Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Fantastic Dim Sum first piqued my interest when I found out about their multi-coloured siew mai in exciting flavours, including truffle and curry.
I visited Fantastic Dim Sum’s outlet at the ARC 380 food court in Jalan Besar, which had over 30 dishes available on its menu. With fried and steamed dishes, as well as desserts to choose from, I was spoilt for choice.
What I tried at Fantastic Dim Sum
I first started off with Fantastic Dim Sum’s signature Fantastic Siew Mai (S$10.80), which came with six pieces of siew mai in different colours and flavours: Chicken, Otah, Preserved Vegetables, Abalone, Yellow Curry and Truffle.
The original Chicken Siew Mai tasted like any classic siew mai. It wasn’t too salty and was filled with an adequate amount of meat. The Otah Siew Mai, on the other hand, had a spicier kick to it from the otah, while the Yellow Curry Siew Mai was similarly slightly spicy with the addition of the fragrance of coconut milk.
The Abalone Siew Mai was topped with a small abalone, which was chewy and flavourful. However, I couldn’t taste much of the abalone elements in the fillings of the siew mai itself. As for the Preserved Vegetable Siew Mai, it was saltier than the others, with bits of salted vegetables within.
My favourite of the Fantastic Siew Mai was definitely the Truffle Siew Mai, as it had a strong truffle aroma and had little specks of truffle inside the siew mai itself.
If regular siew mai doesn’t excite you, Fantastic Dim Sum’s unique flavours are certainly something worth trying, with each piece providing a different taste.
Next, I tried the Chives Crystal Dumpling (S$4 for three pieces), which came filled with pork meat and chives.
The amount of pork meat within the dumpling was generous. I liked how the pork fillings consisted of actual meat as opposed as fat, and the dumplings were flavourful without being too salty. The chives also provided an extra mild tangy taste.
The Black Bean Pork Ribs (S$3.80) were a little on the average side, in my opinion. Each pork rib was tender and well-cooked, with a nice marinated flavour.
Of course, the hallmark of any good dim sum place would be the presence of salted egg lava custard buns. Fantastic Dim Sum’s Black Gold Lava Custard Bun (S$5.60 for three pieces) came with golden salted egg filling within a black bun.
Each Black Gold Lava Custard Bun oozed when bitten into, and the salted egg custard was rich and flowy with a slightly grainy consistency. All in all, they were pretty solid salted egg lava buns.
The Deep Fried Taro with Char Siew (S$4 for two pieces) was an item on the menu that interested me, as I had never seen a taro and char siew combination before. The Deep Fried Taro with Char Siew had an incredibly crispy and flaky exterior, and cutting into the fritter revealed a soft and warm centre, containing yam and char siew.
Fantastic Dim Sum’s Deep Fried Taro with Char Siew was one of my favourite dishes of the day. The taro was incredibly smooth and more on the savoury side, with a natural and earthy taste. The char siew, on the other hand, was tender and provided the entire pastry with an adequate amount of sweetness to balance out the blander natural flavours of the yam.
My dining companion, who usually dislikes yam, thoroughly enjoyed this dish too!
Next, I had the Carrot Cake with Chinese Sausage (S$2.80 for 2 pieces), which was deep fried to be crispy on the outside. The carrot cake also tasted like a classic dim sum dish. Personally, I would have liked if there was dried shrimp within the carrot cake to give it a bit more texture and dimension, but I enjoyed how crispy they were compared to most other dim sum places.
The Mango Shrimp Roll (S$5 for three pieces) contained shrimp and mango pieces within a fried pastry.
The light sweetness and fruitiness of the mango paired well with the chewy shrimp, and the Mango Shrimp Roll as a whole was both sweet and savoury.
Fantastic Dim Sum offers four dessert options, with one of them being the Black Sesame Pudding (S$3.20). As an avid black sesame lover, I was looking forward to trying this dessert, and I was certainly not disappointed.
The Black Sesame Pudding had a rich and thick texture, with a bit of a grainy mouthfeel from the black sesame. The pudding had a strong black sesame taste and was at just the right amount of sweetness. This was one of the best black sesame puddings I’ve had!
The Matcha Pudding (S$4.50) donned a light green hue, but unfortunately, unlike its black sesame counterpart, it was not as strong in taste. I found the matcha flavour to be lacking, and the pudding had a rather mild and floral aroma. I do think the matcha taste could be made much stronger to justify its price.
Final thoughts
Fantastic Dim Sum offers an array of unique dim sum dishes, with some being hard to come by at other dim sum spots. Given how eccentric and distinctive Fantastic Dim Sum is when compared to other places, I do applaud them for their creativity and relatively affordable prices. I would definitely return in the future!
Expected damage: S$3 – S$15 per pax
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