Har Kao $3.20, Steam Prawns $4, Fried Oysters $6, Char Siew Bao $3.20
I just love Dim Sum, Tapas and Degustations. The idea is that you get to titillate your tastebuds as much and as long as possible before it becomes uncomfortable to your stomach. Yes, it is part and parcel of getting older. Having a full stomach just isn't as pleasant as it was when I was younger. In the past, buffets were the way to go to get the bang for the buck. Nowadays buffets are just a waste of money because I would just get full too quickly to feel that I got my money's worth.
Unfortunately, the Dim Sum scene in Singapore just isn't that happening and I can't understand why. I really miss those push carts where the Auntie's would come right up to the table and you get to choose what you want to eat. Why is it that so few places still have them even though I think most Singaporeans still wish they were around? I would like to see a Hong Kong Street Style Dim Sum place in Singapore. No fancy restaurant, just a nice Kopi Tiam atmosphere where the carts are pushed out and people all get to rush for their steaming Har Kow and Siew Mai. I am sure you all would like to have one around, wouldn't you?
However, before some smart entreprenuer would venture to give us what we really want, there is this little place in Geylang that comes close. Set in the unsavoury part of Singapore, this little shop dishes out out quite savoury Dim Sums in an atmosphere that is quintessentially Geylang. If there are any URA directors out there reading this, Please, please, please, please.... don't ever upgrade Geylang, but do get someone from the other Ministry to start regulating the Sex Shops and foreign talent there!
How does one do a review of Dim Sum? If I gave you a review on every item that I ate there I think you would just scroll down to the conclusion. So I would say this: A good Dim Sum to me means that most items are good, some are excellent and some are unique and difficult to find anywhere else. That just about sums it up for Wan Dou Sek.
So what I will do is to draw your attention to some of the more interesting items. First is the deep fried oysters. Simple and sinful, the oyster fritters are juicy and shiok. Too bad there wasn't any tartare or bluecheese sauce to go with it! 4.5/5
Fried Fish Maw $4
Another dish that caught my attention was this fried fish maw with Thai style chilli sauce. Its just something you don't see very often and SporeGirl really loved it. The chilli sauce is more on the sourish side, reminiscent of Thai style seafood dipping sauce. 4.25/5
Lo Mai Kai $1.80
We were actually here because we were told that the Lo Mai Kai here was something to behold. Since I am currently on my quest for the ultimate Lo Mai Kai, I had to check it out. They use only midwings for the Lo Mai Kai here and the taste was alright, but ultimate it was not. The glutinous rice was not soft enough. For me a great Lo Mai Kai should have glutinous rice which is soft and gooey and saturated with the chicken juices. 3.75/5
Fried Yam Cakes 8 pieces $3.20
The yam cake is one of the best I have tasted in Singapore. The yam is generous and powdery (Teochews describe it as Sang Sang) and the cake itself is full of Hae Bee (dried prawn) flavour. They deep fry instead of pan frying them here and its good! 4.5/5
Curry Chicken Chee Cheong Fun $4
I put up this picture of the Curry Chee Cheong Fun just to show you that you can find quite interesting things in the bamboo steamers. So aside from the usual, you can be adventurous and try something new. Taste wise, this one was not quite there. The curry was a bit powdery but if you are the type that like find the typical Dim Sum too tame and want to spice it up, you can pick this one up as well as their steamed seafood otah dish. 3/5
Conclusion
Not exactly restaurant dining, but that's how I like it. Rustic and chaotic with no table cloths to soak up the spilled tea, the food is here dares to be adventurous so you can expect a few surprises. It's unpretentious, straightforward tongue titillating satisfaction and best of all you can enjoy it even if you are reading this at 3am in the morning of the eve of a public holiday! We should have more stalls like this across Singapore!
126 Eating House (Wan Tou Sek)126 Sims Ave
67464757, 67454869
Open 24 hours daily
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37 comments:
FINALLY!!! It's on the blog! =D
I was wondering what I missed, until I saw this!
Wan Tou Sek vs Ho Kee @ Lor 25 - choose one?
