Mouth Restaurant (地茂馆), Plaza Singapura

Restaurant Name: Mouth Restaurant (地茂馆)

Pricing: $$$/5

Food: ♥♥♥♥/5

Ambience: ♥♥♥/5

Service: ♥♥♥/5

Website: http://www.mouth.com.sg

Location: 68 Orchard Road, #02-01 Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839
Tel: 6337 746
Operating Hours: Weekdays 11:30 to 22:00; Public Holiday and Weekend 11:00 to 22:00

Having cravings for Dim Sum? Plaza Singapura houses several Chinese Restaurants who serve Dim Sum including the infamous Tim Ho Wan (添好运). I have tried Tim Ho Wan after joining a crazy hour long queue when it set its first branch in Plaza Singapura but was utterly disappointed by the taste of their Dim Sum served and was surprised that they do not serve my favourite Custard Bun as well. Oh well, I shall not elaborate more on it since that was so long ago…

Introduction

What is Dim Sum? The term Dim Sum is the Cantonese pronunciation of  in 点心 (Dian Xin) Chinese. Dim Sum was originally a Cantonese tradition linked to “Yum Cha” (Cantonese term for drinking tea). In the past, teahouses were established to accommodate weary travellers along the famous Silk Road. Rural farmers would also enjoy going to teahouses for an afternoon tea and casual chit-chat with their friends. Due to the tea’s capability to aid in digestion, teahouse proprietors began to serve an assortment of snacks together with the tea which are now known to us as Dim Sum. The serving portion of Dim Sum is usually very small – only 3 of the same item is served and hence we can savour a larger variety of the snacks provided by the restaurant. As the portion is small, this makes the individual dishes affordable to the en masse too 🙂

I have decided to visit Mouth Kitchen as they serve one of the best Custard Buns in Singapore (shall explain what are Custard Buns later). 

Le’ Ambience

Mouth Restaurant has a typical setting of a Chinese Restaurant – with the tables and seats covered in white linen cloths. However, they have incorporated chandelier lightings to some areas of the restaurant to make it look more westernised, but I think it was epic fail. *Oops*

Main Entrance

Black-and-White decor

Chandelier Lightings

Kitchen / Pantry Area where food is prepared and served…

Typical Utensils Used for Dim Sum and my Chrysanthemum Tea 🙂

Le’ Menu

The restaurant serves other Chinese food besides Dim Sum. I have tried their Peking Duck earlier and was rather fond of how good it tastes. 

Peking Duck Choice Set Meal

6 Course Set Meal

8 Course Set Meal

Ala-Carte Menu

Ala-Carte Menu

Dim Sum Menu cum Order Chit

What We Ordered

As there were only 2 of us – Sweetie Muffin and myself, we have decided to order a few snacks to share among ourselves. Since we were both fans of Custard Buns, we definitely did order that together with other Snacks like Steamed Xiao Long Bao, and Steamed Har Gao (Prawn Dumpling). We also ordered a bowl of their signature Seafood Congee with Squid Ink.

Le’ Food

Signature Baked Cream of Salted Egg Yolk Bun aka Custard Bun (SGD5.40++)
地茂雪山流沙包

As mentioned earlier, I will explain to you what is this highly raved Custard Bun all about. Custard Bun in Chinese is called 流沙包 (Liu Sha Bao) which literally means “Flowing Sand Bun”. The original Custard Bun is the normal white fluffy floury texture of normal Chinese buns whereas the fillings are made with a mixture of sweet-tasting custard and Salted Egg Yolk. As the texture of Salted Egg Yolk is sandy, the filling of the bun will similarly taste a little sandy too. 

Signature Baked Cream of Salted Egg Yolk Bun (SGD5.40++) 地茂雪山流沙包

I like to eat Custard Buns with thinner skins (less doughy) and with lots of filling that oozes out when I bite it. 

The Custard Buns served by Mouth Restaurant is pretty hard on the outside unlike the traditional white fluffy bun skins that you will commonly see in Dim Sum places. I think the Custard Buns have been lightly pan-fried before serving. The skin tasted slightly crunchy (like some cookie) actually…

The back of the Custard Bun which is lightly pan-fried

The Salted Egg Yolk Custard Mixture Oozing out…

How Tempting!

The custard and egg yolk filling is warm and it tasted really good just that it has a stronger Salted Egg Yolk taste. For those who dislikes the taste of Salted Egg Yolk, this dish is definitely not for you. 

