Dim Dim - The Hong Kong Pantry at Marina Link

Dim Sum is a classic meal, especially for breakfast and lunch. Most Cantonese restaurants do not serve dim sum all day. One notable exception is Tim Ho Wan, which I featured here recently. And another is Dim Dim.

A curious name indeed, and tucked deep in the bowels of Marina Centre, just beside Esplanade MRT station, this little eatery has been serving interesting dim sum for about a year. I was invited via Nuffnang's Qinxin to come for a tasting.

We started with the nai cha...or iced milk tea.

The Hong Kong styled milk tea is one of the most difficult to replicate outside the territory. For some reason, it is never quite the same. Dim Dim's version is not any different. While it is rather pleasant and nice tasting, it is not quite the same as those one can easily drink at the innumerable cha chan tengs in Hong Kong.

We started the meal with congee

Quite interesting. The congee is nicely sticky, smooth rice gruel. With an interesting touch of nice chunks of cuttlefish within. The usual flour crisps, and roasted peanuts serve as condiments. I found this dish to be very good, and the touch of the cuttlefish very interesting.

The deep fried beancurd was next

Quite good as well. Crispy fried, the bean curd is mild tasting, and yet not greasy at all. The insides are stuffed with prawns and prawn paste.

Ha Gao

Quite standard. The skin was a bit sticky, but very thin and the insides were stuffed with fresh, crunchy prawns.

A bbq pork bun was next

Quite good too, though I think Tim Ho Wan's version is rather more tasty, Dim Dim's version is rather delicious too.

A curious cheong fun was also part of the tasting

This was the only dish I found a bit lacking. Unusual, certainly, as this was a rather fine cheong fun skin wrapped around a crisp yu tiao. I found this a bit strange and not my taste. But other diners who were on the same table felt this was rather good and tasty.

Salted egg yolk custard buns

Again I feel bested in terms of taste and aroma by Tim Ho Wan, but Dim Dim's version is nothing to be sneezed at. The bun was light and fluffy and the custard within smooth, creamy and oozing with aroma and a nice balance of richness, sweet and sour from the salted egg yolk. Quite superb.

And egg tarts

Very competent as well. Ticks all the right boxes for an egg tart. Nice custard. Quite magnificent pastry shell holding it, which is flaky, light and tasty.

Overall, very nice little place, serving good dim sum. For me, not ground breakingly good, but much above average and very acceptable price performance. Recommended.

Dim Dim - The Hong Kong Pantry
#B1-16, Marina Link
336 9088