Went to Dim Joy for lunch on Christmas day, with my family consisting of parents and a younger sister

I\'ve always been an advocate/fan/fanatic/supporter of dim sum so when Dim Joy hopped onto the bandwagon, I was tempted to have a shot at it especially in this recession period where Yan Ting and Royal China are seemingly out of reach for my shallow pockets. Of course it helped that Dim Joy reportedly specialises in dim sum and sells only dim sum items throughout the day - a psychological effect And I finally got the chance to dine there on a Saturday morning. Playing anchor to a row of beautifully restored shophouses along Neil Road, Dim Joy oozes sublime old world charm with its facade and simply done up interior that allows natural light in. Cool airconditioning coupled with a nice warm glow from the sunlight make for a soothing and relaxing environment. Lingnan Egg Tart - Although the lingnan egg tart didn\'t fall into the buttery crust category which I personally prefer, I have to admit that it was almost in a class of its own. A flaky crust that compounded the oven baked goodness with a smooth, wobbly and not too sweet custard filling that had an almost surreal semi liquid feel. Very delicately done if I may say so. Savoury Beancurd Skin Roll - Not your usual beancurd skin roll, this one looked like it had tempura batter sporadically coated on it before deep frying. And there was no crackling crispy skin either. Instead, the roll was a tad crisp yet moist, not to mention fragrant with a light savoury aftertaste that complemented the filling of mushroom and radish. Custard Bun - I wasn\'t too impressed by Dim Joy\'s rendition of the custard bun even though the the custard filling was semi molten and oozed out with ease with a break in the skin. The quintessential egg yolk taste was sorely lacking and I could make out some granular substance in the custard which I presume to be partially undissolved sugar (I\'m just guessing). There were traces of egg yolk as well from the slightly rough texture but as mentioned earlier, the taste was minimal. Honey Syrup Char Siew Bao - Unlike the custard bun, the Char Siew Bao was excellent, for lack of a better word. The dough was soft and fluffy with an ample bite to it. However the char siew filling came across as rather lacklustre, mildy sweet from the honey but with a rather high proportion of fat meat in my humble opinion. Having said that, the dough itself is enough to warrant seconds for me (Not that I did though). Barbecued Pork & Celery in Rice Rolls - The rice roll aka Chee Cheong Fun was a little different from the usual silky smooth ones in that there was an oily finish to it, very much like kway teow or flat noodles. However, as with the char siew bao, the char siew filling in the rice roll was forgettable and overall a rather bland dish. Century Egg with Lean Pork Congee - I personally dislike century eggs but this porridge was surprisingly decent, especially the pork cubes (actually they looked like chicken cubes), which were tender with a nice salty tinge to it. The porridge itself wasn\'t too starchy and the ginger slices kept nausea at bay. One serving can feed 2 pax easily. King Shrimp Har Gao - I would have preferred one large prawn in my har gao instead of 3 medium sized ones but I\'m not complaining. The skin did seem a whisker too thick and elastic for my liking but on the upside, the har gao didn\'t carry the overwhelming prawn taste that plagues alot of har gaos. Durian Snow Pearl - This signature dessert reminded me of durian snow skin mooncakes except that the skin on this one was soft and excellent. No elasticity or excessive flour taste that I have a particular disdain for. The skin seemed to meld in rather well with the durian filling and cream when I popped one into my mouth. The only thing I didn\'t really appreciate about the dessert was the cream, which I personally felt marred the taste a little. t does seem that Dim Joy is giving the bigger boys a run for their money with its relatively high quality of dim sum at a slightly lower price to boot.

Was having a foodie gathering at Dim Joy recently as one of my friend suggested going there since none of us has been there before. I have rather high expectation for dim sum, and even higher expectation if the dim sum is not cheap! Overall, the ambience is so-so only, quite small and crampy. Food is quite nice, but its just average only. And felt that their food is overpriced, quite expensive actually. We have ordered king shrimp har gao, chee cheong fun. siew mai, egg tarts, andpan-fried raddish cake. All tasted quite nice, quite average, none of the dim sum is really fantanstic and can capture my attention. I am quite dissapointed infact. . . Spending: Approximately SGD 20