[REVIEW] Swee Choon’s Frozen Dim Sum – Worth Getting?

Early in January, home-grown Dim Sum specialist brand, Swee Choon launched its first-ever series of frozen dim sum. Each dim sum is said to be handmade at Swee Choon’s central kitchen, then frozen, so you can DIY and prepare your own Swee Choon dim sums in your own kitchen. The packages come with simple-to-follow preparation instructions in both English and Mandarin, which I found intuitive, even for a kitchen noob like me.

Are these frozen dim sum as good as the real deal when you dine-in at the restaurant? We tried some of the items and found them to be comparably satisfying.

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To prepare the dim sum, it is best for you to steam them just like how they would have been prepared at the restaurant. Alternatively, since the items are already pre-cooked, you can also choose to just boil, air-fry or microwave them, but these other preparation methods may compromise the flavour and texture.

A highly recommended item would be the signature Swee Choon Mee-Suah Kueh. This is an unique dim sum item at Swee Choon, with the original recipe developed by second-generation owner Joyce Ting, the founder’s eldest daughter. Wheat vermicelli is often stir-fried or used in soups, but here the ingredient has been reimagined into a kueh. The mee suah is stir-fried with preserved sausages, chicken, char siew, chilled in a mould for it to set, then fried again. The exterior is crispy while the inside is soft and flavourful. The preparation is tedious. To save you the trouble, you can now purchase the frozen version and prepare them easily in your home.

The series of frozen dim sum from Swee Choon includes:

• Char Siew Bao (6 pcs per pack) S$7.60
• Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun (6 pcs per pack) S$10.40
• Lotus Paste Bao (6 pcs per pack) S$9.70
• Red Bean Paste Bao (6 pcs per pack) S$9.70
• Siew Mai (12 pcs per pack) S$15.20
• Har Kow (10 pcs per pack) S$16.10
• Pan Fried Pork Dumpling (10 pcs per pack) S$17.30
• Chive Pork Dumpling (10 pcs per pack) S$11.50
• Peking Dumpling (10 pcs per pack) S$11.50
• Carrot Cake (5 pcs per pack) S$6.90
• Beancurd Prawn Roll (5 pcs per pack) S$9.20
• Swee Choon Mee-Suah Kueh (5 pcs per pack) S$6.90
• Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (12 pcs per pack) S$16.60

With Chinese New Year just round the corner, it may be a good idea to stock up some Swee Choon frozen dim sum items so you can easily prepare and dish them out at home to impress your family and guests during visits.