Dim Sum Diner

Sadly, the Malaysian restaurant on this site closed a few months ago and it has taken quite awhile for a replacement to open its doors.
I only discovered this place when I tried to have lunch at Hung Tao across the road only to be told that they were only serving a limited menu and to go across the road to their new restaurant.
That is interesting in that Hung Tao has the atmosphere of a locals’ cheap diner whereas Dim Sum Diner is probably aiming at a slightly more upmarket clientele with fresh clean tiles and primary colours though they do have canteen style bench seating
Despite its name, the restaurant was only displaying the conventional menu on on the window outside, listing dishes as «Hung Tao @ Dim Sum Diner». Not sure if they’re hedging their bets on the new venture
However, nice to see that dim sum was available inside, otherwise the name would have been a bit redundant! The usual dim sum favourites are available though with some of them being given a novel twist. For example, the roast pork puffs are in a cylindrical shape rather than the usual triangles.
I think this place is trying hard but is struggling to find its identity at the moment. I sense it’s caught between wanting to be a traditional Chinese restaurant and a trendy dim sum joint. The food has potential but they have to make their minds up. My first tip would be to put a dim sum menu up in the window if your restaurant is named the Dim Sum Diner

I returned to Dim Sum Diner after trying it out in its early opening days and it has maintained its standards as far as I can tell. It seems to still be a bit of a secret as the place was not that busy. There are a few more pop art pictures on the walls now and it looks great!
We tried some different dishes this time… the Singapore laksa which was very good — spicy, coconut-​y and authentic. The Malaysian kwai tweo was also excellent that I wanted more and our favourite was the teriyaki beef flank on fried rice — a lovely combination of sweet from the teriyaki sauce and the savoury with fluffy rice.
The crispy duck roll as moist and tasty and the XO scallop dumpling was one of the best I have had in London.
We also tried the egg tarts which were creamy and eggy — the perfect way to round off the meal.
A definitely winner in Queensway and even better that you can have dim sum all day long. Rush there before the secret gets out!

Visited Dim Sum Diner for the first time last night. I was really impressed. I love dim sum and have tried plenty in my time Dim Sum Diner is right up there. There was a good buzz in the place even though it was a Monday night and I think the bright red décor is great fun (some may find it a little vivid). I enjoyed the food which was served quickly in surprisingly generous portions and we thought exceptional value for money. We shared loads of dishes amongst other things go for the crispy aromatic duck rolls and pineapple buns, they are to die for! I’ll go back it’s the perfect place for a quick bite before or after the cinema or a longer relaxed Sunday lunch. Good luck to the new owners, I hope it all works out they’re getting something right I reckon.

Great dim sum is one of the world’s best meals. A range of tiny parcels and baked goodies, subtly fragranced and served hot from the kitchen to order, ideal for sharing. Average dim sum is forgettable, instantly fading in the memory, good as a temporary pitstop but not really anything more. Sadly new kid on the block Dim Sum Diner falls firmly into the latter category. It filled a hole, but even an hour after eating Teacher Boy and I struggled to remember the detail of the ones we liked. Writing this up a few days later and I had to fall back on photographs. There’s nothing wrong with the location; a small unit on the populus Queensway drag. The décor is relatively inoffensive; clean, plain and primary coloured surfaces and Wagamamma’s style furniture. The staff are friendly, efficient and attentive the fact we were the only ones in may have helped this. To an extent my ennui came from the prosaic and unimaginative menu; offering a range of dim sum ‘classics’ and small plate Chinese dishes alongside a random handful of diner dishes; mini hot dogs, burgers and a battered fish added for no discernible reason. Of the good, we enjoyed a punchy fresh if not terribly authentic Dan Dan Noodle dish, chilli calmed from the dish’s Sichuan street peddlar roots, interpreted here as mince and noodles in a light spicy gravy rather than the tongue tingling peasant soup I would have liked. Still, it was filled with meat and certainly pleasant enough. Pan fried Peking pork dumplings came with moreish dipping sauce, crisp skins and the heat of several suns inside. Steamed pork Xiao Long Bao and hot white clouds filled with sticky Char Sui were perfectly fine. Hot and freshly prepared, I had nothing against them, though the claims that they were ‘made in-​house with fresh ingredients’ were tested by the delivery man walking pre-​prepped trayfuls through the restaurant from the outside street. Sadly the meal went awry with the PR’s recommendations. Interesting on paper, disastrous in the mouth. Barbeque Pork Puff Rolls were over-​fried cigars with a thick carapace managing to be cloyingly dusty and oil soaked at the same time and filled with red hot viscous gloop. Prawns in a vermicelli crust were drowned in a sweet and sickly mustard sauce that unpleasantly reminded me of an ‘experimental’ and unsuccessful take on salad cream. Guinness crab meat dumplings were as wrong as they sound. Despite that, there’s much to like. The staff were lovely, the basics were acceptable and portions are less than £4 each, so it’s a cheap dim sum option, even compared with Soho standards. I’d come back again if I lived or worked in the area though couldn’t see myself making a special trip unfortunately.

