Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express

[Yishun, Singapore 🇸🇬]

Prawn Siew Mai
鲜味虾卖

Steamed Yam Cake
传统芋头糕

Steamed Honeycomb Cake
蜂巢糕

Prawn n Banana Roll
炸香焦虾球

Ting Zai Congee
荔湾艇仔粥

Snow Fungus Longan Dessert
清润雪耳龙眼糖水

Watercress Honey Cold
西洋菜蜜 (冷)

Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express
Address : 930 Yishun Ave 2, # B1 - 53 Northpoint City, Singapore 769098
Note 📝 : 45 minutes dine in limit

Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum 潮粤轩点心 is probably a and that should be familiar to most by now for those whom have been following the happenings of the local F&B scene — these folks had been around for quite some time; now currently based at Capitol Singapore, it is worth noting that these folks had first started out being an independently-run establishment at Junction Nine in Yishun before making their move there. For those whom are unaware, Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum is a brand founded by a pair of brothers whom have had their own experiences at various notable Chinese establishments around the island; one of them having been formerly from The St. Regis Singapore as well. The loss of a quality dim sum restaurant at Yishun can be felt when Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum had moved out of their premises at Junction Nine to relocate themselves at Capitol Singapore; that being said, the recent opening of Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express at Northpoint City can be described as the brand’s return to its roots — the very same neighbourhood that all had started everything for them. Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express occupies the unit formerly tenanted by Tenderfresh Classic — one can find them beside where outlet of The Hainan Story Coffeehouse is located in the basement level of the mall. Considering the space that it has taken up, there is quite a decently-sized dine-in space for patrons whom intend to sit-in for a meal; the set-up being more casual as compared to that of their Capitol Singapore location that feels a little more grand — a clear distinction of this location being the “Express” version of their Capitol Singapore as per its namesake. With this in mind, the offerings at Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express is pretty simplified and stripped out off the more fanciful items that Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum offers at Capitol Singapore — the menu being split into sections dedicated to Dim Sum, Congee, Rice / Noodle and Desserts. Beverages at Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express includes Coffee & Tea, as well as Cold Drinks.

Skimming through the menu that Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express has to offer, we found ourselves fairly intrigued by the Steamed Carrot Cake that they have to offer — it was interesting to see Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express offering this item much in the likes of how Yi Dian Xin Hong Kong Dim Sum at Kovan does as well; after all, serving up such styles of carrot cake is not particularly common across dim sum establishments around the island. Coming with the entire steamed carrot cake being served on a plate sitting above a pool of soy sauce, this turned out to be one of the items that we utterly enjoyed during our visit to Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express. This was a little bit like a Wa Kuih; digging into the steamed carrot cake, the carrot cake is dense but springy — one can also find strips of soft radish within the steamed carrot cake and the steamed carrot cake also had absorbed the savoury notes of the soy sauce beneath. The steamed carrot cake also came with nibs of Chinese sausage within; this provided some bite as well as a hint of sweetness that gave the dish a little bit of a contrast. We had also tried the Glutinous Siew Mai which is listed under the “Dim Sum” section of the menu at Chao Yue Xuan Express; this was more of an item similar to the Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice that sees glutinous rice with peanuts and mushrooms being wrapped in a Siew Mai wrapper — the rice was sticky and adequately dense, providing a savoury note with some chew with the Siew Mai wrapper being rather delicate. The addition of the bits of mushroom did provide an earthy bounce for some contrast of texture and flavour.

Another item that we had tried off the “Dim Sum” section of the menu would be the Char Siew Bao. Whilst these seem to come sized larger than the usual Char Siew Bao that one would be used to seeing at upscale dim sum / Chinese restaurants, we did note that the dough of the bun does come a little thicker as well; they also do lack that partially open aesthetic that would reveal the fillings within. That being said, the fillings were pretty decent where the Char Siew seems to have been quite tender and comes with a thick honey bbq sauce that is of a good balance of sweetness and savoury flavours. The Prawn & Banana Ball was probably the weakest item of the lot that we have had; these were essentially balls of prawn paste in fried batter that is deep-fried till golden brown perfection that comes wrapped with banana in the middle. While the item is free from any undesirable stench of overused oil and was not too greasy, the only thing that didn’t work out for us was how the banana used was a little ripe and therefore lacked the sweet flavour and the soft texture that the item needed to pull everything off. Otherwise, we did like how it was crisp on the exterior and also the bouncy texture that prawn paste had. An item that is listed on the “Rice / Noodle” section of the menu, the Pork Dumpling Dry Noodle comes tossed in a savoury sauce and came with springy noodles — our favourite part of the entire dish were the dumplings; not only were they well-packed with the meat fillings to ensure that it came with sufficient bite, but the meat fillings also came with strips of black fungus that gave a bit of a bouncy bite that provided a contrast of textures that we found to be rather refreshing. The Kopi that Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express serves up is pretty much in a style similar to that of Hong Kong-style Milk Tea-meets-Nanyang Kopi; think of notes of the latter but with a silkier, milky texture that is similar to that of the former.

Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum is a brand that folks residing around Yishun are definitely familiar with and we could feel the excitement in the air on its return to the neighbourhood during our visit made on a weekend afternoon; the eatery already having been running at maximum capacity despite being their first weekend of operations. Having visited Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum once at their Junction Nine location and once at their Capitol Singapore location, Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express does feel like an establishment that serves up more basic offerings with a tighter menu than Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum; the food quality is generally considered good compared to most other establishments of the likes of Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express, though the differences between both outlets can be easily felt especially for those familiar with Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum. That being said, the prices at Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express are way lower than that of Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum, so there does seem to be some compromises that has to be made in order to to make Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express more competitive and appealing to the crowd in the heartlands. We do still hope that they would able to give some of their dishes a little bit of a tweak add they smoothen out their operations in due time, though Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum Express would be a name that we would most certainly be thinking of when itching to have some decent dim sum whilst being in Yishun.