Mouth’s Steamed Xiao Long Bao (SGD4.50++)

地茂小笼包

This is also one of my favourite dish. Xiao Long Bao is miniature buns made of dumpling like skin and injected with a mixture of minced meat and soup. The crux of the dish is that the skin of the bun has to be thin (if not it will taste doughy) whereas the filling has to be soupy (not too dry), and the skin of the bun cannot tear apart before it is savoured. It is indeed a very delicate dish!

Mouth’s Steamed Xiao Long Bao (SGD4.50++) 地茂小笼包

Some lousier quality Xiao Long Bao skin will break before we even get to suck the soup filling from it. I was actually very impressed that the bun tasted as good as it looks! The bun is very juicy as the chef is very generous in adding the soup and the skin is thin enough but yet will not tear easily when I try to pick it up with my chopsticks. The Xiao Long Bao is indeed one of the best I have tasted in Singapore and I personally think it is juicier than the ones served by Din Tai Fung and Paradise Dynasty! Oh yes, do remember to dip these buns into the vinegar + ginger sauce before consumption to make it more appetising!

A note of caution: Do not put the entire bun into your mouth as you might be burnt by the hot soupy filling that oozes out once you bite open the skin in your mouth. 

Check Out this mouth-watering Xiao Long Bao dipped in Vinegar + Ginger sauce

Mouth’s Steamed Har Gao (SGD4.20++)地茂虾饺皇

These Prawn Dumplings tasted great too as the skin is not too thick and doughy 🙂

Mouth’s Steamed Har Gao (SGD4.20++) 地茂虾饺皇

Deep Fried Banana Prawn Roll (SGD3.50++)

香蕉脆皮虾筒

Coated with a layer of white sesame, you will taste the fragrance from the sesame from the first bite followed by the sweetness of the bananas and then the fresh taste from the prawns. It is a pretty decent tasting snack but I still prefer eating the Malay version of Fried Banana Fritters (Goreng Pisang) as it has more of the sweet banana taste :3

Deep Fried Banana Prawn Roll (SGD3.50++) 香蕉脆皮虾筒

Close-Up

Pan Fried Carrot Cake (SGD3.80++)

香煎萝卜糕

This is the Chinese version of Carrot Cake. It is supposed to taste starchy and greasy.. I enjoy eating this with the sweet chilli sauce provided. Such sinful indulgence~~

Pan Fried Carrot Cake (SGD3.80++) 香煎萝卜糕

Pan Fried Carrot Cake (SGD3.80++) 香煎萝卜糕

Seafood Congee with Squid Ink (SGD8.50++)

墨汁海鲜粥

We ordered this as having squid ink in congee sounded rather novel. As I was a die-hard fan of the congee at Crystal Jade, I will be very particular with the taste of the congee served. We were actually astonished when this dish was served as we thought that the congee portion should be as small as the Dim Sum serving (the congee served by Tim Ho Wan was really meagre). Hence we were shocked to see a huge bowl of black matter presented to us. The looks of it is definitely not appetising, not to mention that it is such a big portion!

Seafood Congee with Squid Ink (SGD8.50++) 墨汁海鲜粥

Close-Up

I tried a mouthful of the congee and was surprised once again by its texture. It has an ultra fine texture (they managed to grind the rice into near powder form) and it glides down the throat like drinking water just that it still has the normal congee taste! We can only smell the somewhat fishy smell from the squid ink but taste-wise, it still tastes like normal congee and we heaved a sigh of relief 🙂 Also, the dough fritters topping is super crispy and I loved it lots! This congee is indeed comparable to Crystal Jade’s but if you would like to have your tummy filled better, Crystal Jade’s Congee would still be recommended as it is less watery and runny in texture. 

See how runny is the texture~

Le’ Service

The service is considered prompt and acceptable.

Overall

I will strongly recommend you to visit this place for their Steamed Xiao Long Bao. As for the Custard Bun, I still prefer Victor’s Kitchen @ Sunshine Plaza as I like the fluffy texture of the skin but I dare not revisit the place as the bosses (a couple) of the eatery were having a nasty quarrel and almost ended up fighting during my last visit there. I do not want to get hurt by flying utensils nor let my ears suffer, hence I do not deem it as a safe place to visit although they serve the best Custard Buns, not to mention that I still have to prolong my life to enjoy other good foodie… LOL!