There are a lot of places that offer dim sum in London, but try to count how many that are tasty and of good value and I can count them all with my two hands. Nevertheless, I am always scouting for new places and wider options. A new dim sum place opened recently, taking over the site in Queensway that used to house ‘Kiasu’.
Minimalism is how I would describe the décor with long rectangular wooden tables and benches. The benches were more comfortable than they seem, as mentioned by my dining companion. The menu is split into various categories with the usual being steamed, baked, fried, sweet with the addition of diner and small plates. Everything is priced at £3.80 with sides being £2.50.
After some recommendations, we placed our orders and ready to start.
After trying sea bass dumpling several times before where the sea bass was just overly dry, I have not tasted one utilising fish that was made successfully. The fish and spinach dumpling turned out to be different, instead of using a piece of seabass, a fish paste is used instead which retains the moistness while still having the taste of fish. Wrapped in a spinach dumpling wrapper, this was tasty and I thought was a good way of using fish in a dumpling.
The name, guinness crab meat dumpling came about from the dumpling skin being a dark colour and not because the crab meat was cooked in Guinness beer like I initially thought and was excited about. The filling was a mixture of prawns and crab meat which gave a duo texture and combined with the slight sticky but yield-​when-​bitten wrapper, this was good.
I wasn’t wowed by the phoenix prawn dumpling and by this stage, was starting to feel a little prawn-​out!
The vegetarian parcel didn’t work for me either as each ingredient was too distinct in its own flavour and lacked a sauce to gel and harmonise them.
The xiao long bao were no fireworks but if you love them, you’ll be satisfied as theirs a above average.
Moving onto the fried stuff, the filling-​to-​puff ratio was skewed towards there being more puff than filling so you barely taste much of the assam chicken curry. The puff itself I thought was flaky and fluffy though you do end up with a buttery greased mouth-​feel due to the more puff than filling.
London was the first place where I was introduced or heard of the sesame prawn toast. I have yet to be enamoured by it and wasn’t too keen on ordering this. However, my dining party was keen on trying so it was ordered. Good choice I have to admit. This is the best version that I have tried, it is best eaten when freshly fried as it wasn’t as good once it turned cold.
Continuing to the less traditionally seen in dim sum trolleys came the mini beef burgers and hot dogs. The top bread used for the beef burgers were too tough that my poor teeth was having a workout even trying to take a clean bite. I thought that the patty was a tad bland although my dining companion differs in opinion.
The hot dogs are your standard sausage buns that you get in Asian bakeries and these although being good, am not sure if I would be ordering them to eat during a dim sum session.
Time for some noodles and the like and the first to arrived was the beef flank in ramen noodle soup. The beef flank were tender and delicious and that was as much as can be said about this. The broth was bland, add one of the sauces to spike this up.
The same verdict goes to the Malaysian Kwai Tiew Noodles.
The Malaysian spiced mooli cubes did not suffer the same bland fate but it just didn’t taste right. They haven’t got the flavour balance and all the elements right in this one.
Time for some sweets and the honey BBQ pork bun hits the spot. Love the soft soft freshly steamed buns. The creamy custard steamed buns were standard.
A special mention has to be given to the sauces that sits on every table. Placed innocuously at the side, do not overlook them as three out of the four are made in house and they are amazing! Generous helpings were eaten by us and if anything, I think management should consider promoting and pairing this with some of the dishes more (like the bland ramen noodle soup, adding the chilli sauce turned the whole thing around)!
We got to chat with the guy who introduced the sauces and he recommended the pineapple bun. How can you not try a recommendation from the awesome Mr. sauce guy right? So stuffed as I was, I nodded and said yes.
Best decision ever! This are the best pineapple buns I have had to date and I love my pineapple bun. This had actual pineapple as a filling and it made such a difference. It was less sweet than the commercially available at bakeries and the pineapple pieces and its juices added a natural sweetness and slightly acidic flavour to lighten it up. I will travel just to have this here.
On a whole, I think its a mixture of delicious, mediocre and some that definitely needs tweaking dishes. Going back to the prices, Pearl Liang averages around £3 per plate while Grand Imperial is a £4.5 average. So DimSum Diner

Just quietly opened, Dim Sum Diner is a cross between a dim sum house and a fun American-​styled diner. With its red walls and pop art on the walls, it’s a hip, cheerful place where you can select from a range of good quality dim sum and small Asian dishes as well as a couple of diner favourites made in a dim sum style (i.e. mini!)
The Guinness crab meat dumpling was really lovely a house specialty, and the barbecued pork puff rolls were as nice if not better than the usual pork puffs you get in most other dim sum places. There are other more traditional offerings too. And the small dishes from noodles to rice dishes are pretty good value. The pricing is easy all dishes are £3.80 except sides which are £2.50. You can get in and out of there spending around £10−15 and leave pretty satisfied.
It still in it’s soft opening phase but I’ll be back!
I would highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a fun, casual meal with mates. Go, go, go!