Skip to main content
LocalRank
Sign in

14 Best Dim Sum Restaurants in Singapore

Fourteen places for dim sum in Singapore, from har gow, siew mai and char siew bao to push-cart trolleys, casual tea houses and hotel Cantonese dining.

Edited by
Amir Wahab
Published
Reading time
7 min read
Bamboo steamer baskets of dim sum with Chinese tea at a Singapore restaurantAI image by LocalRank

A great dim sum in Singapore can be many things: a rowdy late-night tuck-in, a slow weekend yum cha, or a refined hotel lunch of har gow, siew mai and char siew bao steamed to order. This guide gathers fourteen established dim sum spots, each checked against its own website or official listing, spanning a la carte ordering, all-you-can-eat buffets and old-school push-cart trolleys. Treat it as a shortlist to explore, not a strict ranking.

1. Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan is a Hong Kong-born dim sum chain that has grown to several outlets across Singapore's malls, serving an accessible, a la carte spread of Cantonese classics. It is best known for its baked barbecue pork buns, with a sweet, crackly crust, which it groups with steamed egg cake, vermicelli roll and pan-fried carrot cake as its signature dishes. The format is casual and quick, an easy introduction to Hong Kong-style dim sum.

2. Swee Choon Tim Sum Restaurant

Swee Choon is a long-running Jalan Besar institution that bills itself as 'Singapore's Legendary Dim Sum Since 1962,' serving both Hong Kong and Shanghai styles in a casual, coffee-shop-style setting. Its menu runs to dozens of items well beyond the usual har gow and siew mai, and the 24-hour flagship is a well-known late-night dim sum destination. Beyond dine-in, it also offers hot delivery, frozen dim sum and catering.

3. Yum Cha Restaurant

Yum Cha set out in 2000 to revive the old-school dim sum tea house in a Chinatown shophouse, and describes its food as 'authentic dim sum, made fresh daily.' The Trengganu Street original is fitted with marble-topped tables and wooden chairs for a nostalgic feel, and the kitchen turns out both traditional steamers such as siew mai and xiao long bao and more modern creations. It offers both a la carte ordering and dim sum buffet packages.

4. Red Star Restaurant

Red Star is one of the last places in Singapore still serving dim sum from push-carts, calling its trolley service 'a rare delightful feature that sets us apart.' On the seventh floor of a Chin Swee Road block, the old-school banquet hall has been going, by its own account, for more than five decades, founded by a group it calls Singapore's culinary 'Four Heavenly Kings.' Diners flag down trolleys of steamed, fried and baked dim sum as they are wheeled past, the traditional way.

5. Mouth Restaurant

Mouth Restaurant is a Cantonese dim sum and roast specialist that has run in the central districts since the 1980s, with a long-standing outlet near Maxwell and Tanjong Pagar. It is known for handmade dim sum at lunch, its molten custard 'liu sha' bun, and Cantonese roast meats including Peking duck and roast goose. The setting is a classic sit-down Chinese restaurant rather than a quick-service counter.

6. Crystal Jade

Crystal Jade is a large, Singapore-based Cantonese restaurant group whose outlets span fine-dining and casual formats, several of them serving dim sum. Its dim sum appears across concepts such as Crystal Jade Hong Kong Kitchen and the dedicated Crystal Jade Dim Sum, alongside sister brands doing la mian and xiao long bao. With many locations across the island, it is one of the more widely available options for a Cantonese dim sum lunch.

7. Peach Garden

Peach Garden describes itself as 'a notable household name that is synonymous with authentic Chinese cuisine,' running a mix of fine-dining and casual Cantonese restaurants across Singapore. Its dim sum covers Hong Kong staples such as char siew cheung fun, steamed buns, congee and dumplings, offered a la carte and, at some outlets, as a dim sum buffet. Locations include Chinatown Point, The Heeren and Changi Airport Terminal 2.

8. Canton Paradise

Canton Paradise, part of the Paradise Group, is a Hong Kong-style eatery that invites diners to 'savour the essence of Hong Kong cuisine' across dim sum, congee and noodles, roast meats and Cantonese wok dishes. Many outlets serve dim sum through the day rather than only at lunch, and a show kitchen lets you watch the chefs carve the roasts. Its bright, tiled dining rooms sit in malls including ION Orchard, VivoCity and Marina Bay Sands.

9. Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant

Wah Lok is the Cantonese restaurant at Carlton Hotel on Bras Basah Road, presenting what it calls a 'proud tradition of refined Cantonese cuisine' in an elegant room with a chandelier-lit rotunda. Its dim sum, served in traditional bamboo baskets, includes classics such as baked barbecue pork buns and steamed seafood egg-white dumplings alongside more premium creations. It is a sit-down, reservation-friendly spot suited to a leisurely weekend dim sum lunch.

