Expected the restaurant to be much larger but to my surprise it was actually quite small. Plus it looked more rundown on the inside than outside.

Anyway, focusing on the food, Kam Boat was a huge disappointment. Thought it wld at least serve average food after reading some of the reviews here, but it was pretty disappointing.

We ordered quite a few dishes. Rundown as below:

1) Chee Cheong Fun
The skin was very "nua" (read soggy, soft..) and trust me, it wasn't the good kind of nua. it tasted too watery.
The bf thought the char siew didn't taste very fresh.

2) Xiao Long Bao
FAIL. We very delicately picked it up but it broke and spilt all over the steamer. The filling also didn't pack any punch and the skin was very poorly made. You could see small bubbles of air on the skin (ie, it wasn't smooth when made). Complete failure.

3) Deep Fried prawn with mango
This didn't taste that bad but I think I have tasted much much better. The skin they used to wrap the prawn and mango lacked bite.

4) Siew Mai
The mince meat used was really fatty and the pork didnt seem well marinated enough.

5) Char Siew Bao
Mediocre. Again, bf felt that the char siew didn't taste very fresh.

6) Fried Beef Hor Fun
This was the only good dish. The wok-hei was pretty good and the beef slices were very tender. Of course, this was pretty darn oily too.

Service:
I had to ask for our plates to be changed.
I asked for a glass of warm water for my bf's nephew, but it never came.

After the last dim sum at Zhou’s kitchen, it took some time before i regained my craving for our “Chinese tapas“. And this time round, i chose Kam Boat since my friends wanted a convenient location. Marina Square it is, how accessible. I must admit, when i first heard that Kam boat dim sum kitchen was in Marina Square, i was thinking where it was, since i never saw it everytime i went MS. Right, Kam boat location is very easy to find, if you are coming from the underground citylink. Upon coming up the escalator, they are at the entrance of MS, breeks cafe is also there.

The restaurant interior was smaller that what i expected from the outside, still it could seat about 50 thereabouts. Simple furnishings ooze a cosy feel, and we were quite surprise that the restaurant was barely filled on a Saturday afternoon. The lightning was very good, in fact one of the few places where i only took a few snaps and i’m happy with the photos.

Note that they have discount of 30% for dim sum on weekends 230-530pm. The prices i stated are all their original price before discount. Most of their dim sum are around 4 bucks, and after 30% discount, its around $2.80, which is rather cheap.

Steamed prawn dumpling ($4.20)
I loved the jade-colour basket, which exuded a feel to enhance the flavour of the dim sum. The steamed prawn dumpling didn’t allow us to have the best of both worlds. The prawn within was crunchy and whole, but the skin was a tad thick, and sticked to the teeth. But with the discount, the har gau was barely a dollar each.

Steamed Xiao Long Bao ($4.20)
I was never a big fan of Xiao Long Bao (XLB), this one here was all right, the soup stock gashed out of the skin when we took a bite, but having had one of the best and most expensive XLB before, this one paled in comparison.

Rice noodle roll with shrimp ($5.60)
If it wasn’t for the 30% discount, i would feel that the shrimp cheong fun was too expensive. The shrimp, like the one in the har gau, was crunchy, rolled within the cheong fun, and together with the light sauce, made a good start for our meal.

Steamed siew mai with mushroom ($4.20)
The notable difference between Kam Boat’s rendition and the norm was the addition of mushroom. Like the one i had at Zhou’s Kitchen, the mushroom didn’t really enhanced the flavour of the siew mai, since the porky and prawn taste was so strong. But it’s a nice change.

Steamed barbecued pork bun ($3.50)
I think most kids don’t like char siew bun since they always had it for breakfast. But i always couldn’t resist ordering char siew bun from restaurants since theirs were always so good!

Steamed chives dumpling ($4)
This was one of the more unpleasant choice, since nobody liked chives, i’ve no idea who went and ordered this.

Deep fried prawn dumpling with salad ($4.20)
You know, deep fried prawn dumpling is always good, especially so when you dipped in the slightly sour salad sauce. Shiok!

Deep fried prawn with mango roll ($4.20)
Besides salad, mango’s another good combination with fried prawn. The deep fried prawn with mango roll was crispy outside, crunchy with the prawns, and fruity with the mango.

Pan fried meat dumpling ($4)
Meat dumpling or “wo tie” is often eaten together with ginger and vinegar. But since i didn’t like eating ginger and vinegar, i ate it on its own, and it was not bad.

Pan-fried carrot cake ($3.50)
The pan fried carrot cake was nice, charred on the exterior, and soft inside. Personally, i felt that pan fried carrot cakes must show some char, if not the whole taste wouldn’t be there.

