The Steam Fried Rice of Cebu is fried rice topped with shrimp and pork, and steamed in a rice cooker with its secret sauce. This was an original creation of Mr. Henry Uytengsu of Ding Qua Qua Dimsum House in Cebu, which pionereed the all-day dimsum dining in 1969.
After Ding Qua Qua (1 branch) which offers a signature dimsum buffet, Mr. Uytengsu’s group created Harbour City Dimsum House (3 branches) which featured the traditional dimsum carts wheeled to the customers’ table-sides. They then created the mall-based Dimsum Break outlet (13 banches) to originally address the dining needs of the mall’s late night foodies from the bowling alleys and cinemas.
True enough, the name “Dimsum Break” was inspired by taking breaks to eat dimsum during a bowling session. It is considered the Philippines’ version of Panda Express.
Check out what Dimsum Break has to offer…
DIMSUM BREAK’s 1st Manila branch is located at the 3rd Floor of The Annex, SM City North Edsa. They have a 2nd branch at the University Belt, and they plan to expand to more parts of the Metro.
It offers a modern fast food dining setup with a self-service, interactive counter.
The idea is to line-up and go through 4 interactive sections, beginning with the steamed dimsum. The staff can show you what’s available and can help you with your dimsum preferences.
All the steamed dimsum baskets are priced at P65.
They are famous for their siomai, which come in different versions.
(Note: There’s no hakaw in the dimsum offerings).
✮ Quail’s Eggs Shaomai (P65)
A popular siomai variation is this one, topped with quail egg, or…
Bacon Shaomai (P65)
…this siomai, wrapped with bacon. This was a bit too fatty, and I prefer just the original siomai.
Make sure to get their chili sauce, soy sauce, and ginger sauce to dip the dimsum in.
The 2nd station features their fried stuff. It’s intimidating at first, if you don’t know what to order.
The fried selections are already prepared and presented on the display counter.
Each serving is good for one person, with 3 fried pieces priced at P65 per plate.
Sweet & Sour Pork (P65)
This is classic sweet & sour pork with just the right amount of sweetness.
Spring Rolls (P65)
This was just OK. You can skip ordering this.
Garlic Pork Spareribs (P65)
This was really good and is best paired with the steamed fried rice also.
Stuffed Shrimps (P65)
The crust and stuffing was just OK.
This is a good crunchy appetizer that you can also dip in their sweet & sour sauce.
The 3rd section is for the rice selections. The Steamed Fried Rice is cooked in big rice cookers.
✮ The Original Steamed Fried Rice (P68)
Imagine fried rice topped with big chunks of shrimp and pork, with a savory sauce on top, then steamed in a rice cooker to get that saucy, almost congee-like rice topping.
First, you have to mix the sauce into the rice, and make sure to scoop the rice at the bottom all the way to the top.
Best enjoyed using chopsticks so that you can savor each piece of rice and meat topping.
The sauce and the toppings are very addicting. I have Cebuano friends who crave for this every now and then.
It’s already a complete meal on its own, but it also goes well with the fried dimsum plates.
(We had a taste test of Dimsum Break’s best sellers when they were applying to open a stall at Cucina Andare in Glorietta. :))
The last section is for the desserts.
I liked these simple, refreshing, and light coconut cream gelatine blocks.
I did not like the taste of this mango-flavored custard with gelatine on top.
Overall, I love Dimsum Break and The Original Steamed Fried Rice. I’m already craving for it as I write this blog post. I also like their Siomai, Garlic Pork Spareribs, and Stuffed Taro. And their interactive counter, self-service, all-day dimsum dining is a nice concept.
Budget is P150/person.
Congratulations, Dimsum Break on the first year anniversary of your Manila outlet! I do hope you expand to other malls so that even more foodies can enjoy your offerings. 🙂
DIMSUM BREAK
3rd Floor, The Annex, SM City North Edsa, Quezon City
Telephone: +632 501-2469, +632 501-2467
Facebook: Dimsum Break
Twitter: @DimsumBreak
✮ – Recommended 🙂
Related Blog Post:
Pickiest Eater in the World | DIMSUM BREAK NOW OPEN AT SM NORTH EDSA ANNEX!
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
P.S. Dimsum Break is finally opening a stall at Cucina Andare starting this week! Catch them at the Glorietta Open Park every Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. 🙂
P.P.S. The UBelt branch is located right at the corner of CM Recto and Morayta Streets, beside the Yellow Cab branch. The main entrance is at the Morayta side. It’s easy to miss as we don’t have quite a large frontage but the space opens up more inside.
Yahoo!!! You finally featured our all-time favorite!!!:) so crzaving for steamed rice now!!!
HI Yogi, Thanks for the recommendation! It was really good 🙂
Anton
hey Anton. im Caroline!!
keep the secret!!!!lol
GOOD Bye ~~Anton *^^*enjoy your trip!!
my husband is from cebu, and when he first told me about steamed fried rice that they used to eat in Cebu, deadma lang ako, kasi for us in Manila, “steamed rice” is just plain rice, right? He took me to Harbour City and it was just so yummy! So glad that there will be steamed rice in Manila!
Hope they open a branch in Glorietta 😀
I love that everything is priced for a student’s budget! Medyo nakaka-umay lang na lahat ng food is so meaty. They should offer some veggie side salad too
we tried it here on a whim, but we left satisfied.
had the steamed fried rice and 1 dimsum order. it was tasttyyyyy!
my 130++ was well spent.
This article just ruined the site’s credibility for me. Try comparing this establishment’s dimsum to any half-decent Chinese restaurant and judge for yourself.
Hope they open in Glorietta soon
craving ?
wala po ba kayong brach malapit sa cavite?
I used to eat a lot of these as a little boy growing up in Cebu long time ago. Everytime I eat at the branch at North Edsa it feels like I have been transported back in time! I hope they open one in the Ortigas area soon!