Food wise I think Wan Tou Sek has better variety and it is all done in house, not from a factory like Ho Kee. If given a choice I choose Wan Tou Sek over Ho Kee. But the parking at Ho Kee is easier and the premises are bigger. Given the overall eatability is ok, I sometimes eat at Ho Kee especially when the kids are around. Pau quality of both places are about the same.
guys, i am running out of money every month so fast anyone know where to eat alot and for cheap.This place you recommend cheap or not, i not rich.
erm no money,
e only place i can think of for u to eat a lot & cheap is buffets!
frankly speaking, wan dou sek cheap or not - it depends on how many things u order lor..
personally, i think e price quite reasonable
hope it helps!! ;)
wow.. i think they had added a few new items on e menu.. it's been sometime since i visit them..
perhaps it's time to re-visit wan dou sek again!
i luv yam! =)
If i got budget about $20 per person do you think can eat here if not maybe you guys can recommend some place to eat for me
Hey no money, if you really got no money wtf you reading reviews go hawker center and eat better. Very cheap $2 can eat alot
i think dim sim buffet is totally not worth it!
I guessed the cheapest dimsum buffet is ard 15 bucks? so 2 person will cost ard 30 bucks?
with 30 bucks, u can buy 30 char shao paos or abt 8 plates of dimsum (assuming each plate costs 3-4 bucks). My point is its only worth to go for dimsum buffet if u can eat 30 paos or more than 8 plates of dimsum, it s worth to go buffet.
hey no money,
if u r talking abt $20/person, u should be able to eat quite a few dishes liao.. cos they dun charge gst or service charge..
if u go wif another person, u have $40!! it's more than enough!!
hey dictator,
got dim sum buffer meh?? anyway, i wun be interested to go for dim sum buffet as choices not aren't tat fantastic, i suppose?
i prefer international buffet anytime! can eat until i happy!!
=p
i thought geylang only got "chicken" ....knn you go there find dim sum !
oiii,no money...got time talk and sing song is it ...go work lah...come to blog post comment for what !
Actually Geylang has a lot of really good food.If not for the red light designation,it would have become a food hub !
hahhahhha...who say geylang only got "chicken" ....can find so many good shops there to eat one.
Hi Leslie!
Have you tried Red Star Restaurant at Chin Swee? It's got the push carts, old unionised 'aunties' authentic red carpet...still excellent after all these years.
I had an experience once. I went there for dim sum (I SWEAR!) at 126, and while walking there I dumped into an old friend, and he asked what I was doing there, and I said "eat Dim sum, you?" and he went "erm...ya...dim sum.." and walked in the opposite direction away from the store.
Anyway yes for those who are wondering, if you eat in a group of 5 or more, i think if you don't go for the sharks fin soup and stuff like that (although sometimes I do), you can spend around $10 per person in fact. $50 = at least 15 plates of simple dishes that is pretty filling. If you order drinks as well, the crysanthemum tea is delicious, and the sour plum juice has just the right amount of sourness to wet your appetite! Their char siew bao is FANTASTIC, ok to me la. But I do see ppl driving through to pick up pre-orders of if before. =)
dump? I mean bump
=)
ya, it IS abt the time to revisit them. Been awhile already....
Dim Sum Buffet?
I recommend Tung Lok @ ECP. At approx $16++, mininum 4 pax to dine. Lunch time 1130 - 1430 I think.
It's REALLY value for money because they serve not only unlimited dim sum, but also their other specialty dishes + dessert all in. Eat until u explode man.
no money can eat like a king there with $20 lol
oh btw, Tung Lok Dim Sum buffet on weekdays only =) They have two kinds - with different pricing so choose the cheaper one - good enough. Served a la carte/minute
errr.... but the standard of dim sum for the ECP tung lok is really bad. What's the point of stuffing onself to the point of exploding with bad dim sum O_o
16 bucks is too expensive! my experience tells me that its better off going to a nice dim sum place and just order anything u like. it will still be cheaper than dimsum buffet!
khim- just google dimsum buffet and i m sure u can find lots of information.
anyway i always go rui chun at jalan bersar. i think the dimsum is good enough. I think they serve the best lo mai kai. pao wise, i pick tanjong rhu at geylang.