Deep fried seafood roll with mustard ($4.50)
The bee hoon or whatever you called that, which wrapped around the deep fried seafood roll, provided the crisp crunchy bite. Although deep fried, the seafood roll didn’t lose its freshness. The usual scenario for deep fried stuff would be overly oily, but this one was not so.

Baked mini egg tart ($4.20)
For some reason or the other, dim sum restaurants never seem to serve their egg tarts big. All came in mini size, how did they suppose we would be satisfied with the tiny, petite egg tart? Nonetheless, the mini egg tart was done exactly what i liked, the egg custard filling was soft, slightly “wet”, and the skin was crispy.

Steamed chicken feet ($3.50)
I never ate chicken feet, so you need to try this one out yourself.

Steamed Glutinous rice ($3.50)
The Chinese sausage or “la chang” injected the salty taste and enhanced the fragance of the glutinous rice. A vital ingredient for all glutinous rice. The mushroom, meat and rice portion was generous. Defintitely worth a try.

Total bill was $64.05 after a 30% discount for 4 person. There was some items like the steamed prawn dumpling and siew mai which we had two basket. We didn’t really order a lot since a friend was late and the last order was around 515pm. Still, Kam Boat was surprisingly good, much better than what i expected. The location is very accessible, the dim sum is cheap after the discount. And i think i’ll go back again.

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!

Went down to Marina Square branch today, with my girlfriend, looking for some soul food. Since we're both working, weekends are the only opportunity to grab great food. So, we make it a point to indulge ourselves to gluttony.

Here's my first of many weekend reviews..

Craved for some Dim Sum after being slightly disappointed by Spring Court opp Chinatown Point two weekends ago. Decided to head down to Kam Boat at the persistent nagging of my girlfriend. Was pleasantly surprised when I saw 30% discount on Dim Sum between 2.30 - 5pm (Sat, Sun and Public Holidays only).

Ambience...

The place is set up like a typical Chinese restaurant with Chinese waitress donned in traditional bright coloured mandarin collared top with black skirt. The restaurant was sparsely populated to our surprise.

Service...

The waitresses were prompt in serving us, and in clearing the used cutlery, but lacked in warmth in their service. Also, they were a little clueless about the promotion themselves, and when the bill came, charged us the full price before we pointed out the error. They promptly went on to rectify the miscalculation.

Food...

1) Must-try Deep fried prawn roll with mango
--> Melts-in-your-mouth experience. Delightful combination of savory and sweetness.

2) Minced pork congee with century egg
--> Average, too bland for my liking

3) Har Gow
--> Girlfriend loved it for the succulent prawns. She insisted that there were three whole prawns in each Har Gow, but I was little skeptical. I personally felt that the skin though soft was a tad too thick.

4) Siew Mai with scallop
--> Heard it is their signature Dim Sum dish. It lived up to its reputation only because the tasty scallop added a supreme touch to an otherwise ordinary dish.

5) Pan-fried carrot cake with XO sauce
--> Not my usual favourite but ordered nonetheless because my girlfriend digs it. Exceeded my expectations, as it was crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. It was topped with a creamy fried egg with prawn, which I thought was again a smart culinary move.

6) Egg tarts
--> Bite-size custard egg tarts rounded off a delectable meal. Definely a must-try at Kam's.

Value...

The 30% discount was definitely a plus point, though the dishes were not exorbitant to start with. My top pick for a Dim Sum place @ the moment!

The Dim Sum here is fantastic. some of them even have better standard than Hongkong. set menu to me is better than average, depends on what you choose. but the location is not easy to find. I agree with Suraj that you can get first class service once you get to know the staff. I experienced this when i go there the second time. the staff gave 10% discount and free dessert. and i think the staffs here are very experience, to me, that is call service. know your expectation, preference and have the flexibility to satisfy you.

I tried three types of the dumplings at this restaurant recently. I had the plain shrimp, the shrimp and chive and the scallop which is actually more shrimp than scallop.

All three dumplings had the nice thin, chewy, translucent skin on them. The shrimp dumpling had firm shrimp and bits of bamboo, but I tasted a bit of an MSG kick after eating them. You'd know it because MSG leaves a residue on your tongue and makes you thirsty for hours to follow. I didn't get the MSG after effects on the other two selections however. The shrimp and chive dumpling had chopped up green chives, bamboo bits and firm shrimp. The scallop dumpling had lots of firm shrimp, but only fine slivers of scallops, finely chopped carrot, bamboo and chives.

If you know what to expect, this is not a place to have some decent dim sum.