Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun: Veteran HK dim sum chef whips up freshly made chee cheong fun from $2.80

The chef behind Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun has over 40 years of dim sum experience under his belt. At the mere age of 13, he stopped schooling to work in Hong Kong tea houses and worked his way up to becoming a dim sum chef at hotels. Eventually, he found his way to Singapore and joined Crystal Jade as an Executive Chef, overseeing dim sum operations for a total of 13 years.

And there he was, making chee cheong fun at a nondescript coffee shop along Beach Road.

Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun opened in January 2022, but despite being only open for eight months, it has garnered quite a bit of popularity and recognition, including a Michelin Bib Gourmand in July 2022. You can find the humble stall nestled along the stretch of coffee shops beside Golden Mile Food Centre.

It’s run by a husband-and-wife team, chef Kong Yiu Man and Chan Pik Yung, both of whom were born and raised in Hong Kong, so you can spot them chatting to their customers in fluent Cantonese while you’re waiting for your food.

The menu is straightforward enough. There’s a total of seven dishes, five of which are chee cheong fun, and the remaining two being porridge and glutinous rice.

When I arrived on a hot Tuesday afternoon, I had expected there to be a long queue, especially given the stall’s recent hype from being awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find one or two folks in the queue, and despite every single chee cheong fun order being made fresh on the spot, I managed to get my food within 10 minutes. Score!

What I tried at Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun

The first dish I tried was the Plain Cheong Fun (S$3). The ‘plain’ in the dish name refers to the filling of the chee cheong fun, but don’t belittle this authentic Hong Kong dim sum dish— it comes packed with plenty of flavour thanks to its sauces, which is a mix of sesame, peanut, soy sauce and sweet sauce.

This was a stunning dish. The chee cheong fun itself was unbelievably soft and thin, and I didn’t have to chew because they disintegrated in my mouth like silken tofu. The punch of flavour came from the sauces: the peanut sauce with its gritty, nutty sweetness, the sesame with its fragrance, and the hint of saltiness from the soy sauce. 

All in all, this was a dish that blew me away. I was worried that not having any filling would make it plainer than usual, but the fantastic mix of sauces more than made up for it as it created a velvety smooth texture that was packed with umami flavours. 

Before I knew it, I had wolfed down two whole rolls of chee cheong fun before I even tried the others.

Apart from the Hong Kong Plain Cheong Fun, Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun sells four types of chee cheong fun that would be familiar to most Singaporeans: Prawn Cheong Fun (S$4.50), Char Siew Cheong Fun (S$4.20), Mushroom Cheong Fun (S$3.80) and Chee Cheong Fun (S$2.80).

At Chef Yiu Man’s recommendation, I decided to get the Prawn Cheong Fun.

Like the Plain Cheong Fun, the silky sheets of chee cheong fun were incredibly soft and went well with the crunchy and fresh prawns. The chee cheong fun itself didn’t have much flavour, so I relied on the soy sauce for that well-needed salty kick. 

Though undeniably not as full-bodied or filled with umami flavours as the Plain Cheong Fun, I still enjoyed the interplay of crunchiness and silkiness in this dish.

Be sure to add Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun’s homemade chilli. It’s salty, smoky, rich and absolutely addictive. This is what the Prawn Cheong Fun needed. I’d say that it’s more salty than spicy, so go light on it.

Last but not least, I tried Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun’s Century Egg Pork Congee (S$3).

While I expected velvety and creamy Cantonese porridge, Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun’s rendition was chunkier than expected, with visible gritty bits of rice grains. Despite that, it was still comforting, and I loved that it was littered with plenty of ingredients such that every spoonful of porridge had either a springy pork slice or earthy century egg.

Final thoughts

This was such a simple yet satisfying meal that was executed superbly well. I was really impressed with the Plain Cheong Fun for its delicious sauce, and being able to enjoy silky smooth rolls of chee cheong fun expertly made by an ex-dim sum chef was such a joy. 

Huge points too for its affordability, with the cheapest roll being the Chee Cheong Fun (S$2.80), and the priciest being the Prawn Cheong Fun (S$4.50). Yet, it’s safe to say that I’ll definitely return on a weekend for a comforting and straightforward chee cheong fun breakfast one day. 

Expected damage: S$2.80 – S$6 per pax

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