10. Man Fu Yuan

Man Fu Yuan is the Cantonese restaurant at InterContinental Singapore in the Bugis area, best known for a weekend dim sum brunch served as an a la carte buffet, where the kitchen sends dishes out to order rather than from a trolley or display. Its handcrafted range spans dozens of dim sum selections, from crystal dumplings to Hong Kong-style barbecued meats, in a polished hotel dining room. On other days it serves Cantonese fine-dining fare, including roasts and Peking duck.

11. Spring Court

Spring Court has operated continuously since 1929 and, by its own account, is Singapore's oldest Chinese restaurant, now run by the fourth generation of the same family. Originally known as Wing Choon Yuen and rooted in Cantonese tradition, it describes its cooking as "authentic Singaporean Chinese cuisine," served from a four-storey heritage shophouse on Upper Cross Street complete with a lift and private VIP suites for celebrations. Dim sum is offered daily at lunch alongside long-running menu items such as siew mai, xiao long bao and stir-fried carrot cake with XO sauce. The setting suits a sit-down family meal or a group booking more than a fast in-and-out yum cha.

12. Hua Ting Restaurant

Hua Ting is the Cantonese restaurant at Orchard Hotel Singapore, operating since 1992 under a team led by Hong Kong-trained head chef Chung Lap Fai. Dim sum is prepared fresh daily through lunch using traditional Cantonese technique, with signatures such as a baked mango chicken tartlet in a buttery bo lo bun crust, steamed lobster and prawn dumplings, and a crispy lychee prawn ball, alongside more familiar har gow and siew mai. The Level 2 dining room is formal hotel Cantonese dining with private rooms for groups, rather than a casual coffee-shop setup, and reservations are recommended on weekends and public holidays. The kitchen also serves Cantonese roasts and other fare through the rest of the day.

13. Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant

Xin Cuisine has served Cantonese food at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium since 1990, describing its kitchen as delivering "refined Cantonese cuisine and exquisite handcrafted dim sum" under a team of master chefs. Its dim sum menu runs to steamed barbecued pork buns, salted egg yolk custard buns and shrimp dumplings, alongside heritage Cantonese mains such as a homestyle roast duck with tea leaves and braised lobster ee-fu noodles. The Level 4 dining room holds five private rooms, positioning it for business lunches and family celebrations as much as a casual dim sum outing. It operates through the week aside from Mondays and Tuesdays, when the restaurant is closed.

14. The Dim Sum Place

The Dim Sum Place is a halal-certified Chinese dim sum chain with several outlets across the island, including North Bridge Road, The Centrepoint and Causeway Point. It describes its mission as bringing "people together over food," built on a stated promise of "Quality, Variety and Value For Money," and serves hand-prepared dim sum such as dumplings and duck rolls a la carte alongside Hong Kong-style congee, noodles and vegetables. Full halal certification is uncommon among Cantonese-style dim sum menus in Singapore, so it opens the format to Muslim diners who would otherwise need to substitute or go without. The outlets are set up for spacious, casual group dining, with both walk-ins and reservations available.

How to choose

  • Decide on the format first. Traditional push-cart (trolley) service lets you point at dishes as they pass; a la carte ordering off a menu or an order chit gets you fresh, made-to-order steamers; and dim sum buffets suit big eaters who want to graze widely. Knowing which experience you want narrows the field quickly.
  • Match the setting to the occasion. Hong Kong-style chains and heritage coffee-shop spots are casual, quick and good for families or a late supper, while hotel Cantonese restaurants are dressier and quieter, better for a celebration or an unhurried weekend lunch.
  • Check the timing before you go. Dim sum is traditionally a daytime meal, and many kitchens serve it only at lunch or as a weekend brunch; a few chains and late-night spots run it later. Confirm hours, and reserve ahead for popular weekend seatings.
  • Order a balanced spread. A good table mixes steamed items (har gow, siew mai, cheung fun), fried ones (spring rolls, yam puffs) and baked ones (barbecue pork buns), plus a congee or a plate of greens, rather than loading up on dumplings alone.
  • Ask about halal or dietary needs directly. Most dim sum uses pork and prawn, so if you need halal, vegetarian or shellfish-free options, check with the specific outlet first, as offerings vary between restaurants and even between outlets of the same brand.
Update history

. No changes recorded since.

About the author

Amir Wahab

Founder and Editor

Amir Wahab is the founder and editor of LocalRank, an independent Singapore rankings and local guides publication.

Read next

XML sitemap