Singapore’s new wave of authentic Chinese dumplings

SINGAPORE – Forget frozen convenience. A new wave of dumpling brands is bringing freshly wrapped authenticity and open-kitchen theatre across the island, with a focus on regional Chinese flavours. 

Leading the charge is Guangzhou-based Yuen Kee Dumpling, known for its Cantonese-style dumplings. Its first Singapore outlet opened at Fortune Centre in December 2024, followed by a rapid expansion into foodcourts.

Its stall at Food Junction at Nex opened in April, while three franchised outlets opened in August – at Food Republic at VivoCity, 313@somerset and Food Junction at Lot One.

Five more outlets, including three standalone eateries, are slated to open by the end of 2025.

Prices start at $7.80 for Chive & Pork Dumplings (10 pieces), with six styles to choose from: Cantonese Style Soup, Viral Mixed Sauce With Chilli Oil, Fiery Spicy & Tangy Soup, Peanut Sauce, Garlic Sauce and Hot Boiled. 

Director and co-owner Jaden Wu, 43, who is from Hong Kong and based there, says there are plans to open up to 50 outlets in Singapore in three years. 

He says: “We are not here to just sell wontons. We want to raise the awareness of Chinese dumpling culture, in particular, our Cantonese-style dumplings.”

Brightly lit open kitchens, where workers deftly wrap dumplings and fill bamboo trays behind glass panels, have become a hallmark of this new wave. The transparency is deliberate, meant to show diners that dumplings are made fresh on site and to assure them of hygiene standards.

Across the board, new operators are setting higher standards for dumplings – which have handmade skins and fresh ingredients and are wrapped to order. But there are adjustments. Spice levels have been lowered and seasoning lightened to suit local tastes.

Yuen Kee Dumpling places strong emphasis on fresh ingredients. Vegetables from Malaysia, such as chives and beansprouts, are supplied daily to its stores, while noodles and dumpling skins are handmade daily at its central kitchen in Woodlands.

But unlike its outlets in China, which use fresh pork, the Singapore branches use premium frozen Brazilian pork, which costs less.

Despite the difference in price – frozen pork prices start at around $6 a kilogram, while fresh pork is priced from $12 a kilogram – some sellers refuse to compromise on quality, as they are accustomed to using fresh pork in China. 

At the 42-seat Chuxin Wonton in Joo Chiat, which opened in April, husband-and-wife team, Mr Liu Gong Ke, 41, and Ms Li Lei, 42, insist on using fresh ingredients.

Mr Liu makes daily wet-market trips for pork and prawns, and sources premium dua pan (Korean seerfish) for its mackerel fillings. The couple, who are from Qingdao, have been in Singapore since 2010 and are Singapore permanent residents.

“Qingdao is famous for its beer,” he says. “We want Singaporeans to know its cuisine and how it features the use of fresh seafood, such as fish meat in our dumplings.”

Its signature Mackerel, Pork and Chives Wonton Soup ($11.90 for 12 wontons) features a broth simmered from fresh kampung chicken, topped with dried shrimp and omelette strips.

The couple began making dumplings for their children, now aged 11 and four, during the Covid-19 pandemic. “We aren’t just making dumplings to sell,” says Mr Liu. “We also eat them. We cannot accept using frozen pork as we do not like eating it.”

Equally devoted to freshness is Mr Fan Xin, 45, who is from Xi’an and is co-owner of Jiao Tai Yuan Handmade Dumplings. He wants to showcase northern Chinese dumplings made using premium ingredients, such as Yunnan’s matsutake mushrooms.

He opened his stall at Food Republic at Wisma Atria in September. It is the brand’s first outlet in Singapore and he plans to open up to five more by 2026.

A standout is the Matsutake Mushroom With Mountain Delicacies Dumpling ($12.80 for 10), its pale-green skin coloured naturally with spinach juice. Mr Fan’s aim is to bring new, healthier Chinese flavours to Singapore while adhering to the traditional way of wrapping dumplings.

For these operators, Singapore’s interest in dumplings lies in their familiarity and value for money.

“People here are willing to pay for quality food,” says Mr Fan. “Dumplings are not expensive and offer good value.”

Still, cultural adjustments are inevitable. Chuxin Wonton’s menu omits noodles as in Qingdao, wontons are not served with them.

“Some customers complain about it,” says Mr Liu. “But wontons with noodles are not the way we eat them in Qingdao.”

At Zhang Ji Yun Jiao at Food Junction at Junction 8, husband-and-wife owners Cheng Qing Feng and Zhang Jun, both 39, offer Shandong-style dumplings, including the stall’s signature Pork & Scallion Xiao Long Bao ($7.80 for six).

Madam Zhang, who is from Shandong, first came to Singapore in 2007 to work as a pre-school teacher until 2017, before returning home to open a pre-school in the Chinese province. They have four pre-schools operating there, with 100 employees in total.

In April 2023, the couple came to Singapore together to open a pre-school in Ghim Moh. As Mr Cheng found the Shandong food available here not to his liking, the couple decided to start their own eatery to showcase home-style fare from their home town.