I must come here often to visit the stalls as all the delicious food are here.
had the curry chee cheong fun, fish maw, fried prawn roll, chicken feet and tofu prawns today.
The curry was quite good with good spices. Not watered down.
The fish maw was ok but had too much garlic.
Fried Prawn Roll was good.
Chicken Feet average
Tofu Prawn - can give it a miss lah.
Their chrysanthemum tea (cold) was good.
The dim sum buffet at Excelsior hotel at $10.80+++ is very nice. should try it
Here's my April 2009, albeit cheong-hei, review cum update. This is my first visit.
I2.30am and feeling peckish. Fuelled with the adrenalin of checking out a blog-worthy makan venue tucked away in the seedier part of town at midnight and a rumbling tummy, hey, who could resist?
Iam: Locating 126 Sims Ave was easier than expected. I went on to PIE (towards Changi Airport) and took the exit at Sims Ave. Voila, nestled about 600m from the exit, on the right hand side of the one-way street, between Lorongs 15 and 17, I found the unpretentious and very bustling Wan Dou Sek. It was 70% full at 1am and I counted at least 5 ta-bao patrons during my 40mins there.
For the non-Cantonese speaking blogger, Wan Dou Sek can have the figurative meaning "Etch a Living" and the literal "Found Things to Eat". Apropos, a clever double entendre for an otherwise literal moniker. Indeed, they have etched so well, they now have GST etched on their receipts.
Parking at Geylang / Sims Avenue requires a jamboree of skill, luck, guts, patience and innovation:
1) You have to parallel park and it is on the right hand side (skill);
2) You take a chance with LTA if you "anywhere park", i.e. where ever your ride fits (luck and guts);
3) Hazard lights on, you wait patiently nearby, hoping one of the cars will soon leave its coveted lot.
4) You bring along white paint and brush and create your own legit lot.
As this is on the odd numbered side of Geylang, chances of being accosted by foreign talent while waiting in a stationary car is fortunately quite slim. I suppose some will argue this as unfortunate.
My partner and I took a table outside as we wanted to soak up the atmosphere and yes, get a better view of the milieu. The uniformed waitress handed us a thick and well-thumbed black folio. The content was so random I almost did not know what to order. (Aside to ieat: you should offer your shutterbug cum editorial services to the proprietors.)
In the end I simply ordered from recent memory of reading the post here. We had the ice cold chrysanthemum and sour plum drinks. Both were "thick" (think "kopi-gao" type of thick) and I concur with all the previous bloggers: standard maintained and well above coffee shop average.
Interestingly, the drinks were served in plastic bowls often used for taking away hawker desserts. Perhaps the proprietors realised these bowl type containers have a lower centre of gravity and hence less likely to be toppled by the inebriated patrons from the hood. In any case, the drinks were great value. I give it 4.25/5 for price ($2.5 to $3), quality (shiok) and quantity (bowl sized drink somehow seems more than a glass).
At first glance, the basket prices here seems to defy the current economic crisis. Most of the basket items have a liquid paper amendment and now average $3.50 to $4. It was definitely a premium when a coffee shop locale charges restaurant price. Nonetheless, IMHO, this is forgivable as they are open 24 hours and ieat said owners have not yet gone to the dark side for factory suppliers.
We ordered the Crispy Scallops, Fried Carrot Cake, Steamed Cheong Fun with Shrimp with Sesame Sauce, Steamed Beancurd Rolls and Chicken Curry Cheong Fun. Total damage including 2 drinks, towels and GST $23.60. Verdict? Read on..
1) Crispy Scallops - I am sure all of us have experienced some mid-range restaurants serving factory altered scallops. Ergo, I was delighted the scallops here were unadulterated, uber fresh and juicy sweet. The crispiness of the thin light savory batter was robustly balanced. You can tell the shifu is a master cause each scallop was uniformly thick-cut at 8mm, batter all around uniform at 2mm. These sublime morsels were 4 pieces for $4. Non-oily, made a la carte, worth each cent. Sublime. 4.5 / 5 for quality, simplicity of taste and quantity.
