Johor Bahru Pau/Tim-Sum — A Quirky And Affordable Dim Sum Joint In Changi Worth Visiting

If you find yourself craving for good old dim sum but you are not willing to pay overly exorbitant prices for them at restaurants, then Johor Bahru Pau/Tim-Sum is a place worth visiting. Nestled in a small shop in Changi Village, Johor Bahru Pau/Tim-Sum sells an assortment of handmade pau and other dim sum favourites.

Some of the more unconventional and interesting creations include the pepper crab pau, chilli crab pau and peanut paste pau. However, if these delectable oddities are not your cup of tea, they also have a wide range of dim sum classics such as har gao, char siew bao, siew mai and everybody’s favourite chee cheong fan.

For all things quirky, satisfying but more importantly, affordable, Johor Bahru Pau/Tim-Sum at Changi Village is a place worth visiting.

Johor Bahru Pau/Tim-Sum is situated in a small shop facing the main road making it relatively easy to locate if this is your first time patronising this humble dim sum joint.

The prices here are reasonable and the ingredients used are fresh—what more can you ask for? We also like the wide variety of condiments available such as minced garlic and sambal chilli that really helped to amp up the flavour of the simple dim sum.

The molten Custard Pau (S$1.20 per piece) is everything you could ever ask for in a decent custard pau. This fluffy pau unveiled a greasy filling of hot salted egg yolk that was fragrant and sweet, yet a slurp or two later, the savouriness of this rich filling was pure bliss. While some may find the bun overly thick, we thought that the extra bit of bun was very much needed to mop up the molten lava that oozed everywhere.

The Cha Siew Chee Chong Fun (S$2.80) was filled generously with soft and savoury char siew and we liked that the skin was not too thick. It was firm enough to hold the gorgeous filling in, yet was still soft enough to nibble through with ease. This dish comes doused in a savoury soy-sesame sauce and the crispy fried shallots sprinkled over the top adds a heightened level of flavour and textural bliss.

If you are a huge fan of prawns then the Phoenix Prawn Dumpling (S$2.80) comes highly recommended. It comprises a mixture of pork and prawns nicely sealed in a dim sum wrap and steamed. Flavour-wise it was jam-packed with prawn goodness and it goes exceptionally well with a dollop of the sambal chilli.

The iconic Black Bean Sauce Spare Rib (S$2.30) did not disappoint. It was meaty, flavourful and every bit as good as the ones you would find at a proper dim sum restaurant. For those concerned about their waistlines, you will be happy to know that the spare ribs served here are relatively lean with almost no traces of fat—although we wish there were.

Overall, this humble establishment did well to satisfy our craving for dim sum without hurting our wallets that much. Although it may be difficult to get to unless by car or by bus, it is still a place worth visiting if good and affordable dim sum is what you are after.

Johor Bahru Pau/Tim-Sum
#01-2082, 4 Changi Village Road
Daily: 9am – 9pm
Tel: +65 6542 2311
Nearest Station: Pasir Ris