Larger and fluffier than their Cantonese counterparts, these dumplings use fermented dough that gives them a soft, bread-like texture.

“Thankfully, most of our new customers can accept our style of xiao long bao,” says Madam Zhang. The couple, who opened their first eatery at Grantral Mall @ Clementi in January and a second one in Holland Village in August, hope to franchise their brand in 2026.

Even established names are rolling with the dumpling trend. Paradise Group entered the scene in June with LeMa Dumpling at Jewel Changi Airport.

The brand specialises in “jumbo-sized” Taiwanese-style dumplings, each weighing 28g – about 30 per cent larger than average – priced from $3.95 for five. Diners must order at least two portions of the same cooking style, but they enjoy complimentary free-flow drinks.

Popular options include the poached Prawn and Corn Dumpling ($4.95 for five) and Pan-fried Pork and Chives Dumpling ($4.45 for five), which have crispy bases and juicy interiors.

“Dumplings are one of the most iconic and family-oriented dishes in Chinese culture,” says Ms Lin Sifang, 40, director of marketing and communications at Paradise Group. “With LeMa Dumpling, we wanted to introduce a concept that speaks to comfort food – something accessible, nostalgic and wholesome.”

From the seafood-filled wontons of Chuxin Wonton to the hearty Shandong dumplings of Zhang Ji Yun Jiao, each of these brands reflects its founders’ hometown traditions, giving diners a taste of the varied facets of China’s dumpling culture.

Where: 93 East Coast Road
Open: 11am to 10pm (Wednesdays to Mondays); closed on Tuesdays
Tel: 8213-3678/8698-2785

At this eatery with its wood-toned interior and framed photos of Qingdao on the wall, the dumplings are made to order, with fillings prepared fresh each day. Mr Liu Gong Ke and Ms Li Lei started in 2022 with a home-based business selling freshly made dumplings through Chinese social platforms WeChat and Xiaohongshu to a customer base of Chinese nationals in Singapore.

They opened their eatery in April to reach local diners and lend credibility to their still-running online business. Customers can watch the couple – the only two behind the counter – wrap and cook each order, though waiting time during peak hours can stretch to 40 minutes.

Their signature dish, the Quan Jia Fu ($15.90 for 15), is an assorted bowl featuring all their wontons with different fillings, from Mackerel, Pork and Chives to Preserved Egg with Pork. The wonton skins are delicately translucent. Mr Liu recommends having them served the Qingdao way – in the housemade kampung chicken broth.

Where: Stall 9 Food Republic, 04-02 Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Road
Open: 10am to 10pm daily

Founded in Xi’an in 2008, Jiao Tai Yuan runs two restaurants there and set up a training academy in 2022 to teach dumpling-making to cooks and chefs from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Europe. More than 3,000 trainees have since graduated.

Mr Fan Xin says: “We want to preserve and spread China’s dumpling culture beyond our borders.”

A standout here is the Pickled Mustard Shoots with Pork Pan-fried Dumpling ($8.80 for 10). The Sichuan-sourced Ya Cai Gan is soaked for three hours, rinsed several times, then fried in chicken fat and pork lard – yielding a deeply savoury filling that sets it apart from the usual chive-and-pork versions elsewhere.

Where: Stall 1 Food Junction, 04-01 Junction 8, 9 Bishan Place
Open: 10am to 10pm daily

The xiao long bao at Zhang Ji Yun Jiao are nothing like the petite, soup-filled Cantonese versions most Singaporeans know. Here, they are nearly 5cm wide, with a fluffy, chewy skin made from fermented glutinous rice wine lees, which take two days to prepare. The wine lees serve as a starter to ferment the dough for the skin, using a method similar to sourdough making.

This northern Chinese-style of dumpling skin is popular in Shandong, where the owners are from.

The Pork & Scallion Xiao Long Bao ($7.80 for six) features a lightly seasoned pork filling, while the Shandong-style Marinated Pork Xiao Long Bao ($7.80 for six) uses the northern-style filling of minced pork fried with fermented bean paste for a savoury depth.

Co-owner Zhang Jun says some locals are surprised by its unfamiliar texture, but soon return for more. “It’s different from what they expect, but it grows on them.”

Where: MR04, Food Republic @ VivoCity, 03-01 VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk

Its first outlet in Guangzhou opened in 2012 and, to date, the brand has close to 5,000 outlets in China, Hong Kong and Macau. With overseas expansion into Singapore well under way, the brand is eyeing Thailand next and planning outlets in Malaysia and Britain in 2026.

Across its Singapore outlets, bestsellers include the Shrimp & Vegetable Pork Dumplings ($9.80 for 10) in Cantonese Style Soup, and the Viral Mixed Sauce With Chilli Oil, made with a houseblend of soya sauce, peanut paste and red chilli oil for a nutty, fiery finish.

Also popular is the Shrimp & Crab Roe Pork Wanton Noodle ($7.80), which comes with six silky spherical wontons.