Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng 包發茶餐廳

Literally 流沙包! Freshest and quality dimsum from a new 茶餐厅! Not forgetting the friendly staff!

Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng is one of those establishments that we had found out whilst scrolling through social media during the week before we had decided to make a trip to check them out — a name in the local F&B scene that may ring a bell to some; especially those whom are residing or working around the east. Whilst the current iteration of Bao Fa Dim Sum had first started out in Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre in late 2021, the establishment had earlier roots operating as 108 Hong Kong Dim Sum in a coffeeshop situated along Depot Road in 2020 before it had closed and re-branded themselves to what they are known as today. Whilst 108 Hong Kong Dim Sum and Bao Fa Dim Sum are both establishments that are either located within coffeeshop or hawker centres, Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng is probably the brand’s first attempt to strike it out as an independent eatery. Occupying the ground level of a shophouse that is located at 119 Upper Paya Lebar Road, Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng is situated within the same row of shophouses where Jie Bakery (Tai Seng) Pte Ltd can also be found. One can probably describe the interior of Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng to be decked rather simply — the furnishings and fittings suggest a more functional approach rather than form, though there is a feature wall with neon lighting stating the name of the establishment in both English and Chinese that are fitted in front of a wallpaper that depicts a street scene in Hong Kong. Given how its Upper Paya Lebar outlet is an independent eatery and is positioned as a Cha Chaan Teng (i.e. Hong Kong-style tea room) concept, they do carry quite a wide variety of food items including that of Steamed Dim Sum, Fried & Baked Dim Sum, Rice / Noodle / Macaroni / Soup, Congee, Western Food and Dessert. For beverages, patrons can opt for various Nanyang-style Kopi and Teh, while they do have other options like Ying Yang, Chinese Tea, Luo Han Guo, and canned drinks as well — just to name a few.

Considering how we had made the visit to Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng with just one other pax, we were actually pretty spoilt for choice considering the extensive selection of items which are being offered in their menu here. Since Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng had started off being a stall serving up dim sum, it was without a doubt that we wanted to give some of their dim sum items a go. One of the items which we eventually went for would be the You Tiao with Chee Cheong Fun — a type of Hong Kong-style Chee Cheong Fun which had become slightly more common over the years, though an item that not all dim sum stalls do carry nonetheless. At Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng, the soy sauce for the Chee Cheong Fun interestingly comes on the side in a metallic saucer rather than being drenched right into the plate which the You Tiao with Chee Cheong Fun come served in — patrons can choose to pour in their desired portion of soy sauce to have with the Chee Cheong Fun. Drenching the You Tiao with Chee Cheong Fun with the entire portion of soy sauce that it came with, we felt that it carried sufficient flavour for the You Tiao with Chee Cheong Fun — the soy sauce itself carried a slight sweetness amidst the earthy fragrance that it inherently carried; quite the element that added flavour to the neutral-tasting rice roll that wraps around the You Tiao here. The Chee Cheong Fun itself was silky smooth; glides down the throat easily without being too thick or too thin — all that adequately encasing the crispy fried dough sticks that was a textural contrast against the rice rolls that encased them. Overall, a pretty well-made rendition that should be able to resolve cravings for such dishes that one may have.

Since Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng serves up quite a number of dishes, we had also given quite a number of dishes apart from the You Tiao with Chee Cheong Fun a go. Other items which we had ordered during the visit which we had made on a weekend lunch service includes the Har Gow, Custard Sesame Ball and a Set Meal item which consists of Macaroni Soup with Luncheon
Meat, 1 Fried Egg & Butter Bread with a choice of drink. We found all of the items to be pretty decent; the Har Gow was rather standard with fresh prawns encased in a translucent skin that was not too thick or chewy — the Har Gow also carried a slightly pinkish hue that somewhat reveals the shrimp within under a well-lit environment. Meanwhile, the Custard Sesame Ball was one thing which we were looking forward to having; this is especially given so considering how we have had quite a good one in not-so-recent visits to other establishments serving up dim sum in a coffeeshop setting. We were really impressed with how the salted egg custard lava filling was — there was a good balance of savoury and sweetness here; something which tantalised our taste buds. That being said, we did notice a layer of oil sitting above the salted egg filling, and while the sesame crusted batter did provide a crisp bite, we felt that it lacked the mochi-like chewiness within that we had experienced with those from other establishments. As for the Macaroni Soup with Luncheon
Meat, we found it to be quite decent and worked better with a dash of pepper — it was interesting to note that the Butter Bread that came as with the Combo Set was actually Kaya Butter Toast, while the Kopi we had opted for had a good balance of sweetness which was pretty well-managed. With prices of the dim sum mostly going from $3.60 to $5, set meals ranging between from $3 to $10 and Western Food in the range of $8.80 to $18.80, Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng does work as a decent dining option to think of if around the Tai Seng neighbourhood especially if one craves for dim sum.