Following up on the suggestion by Mr Dennis Tan, my teammate, Kate and I made our way to the restaurant to personally experience the unique atmosphere:)
The restaurant is located on the 7th floor of an old building near the centre of Chinatown. At noon, the restaurant was not as full as I had imagined. We were warmly welcomed and seated. First, we were served with free Chinese tea. After we had settled down, the waitress came to us with a trolley of Chinese Dim Sum, and we chose what we liked (There were a number of waitresses pushing trolleys around, each with different selections) I chose prawn rice roll and Longan almond bean curd while Kate picked the steamed chili and siew-mai. The waitress marked our order on a yellow card.
Born in the 90’s, I myself have never tried some of the Dim Sum before, so this was the first time I had longan almond bean curd as a dessert. The bean curd has a naturally strong almond fragrance. I personally found the bean curd rather bland as I have a sweet tooth. That said, the dessert they serve should be healthier. Most of the customers there were around their mid-30s, having lunch with their families or colleagues. Each Dim Sum is sold at around 4 dollars and the portion is small. The price might be a bit expensive, but I think most of the people there are willing to cash out that extra amount to get that feeling of being transported back to old days.
by Hui Han
Excerpts from 'The History In Matchboxes' by Victoria Junior College