Casual all-day dim sum at Chao Yue Xuan

NEW RESTAURANT

Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum B2-51/52 Capitol Singapore 13 Stamford Road Singapore 178905 Tel: 8921 1929 Open daily: 11am to 10pm

CHAR siew baos are either the Cinderellas of the Chinese restaurant world or calculative part-time workers. Once the clock strikes “lunchtime over”, they all disappear – along with their half-siblings har kow, siew mai and other dim sum items that follow some inexplicable law that doesn’t let them appear on menus at dinner time.

Chao Yue Xuan is one restaurant that understands the fundamental human right to have steamed and fried snacks anytime of the day or night. So its wide range of dumplings and buns are on call right up to 10pm every day – the only drawback being that, well, it doesn’t offer much else.

But as with everything, cook what you know; and that’s what the restaurant built its name on – as a modest shop in Yishun opened by a dim sum chef who used to work in the St Regis’ Chinese restaurant. It’s done well enough to now relocate to a downtown location at the Capitol building, where it literally brightens up the basement with its fluorescent lighting and prominent open-ended space. Not a place to come to with someone you don’t want your spouse to know about, or if you told your boss you’re on sick leave.

If you haven’t been to Capitol for a while, the sleepy upscale vibe is gone, with a Daiso upstairs and a cluster of wellness/massage places bringing it down to earth. There’s more human traffic, and they fill up Chao Yue Xuan quite quickly when we’re there for lunch.

The menu itself proudly spells out the resumes of its two chefs – brothers Sean and Vanness Chai who’ve paid their dues at Crystal Jade, Paradise, Jumbo and Marina Mandarin, besides St Regis (Vanness). There are pages of dim sum that follow – a mix of familiar and original creations that reflect some fun, out-of-the-box thinking.

How a chicken curry bun qualifies as dim sum is anyone’s guess but anything goes here as truffles, foie gras and cheese sneak into siew mai and spring rolls; mantou sticks and chilli crab sauce, too, must be a side effect of working at Jumbo. Noodles, porridge and rice bowls bring up the rear.

Nothing particularly stands out but it’s one of those reliable, casual places where you can drop by for a decent bite without a second thought. Prices are on a par with their CBD counterparts but since it doesn’t offer a full restaurant menu, your bill stays sane.

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We like the char siew bao (S$7.80) for its denser dough which gives more bite than its classier, fluffy cousins, and also the basic filling which is just char siew and little embellishment.

But we’ll skip the flabby crystal skinned mushroom truffle dumpling (S$7.80) in favour of the very realistic faux shiitake buns (S$9.80). The minced pork and salted fish filling doesn’t excite but the uncanny mushroom-shaped bao on crushed Oreo cookie “soil” is fun to eat, especially the deep-fried mantou “stem”.

We also fancy the chilli crab siew mai (S$9.80) – a welcome change of pace as you bite into the chunky pork dumpling and get a surprise spurt of spicy sauce at the same time.

Noodles are unexpectedly good for their Hong Kong style springiness with only a hint of alkaline. Beef brisket noodles (S$14.80) falter for the tough beef and thin gravy but the noodles soak it up while retaining their bite – some stray tendon bits are a consolation prize. But the shrimp wonton version (S$12.80) hits the spot with fat juicy dumplings and well-seasoned noodles. Even the clear soup tastes of dried fish instead of boiled water and MSG.

For a dramatic ending, Master Chef Swan Crisp (S$15.80) appears in a cloud of dry ice smoke as three “swans” float on a lake – a kind of wobbly blue plastic gel sheet that makes you want to refrigerate and slap it on the forehead to reduce a fever. Nonetheless, the swans are good – lovely crispy yam puff-like pastries with different fillings from salted egg custard to black sesame.

Service isn’t polished, but it is friendly and fast. And that pretty much sums up Chao Yue Xuan. It’s neighbourhood-style dim sum with some nice touches, and having it served all day means you can have your bao and eat it too.

Rating: 6