

Peking Duck 1st Serving

Peking Duck 1st Serving

For the Peking Duck 2nd Serving (SGD $15), the remaining duck meat is carved from the bone and stir-fried with a style of your choice. We selected the style with noodles. The long slippery yee-fu noodles represents longevity, stir-fried together with crisp bean sprouts, tender straw mushrooms, crisp spring onions, and chewy shredded duck meat, in a gravy that's smoky meaty savoury salty earthy sweet all at once. Very easy to eat, and the bold flavours makes you crave more. Good!

Peking Duck 2nd Serving (SGD $15)

Peking Duck 2nd Serving

Peking Duck 2nd Serving

Felt the Sweetened Taro Paste With Gingko Nut (SGD $5 Per Pax) was decent enough, I like that it's not overly sweet. In fact, the creamy thick gloopy mashed yam / taro paste is more vegetal earthy savoury in flavour than sweet. The coconut milk lends a mild floral earthy milky sweet flavour, while the tender gingko nuts have nutty sweet notes. Not as rich as elsewhere, but a fair rendition. Worth ordering!

Sweetened Taro Paste With Gingko Nut (SGD $5 Per Pax)

Sweetened Taro Paste With Gingko Nut

The Chilled Lemongrass Jelly With Lychee (SGD $5 Per Pax) is a great choice to round off a meal. The large slippery smooth clear lemongrass jelly is paired with juicy lychees, the bold fruity herbal sweet flavours helping to cleanse and refresh the palate. Highly recommended!

Chilled Lemongrass Jelly With Lychee (SGD $5 Per Pax)

Chilled Lemongrass Jelly With Lychee

The Deep-Fried Ice Cream (SGD $2.80 Per Pax) is a novel idea, but it's not that well executed. The pastry shell is a little spongy and tough, and the vanilla ice cream within wasn't hardy enough, having mostly melted by the time it was served. Could be improved.

Deep-Fried Ice Cream (SGD $2.80 Per Pax)

Deep-Fried Ice Cream

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