2) Deep fried carrot cake, 8 pieces of 1 inch squares, lightly dusted with flour. The appearance was unimpressive but looks can be deceiving and I was willing to be deceived. Each piece was firm but not too hard and packed with flavourful dried shrimp, savory chunks of preserved chinese sausage, juicy strips of al dente white carrot with that tiniest crunch, and just the right hint of white pepper. Dip this into the complimentary dou-jiang chili. Not too salty, not too sweet, almost no oil and enough fiery lick. By now I have lost count of how many times I rolled by eyes in delight. Actually I rolled my eyes at least 19 times because I had 3 pieces of scallops and 4 pieces of carrot cake which I had further daintily cut into 16 pieces. I was quite delighted so I cannot recall if it was $3 or $3.50. But I will give it a 4/5 because I would have preferred it 2 notches higher in the moist and soft factors.
3) I didn't have the shrimp cheong fun (reserved tummy space for other dishes) but I tasted the light brown sesame sauce. It was less nutty than I expected without the usual strong hint of sesame. So i found it rather pleasant as it was unlike the heavier sesame dipping sauce served with the northern chinese ma la hot pot. My partner thought the overall serving was rather petite as it came in the same sized container as the typical fengzhao basket. Otherwise he couldn't fault the quality or the taste. So we give it 3.5 / 5, lowered because of low quantity. A typical serving at crystal jade would easily be double in size and would be served with loads of light soy which is the ubiquitous variety.
4) The steamed beancurd roll was surprisingly bland. The whitish sauce was forgettable and while the hot roll was crunchy with abundant sweet water chestnut and fresh shrimp, the beancurd skin was not its usual flavourful self though it was salty enough. Further, my expectations have been raised by the earlier dishes. So I conclude this perennial dim-sum favourite of mine still resides at Wan Hao and not here in Wan Dou Sek. I give it 3 / 5. Can eat lah, if you have a craving, and if you did not eat the better tasting dishes first.
5) Curry Chicken Cheong Fun is as Singaporean as you can get. Chapalang like Frog Legs Murtabak. But it was good!! The curry was not powdery like some mass produced prata places, but quite creamy and nutty. I deduce there was no yoghurt present and I am certain there was coconut milk. And again I was deceived by its benign appearance: no visible globule of chili oil - but boy, was it spicy. The cheongfun was so fresh and oh so tender and soft. You have to eat with a spoon ya, if not you will break up all the fun into a porridge like mess if you try to lift with your chopsticks. They used only the middle part of the wing, broken into 2 or 3, to cook the curry. It was a decent appetizer sized serving and a respectable way for me to end the supper. I give it 4/5 but if you like your food spicy like me, it will be a 4.25 / 5.
To sum it up, definitely worth the midnight drive, the parking and the pricey bill. It is 24 hours, don't wait, go now. Overall, 4 / 5.
Wow, what a review! All you need now is to take a few photos and you can start a food blog! Well done Jugsofjugsofjugs
Thanks ieat. Sorry it turned out so long. Starting another blog is too much hassle (and not that I know how to do it anyways). So if you don't mind, I will just lazily tag on yours for now. Thanks again for introducing this place!
hi! u may want to try Bukit Merah-hawker centre - the Char Siew Paos are very nice (small but lots of filling). its definitely worth a try!
"For me a great Lo Mai Kai should have glutinous rice which is soft and gooey and saturated with the chicken juices" .... if that's what you REALLY crave for, you should consider rounding up all your khakis and make a trip up to Ipoh :-)
Oh yes! That is what I am looking for too! But Ipoh is so far away. Why can't someone make it here?
Rayson, any particular place in Ipoh where Lor Mai Kai is good? Or everywhere in Ipoh is good?
Sounds like someone is planning a trip to Ipoh soon!
im thinking there is a connection between 126 and wan dou sek! cos they sound like each other and isnt that just awesome?
im gonna check this place out this evening. thanks ieat!
Does anyone know where have they moved to? Or are they closed permanently?
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