Yuen Kee Dumpling 袁记云饺 shouldn’t need much of an introduction these days especially for those whom have been following us for a while now — whilst having opened their very first location at Fortune Centre not long ago, these folks have massively expanded in the last few months to include themselves as a stall within various food courts around the island including the ones at NEX, VivoCity and 313@Somerset. Their latest outlet is the one that is situated within the Food Junction food court at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall at Choa Chu Kang — this would be their second outlet situated within a Food Junction food court. The Yuen Kee Dumpling outlet at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall is pretty reminiscent to that of their location at NEX; the stall taking up a corner unit right at the entrance of the food court as well. As with all other Yuen Kee Dumpling locations, the dumplings and wantons that they offer are all wrapped on the spot with patrons getting a full glimpse of the entire process through the display panels, while a display case showcases the variety of wantons and dumplings that they have to offer. The Yuen Kee Dumpling outlet in the Food Junction food court at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall at Choa Chu Kang carries the same menu as what is being offered at their other food court locations — the food menu being segmented into categories dedicated to Dumplings, Wantons, Noodles (Dry / Soup), Dumplings Noodle Set Meal, Wanton Noodles Set Meal and Sides.

We have been to Yuen Kee Dumpling on multiple occasions but it was only during our last visit to their 313@Somerset outlet that we had noticed that they do offer two (2) different types of fried dumplings — one being the Chives & Pork Fried Dumplings and the other being the Corn & Pork Fried Dumplings; these two variants of dumplings being part of the line-up of Dumplings that Yuen Kee Dumpling has to offer, though are the only two that are available fried as an item on the Sides section of the menu and only limited to a portion size of six (6) pieces a serving. Turns out, the Chives & Pork Fried Dumplings aren’t exactly fried but are pan-fried; this can be deduced from the slightly browned appearance of the dumplings on the underside. Taking a bite into the Chives & Pork Fried Dumplings, one can find that the texture of the dumpling wrapper does come slightly chewier than that as compared to the ones that are served with sauce / soup which are listed in the Dumplings section of the menu. The Chives & Pork Fried Dumplings does come with quite a good serving of chives within that provides that distinct note of chives that brings it close to the local Teochew-style Soon Kueh; all that with the pork filling binding everything together within the dumpling wrapper. Quite a decent item that we would not mind having again if not wanting to go for their Dumplings / Wanton offerings with their Viral Mixed Sauce with Chili Oil that we tend to order.

Those whom know us pretty well will know how a bust to Yuen Kee Dumplings for us isn’t complete if we skip on their Dumplings / Wanton offerings that is served with their Viral Mixed Sauce with Chili Oil — a must-have for any trip made to Yuen Kee Dumpling for us. For those whom are unaware, Yuen Kee Dumpling does serve up their wantons and dumplings in six different sauce / soup variations — the Cantonese Style Soup, Viral Mixed Sauce with Chili Oil, Fiery Spicy & Tangy Soup, Peanut Sauce, Garlic Sauce and Hot Boiled. During our visit to Yuen Kee Dumpling’s outlet in the Food Junction food court at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall at Choa Chu Kang, we went with the Family Feast Assorted Pork Wantons with their Viral Mixed Sauce with Chili Oil; the Family Feast Assorted Pork Wantons comprising of an assortment of wantons out of the variety of three (3) variants that Yuen Kee Dumpling offers. The wantons come in a plate that is drenched with their peanut sauce and chili oil; topped off with Lao Gan Ma-esque chili and beansprouts. What gets us all the time about the Dumplings / Wanton offerings paired with Viral Mixed Sauce with Chili Oil is the balance of nuttiness and spiciness that lacquers the wantons; all that whilst coming with a crispy crunch from the Lao Gan Ma-esque chili that also adds a smokiness to the dish. The wantons are decently-filled; the wrappers being silky smooth and makes them easy to pop into the mouth one-by-one, with us demolishing the entire plate in no time — the portion of beansprouts at their Lot One Shoppers’ Mall outlet being the least when compared against that of their other outlets which we have already been to.

Yuen Kee Dumpling does seem to be holding up pretty strong to the hype that is created around their freshly-made dumpling / wanton offerings ever since the opening of their very first store at Fortune Centre here — their Fortune Centre and NEX outlet is still seeing queues till this day, while their Lot One Shoppers’ Mall was already seeing a crowd during meal hours as well considering we made our visit several weeks into their opening there. Quality of the food does seem to be largely consistent at their Lot One Shoppers’ Mall outlet when compared to our more positive experiences at their 313@Somerset, VivoCity and Fortune Centre locations; hopefully they will be able to do so in the long run while we wonder what is the next location that they will be popping up in time to come!