Saturday, May 31, 2014

Victor's Kitchen - overpriced for mediocre taste

I heard so much about Victor's Kitchen particularly their Salted Egg Custard Bun as they happened to be one of the first to serve it. I have heard about how good their standard used to be but has dropped quite a fair bit. And, i have heard the increase in their prices that did not quite justify their standard and quality now. I decided to find out myself. 

I was there slightly after lunch. No queue spotted with just 3 tables occupied then. I walked to the counter and picked up an order chit. Most of the items are priced $4.50 and above. I decided to go with their King Prawn Dumplings (3 pieces for $5.00), their Steamed XO Carrot Cake ($4.50), Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf ($5.00) and Polo Char Siew Bun ($2.50 for each piece). The XO sauce is chargeable at 0.50 cents per serving.

I ordered a canned drink to go with it. I initially wanted to order their Signature Milk Tea that served by placing in a bowl with ice cubes to keep it chilled but discouraged by its price. I seriously do not think it is worth the $3 as it is just a small glass. 


The King Prawn Dumpling came first. The size of the prawn dumpling is not as big as expected.


The skin of the prawn dumpling was slightly thicker with a rather delightful chewiness and rather smooth in texture.



I liked the filling that consists of chunky pieces of fresh tasting prawns and the satisfactory feel when i placed the whole piece of it into my mouth then slowly chewing it before swallowed it in one gulp.



It tasted alright but it definitely did not quite justify the price. At $5 for 3 pieces, it is even more expensive than those in restaurants.


Next, came the Steamed XO Carrot Cake and Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf, together.


I took notice that 0.50 cents is chargeable for the XO Sauce and i remember i did not indicate in the order chit to order it. I guess it is served by default unless otherwise stated.


I was a little skeptical initially. I took just a bit and put on my tongue, then slowly using tongue to taste it and i actually liked it. This is good stuff indeed. I would think it is even better than those bottled ones available in the supermarkets. I would be more than willing to pay 0.50 cents for it and i would be happy to get a bottle or two to take away to have it at home.


The XO sauce added a nice touch to the rather plain steamed carrot cake. The carrot cake itself was good though, the texture was nicely soft with bits of shredded radish embedded in it. The XO sauce complemented it perfectly, though it tasted a slightly spicy but it has got a distinctive taste of scallop and general bits of it in the sauce. This is definitely one of the better ones that i ever tasted.




Then, it came the Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf. It was nicely wrapped and steamed in a big piece of lotus leaf just like any other. After unwrapped it, i used the chopsticks to slowly break opened it. I did not see the mushroom but taiwanese sausage and bits of chicken meat in it. The taste was slightly plain and i did not like it. 




The Polo Char Siew Bun came in 2 pieces for $5.00. I was told this is the newest item on their menu and strongly recommended by the Auntie serving the table. The same Auntie came back in a while to inform us that it takes a little longer to prepare and she suggested that we might want to go with the Salted Egg Custard Bun instead but i decided to wait for it. 


I expected it to be something special since it is so strongly recommended but it seemed to be the usual Polo Char Siew buns that commonly available in those Hong Kong bakeries or eateries. 


I ate it when it was still hot so it actually tasted not too bad. The filling consists of sweet and moist char siew that tasted quite flavorful but it did not make it any special. And, paying $2.50 for such a piece, it might not be quite worth it after all.


The overall experience was a pleasant one though i am not likely to go back again.


VICTOR'S KITCHEN
91 Bencoolen Street #01-21 Sunshine Plaza SINGAPORE 189652

4 comments:

  1. Been here once years ago when ieatishotipost mentioned it. Didn't like a single item ( no polo bun then ) .It wasn't as expensive as now,prices was from $2.50.
    It was very very crowded and this Victor looked so stressed and harrassed.
    My chinese tea was served in a metallic mug which still had pink lip mark on the rim!
    All 3 of us agreed that the food here were about the same standard as Swee Choon.......which is NG.

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  2. Haha. I actually thought of trying Swee Choon. And, i shall just forget it now. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  3. I've been a faithful customer for many years but have since given up for the last 2-3 years now. Prices have gone up & service is non-existent. It was decent when Victor was still around most of the time in the kitchen. The expansion it seems have done nothing to improve their standards & the proprietors are definitely stuck up now. Please by all means patronise the place if you're looking for over priced dim sum & shit service

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  4. Thanks for sharing. That probably would be my first and the last time there. :)

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