Monday, August 30, 2010

Red Star Restaurant, Chin Swee Road

Red Star Restaurant, Chin Swee Road

I've been asked by some friends to give this place (Blk 54 Chin Swee Road #07-23, tel : +65 6532 5266) a try on numerous occasions and I've never gotten the chance to come down until today after shopping for glass jars. 

It was more than just a little disappointing considering that they're treated as an iconic institution that are supposed to be the place to go for old school dim sum. It didn't help at the end of the meal when I realised that it actually costs less to eat a Crystal Jade Golden Palace where the food was much more refined and tasted a lot better. This aged stained place might have been a sight for nostalgia with their decor of a bygone era and trolleys of dim sum in steamed bamboo baskets which are carted around that one had to rush for. I'm definitely not convinced of returning. Not when the best food we had I could pick was just a plate of stir fried vegetables, a bowl century egg porridge and egg tarts.

Red Star Restaurant, dim sum Red Star Restaurant, dim sum Red Star Restaurant, dim sum Red Star Restaurant, dim sum Red Star Restaurant, dim sum

These har gao deserved mention because it tasted very little of prawns and the fillings were a floury lump that left a chalky feel on the tongue. As a main stay of dim sum, it was very disappointing.

Red Star Restaurant, dim sum Red Star Restaurant, dim sum

Honorary mentions also had to be made for the ubiquitous char siew bao which had dark and dry-ish minced pork fillings. Like they were unique to this restaurant. Didn't think they were tasty. Even the generic factory made ones in coffee shops tasted better.

Red Star Restaurant, dim sum

I'm normally one for pan fried radish cakes but these were far from the creamy ones I was imagining.

Red Star Restaurant, dim sum Red Star Restaurant, dim sum

I was hoping to find some salvation in the department of desserts. Their black sesame paste was so starchy that even when it was relatively warm, it had already formed a skin at the surface. The black sesame flavour was weak and it was a little too sweet for me.

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