Hua Nam Restaurant @ Upper Thomson Road

Located at 244F Upper Thomson Road, this coffeeshop can be seen by the main road. Along the same stretch, there are other shops selling prata, porridge, noodles etc.

It feels old school and I don't mean the modernised old school vibe. The shop has probably been around for many many years.

inside the coffeeshop

old school tiles

This coffeeshop sells zhi char, roasted meats, fish/chicken porridge and dim sum. My friend wanted to eat the dim sum, so we ordered that.

dim sum

To order dim sum, just go up to the front of the shop where you see trays of dim sum, and let the young chap or uncle know which type you want. They'll steam it up and send it to your table. We ordered har gao, siew mai, lor mai kai, xiao long bao, pork ribs, chee cheong fun and beancurd roll with minced meat and waterchestnut.

pickled vege and chili sauce

har gao

lor mai kai

siew mai

The har gao was tiny and prawns is definitely not this coffeeshop's forte. My friend says that har gao is his benchmark for any dim sum joint. So, it was disappointment at first bite. The lor mai kai tasted as it looked. Uninspiring. The siew mai looked alright and it tasted like those factory produced version minus the strong peppery taste commonly found in those mass manufactured products.

chee cheong fun

The chee cheong fun here looked a little unusual. The skin was thick and it was stuffed with minced meat, and its sauce was at the bottom of the tiny saucer. Not unlikeable, just unusual.

waiter, there's minced meat in my cheong fun!

We had a laugh when we picked up the xiao long bao to eat. They used cut carrot as a base for the xiao long bao to prevent its bottom from sticking.

carrot base for the xiao long bao

In my opinion, the xiao long bao here tasted strangely like da bao (big bao) with soggy skin. I would avoid this at all cost.

If there is one dim sum that you must order, make it the steamed pork ribs. Served piping hot, its meat was tender, juicy and tasty. Flavourful and not too much bones.

steamed pork ribs

this was how it all looked like after a bite or two

The chili sauce here tasted like a watered down version, and not spicy. We had about 8 plates of items plus 3 iced barley. The total meal costs about $22 for 3 pax.