Kow Loon Hong Kong Tim Sum – Affordable Dim Sum in a Coffeeshop

Have you ever wondered how dim sum came about? Centuries ago in Guangzhou’s (also known as Canton) teahouses, people discovered the benefits of tea. Wonderful morsels of deliciousness were gradually added on to the menu by teahouse owners to complement tea. Fun fact: the Cantonese tradition of having endless cups of tea and dim sum is also called Yum Cha (飲茶), which also means “drink tea” in Cantonese.

When we chanced upon a dim sum stall located in a coffeeshop (not a teahouse this time, hahaha) at Ang Mo Kio Ave 5, we were instantly keen to try their dim sum. Kow Loon Hong Kong Tim Sum spans across 2 or 3 stalls in the coffeeshop, with tons of traditional bamboo dim sum baskets adorning its stall front. We spent $20.40 in total, for 6 dishes.

The Pan Fried Turnip Cake ($3.20/ 3 pcs) had a slightly hard and chewy exterior, which I quite liked due to its satisfying bite. Cut up the cake, and dive into the soft and slightly mushy interior. While the lup cheong and dried shrimp bits were not actually visible in the turnip cake, their distinct sweetness and flavour could be tasted through and through.

We also tried Kow Loon’s Special Dairy Salted Bun ($3.80/ 3 pcs), which was alright. It has quite a fancy name, but is essentially liu sha bao with a custardy lava centre. However, the bun itself was dry and hard, which was disappointing.

Next up is the Minced Pork and Shrimp Dumpling aka siew mai($3.20/4 pcs) which is supposedly their signature dish. The siew mai was, unfortunately, too oily. Also, the yellow skin was a tad tough to bite through. I would not recommend this.

My personal favourite and must-order item at any dim sum place is har gow. 3 pieces of Kow Loon Hong Kong Tim Sum’s Shrimp Dumpling go for 3.80. While the prawn filling encased within the har gow skin was flavourful and sufficiently salty, it was a tad mushy. In short, the prawns were not as crunchy as what I’m used to. The glassy skin was also slightly thicker than the usual har gows.

The Steamed Pork Ribs ($3.20) were bathed in a sweet and savoury full-bodied sauce, which definitely was a palate-pleaser. My only gripe would be the bony pork ribs which did not hold much meat.

The Steamed Pork Dumplings ($5/ 5 pcs) or xiao long bao, had a considerably thicker skin than most xlbs, and a strong taste of ginger. Ginger lovers may probably appreciate this, but we did not fancy them as they lacked a robust meaty flavour.

Lastly, we had the Enoki Mushroom Cheong Fun ($3.20). This dish was brimming with potential. However, the actual execution fell short of expectations. The taste of the thin and delicate mushroom was hardly discernible in the thicker cheong fun skin. Hence, despite the sauce’s nice sesame oil aroma, eating this dish is akin to eating plain chee cheong fun. 

Kow Loon Hong Kong Tim Sum is housed in a very cooling coffeeshop, especially if you sit near the roadside. They also serve the dim sum to your table. I liked that I could enjoy my dimsum without breaking into sweat. Unfortunately, the dim sum was not particularly impressive, and I doubt that I’ll  make a return visit.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.