Chef of Dumplings 四海游龍

Chef of Dumplings is one of the newer additions to the Aberdeen food court. The food stall offers dumplings, imitation shark's fin soup, spicy squid, roti canai and stir fried meats. Chinese puddings are also offered and the prices are fairly reasonable here.

ROTI CANAI COMBO ($7.75)

I ordered the roti canai combo which includes an order of imitation shark's fin soup, dumplings, roti canai and a choice of squid, beef, pork or lamb. The combo is a good value considering the portions are not small and the selection includes a bit of everything the food stall offers.

PORK AND CHIVE DUMPLINGS.

Starting with the generic pork and chive dumplings, the skin is not too thick and the filling tastes moist. Personally I am not a fan of this type of skin because it resembles Korean style dumplings and I am confused why the vendor chose to call themselves "Chef of Dumplings" because the dumplings are not housemade. Although to be fair, the restaurant never claimed to make their own dumplings.

Furthermore, 四海游龍 is actually a very popular chain restaurant that started in Taiwan. The chain has been around for more than twenty years and even expanded to Hong Kong and China. For Chef of Dumplings to use 四海游龍 as their Chinese name… is a bit odd (unless the food was actually the same quality!).

IMITATION SHARK'S FIN SOUP.

The soup has a nice smoky flavour and I like the soft crunches from the woodear mushrooms. There is also a good amount of vermicelli which tastes soft but not mushy. Generally I am not a fan of imitation shark's fin soup because I find the consistency extremely gooey as well as syrupy and the flavour is very strong, but I actually like the soup here. The consistency is not too gooey and there is a light vegetable chicken broth flavour. However, for those who do like imitation shark's fin soup may consider the flavour bland (like my friend).

ROTI CANAI AND BEEF.

The food stall does not actually offer roti and serves Chinese green onion pancakes instead. The green onion pancake has plenty of flaky layers along with a crisp exterior and tastes soft as well as chewy. I am glad the pancake was not half assed and actually has a nice pan fried flavour. As for the quality house sliced beef, the meat tastes tender and not cheap or gristly. There is a nice sautéed onion flavour and the sauce is essentially a roti sauce. The roti sauce has a hint of sweetness, is filled with tasty spices and there is a mild curry flavour. If anything, I ordered the spicy beef and found the spiciness too mild.

TOTAL: $8.35.

Many of the food stalls in Aberdeen Centre are not very good and if eliminating rice along with noodles, my choices are very limited. Having said that, Chef of Dumplings is suitable for me because I can always have green onion pancakes and liked the beef. Plus, the owners are friendly.

POSITIVES

- Friendly owners

- Made to order food

- Good combo value

- Great green onion pancake and beef

NEGATIVES

- Name is misleading

- Not even close to 四海游龍

- Brand of dumplings could be better (2.5/5)

Food: 3/5
Service: N/A