Tim Ho Wan is perhaps one of the more well-known dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong. Now that they have opened a branch at Mid Valley City, Malaysians need not travel to Hong Kong or Singapore for a taste of ... Read More

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A new management recently took over Fatty Cat Steamboat at Sunway Mentari and it is now known as Dim Sum King vs Steamboat Queen. The idea of offering both cuisines under the same roof came from the owner himself, who already owns an established dim sum restaurant in Sarawak. Currently, dim sum is available from morning to lunch hours while steamboat is available during dinner time.

With over 20 years of experience under his belt, the dim sum sifu has worked in some of the finest hotels in KL as well. So, you can be assured of good quality dim sum being offered here. The prices are reasonable too considering every item costs RM4.60, regardless of which you pick.
Compared to most places that offer only 3 pieces in each basket of Siew Mai and Har Gaw, you get 4 pieces here. We were satisfied with the taste too, and none of the dim sum we had was bad. Everything tasted exactly like how they should be and we especially enjoyed the Steamed Spare Ribs (with salted peanuts) and Har Gaw.

In total, there are around 50 different dim sum to try and that’s also inclusive of the handful of porridge and desserts they have. Despite the huge selection, there’s nothing really new or fancy about their offerings, as they are quite commonly found at other restaurants. Nevertheless, the dim sum items are well-prepared with good ingredients and you could see the effort put into making them.

Now for the steamboat, it’s eat-all-you-can for RM38/pax and you have three soups to choose from: pork bone, tom yam or porridge. We have always preferred the clear ones so we opted for the pork bone soup. It was prepared a day in advance with vegetable stock, ham, pork bones and some milk for a slightly smoother and richer flavour.
One good thing about the steamboat here is that even though the soups are made with natural ingredients without any added MSG, you don’t have to pay extra for them because they are already included in the price you paid for.

It’s a common perception that the seafood that comes with any eat-all-you-can meals are not as fresh. To be frank, I had the same feeling initially. But that changed after we had our meal here. Among the dozens of steamboat restaurants I have eaten at before, Steamboat Queen might very well be the first to meet my expectations for good and fresh quality seafood in their buffet spread.

Quite a number of ingredients you get for the steamboat are imported, such as the beef, lamb and mussels – these are from New Zealand. And the most premium seafood you could get here has to be the oysters which are shucked and replenished as soon as they are out.

How often do you get fresh oysters at a normal steamboat buffet? This has got to be the first for me. They also try to minimize the number of processed food by making the dim sum and meat balls themselves by modifying the recipes to use more mushroom and black pepper instead for flavour.

Besides NZ mussels, some other more premium seafood available include baby lobsters (!), bamboo clams, sabak clams, mud crabs, ming prawns (the expensive, sea type), peeled prawns (those used for dim sum filling) and scallops. For the price of RM38/pax, the value you get is more than a deal, it’s almost a steal.
Just the crabs and prawns alone could justify the price – moreover you get oysters, premium quality, delicious and MSG free soup, free wifi, air-conditioning and side dishes as well.
And before I forget, you could request them to prepare you a seafood dish based on the ingredient you pick. For example, you could pick some crabs and have them cooked in Kam Heong, salted egg or sweet and sour style. The catch? It’s only limited to 1 dish per table.

Some snacks and appetizers to enjoy while waiting for your food to cook include their homemade chuka idako (made with bigger than average octopus), fried chicken wings and fried Nam Yu pork belly. I thought the Nam Yu pork belly was nicely cooked to a crisp and cleverly seasoned in such a way that it wasn’t too salty – the taste was just spot on, perfect for snacking.

As for desserts, there’s Polar brand ice popsicles available in multiple flavours.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Dim Sum King vs Steamboat Queen immensely and could not recommend it enough, especially if you love steamboat. Besides dim sum and steamboat, they also offer a highly affordable lunch menu that features single rich and noodle dishes priced between RM5 and 7. If you are looking for value for money, you should definitely come here.

Dim Sum King vs Steamboat Queen
No.12 & 12A, Jalan PJS 8/17, Dataran Mentari
Petaling Jaya 46150
Tel: 03-5613 7707

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Business hours:
Tue to Sun (10am – 3pm, 5pm – 11pm)
Sat to Sun & Public Holiday (9am – 3pm, 5pm – 11pm)
Closed on Mondays

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Way Modern Chinois is a restaurant that specializes in contemporary Chinese cuisine set in a classy environment, making it a fine dining choice. And after looking up the word “chinois” only I realize that it’s the French word for Chinese. Well you learn something new everyday!
Most of the dishes offered in their menu are not new or foreign but prepared with a modern and exquisite twist. Imagine truffle roast duck and waterless chicken soup – don’t they just arouse your imagination?

But we were here to sample the latest offerings in their lunch dim sum menu. The first dim sum to arrive was the Skinless XLB priced at RM6 for a pop. The price might seem off-putting but understandable once you know the tedious amount of work and time involved to make it.
Molecular gastronomy is applied to this traditional dim sum where the soup and meat filling are turned into a bite sized jelly-like sphere while the vinegar and ginger dip is liquefied and turned into foam.
Sitting on top of the dim sum is the skin, which they mixed with squid ink then flattened into an oval shape. Designed to be enjoyed at one go, the Skinless XLB is as good as any Xiao Long Bao you’d get anywhere, but with an absolutely different texture.

Crispy Dumpling with Wasabi Mayo @ RM15. For me, this is quite the perfect spring roll. The wrappers are delightfully thin and crispy yet strong enough to hold the filling confidently without breaking into pieces with each bite.

Way’s take on the classic Char Siew Bao @ RM9 is to simply mix coriander into the bun’s dough for a subtle minty taste. It also helps that the char siew chicken is sufficiently flavourful with a fine gooey texture. Pretty darn good for a supposedly pork-based recipe.

The Prawn Dumpling with X.O. @ RM16 is great stuff and one of the must-tries here. The homemade X.O. sauce injected depths of flavour to the dim sum and made it extra savory with a touch of spiciness.

Crab Roe Dumpling @ RM19 – golden skinned with each containing a succulent filling of prawn and crab roe.

Though common, the Crispy Bean Curd Skin Roll @ RM17 was well prepared and they did not taste greasy at all (oil was hot enough) despite being a deep fried item. The outside edges were crispy while the inside stayed juicy – just like how they are meant to be.

Another variant of XLB available here is the Truffle Crab Soup Dumpling @ RM14. Sporting a luscious black skin, these dumplings are filled with aromatic soup and not a single drop of it was wasted.

Loaded with crab claw flesh and prawn, you could expect these Crab Claw Dumpling @ RM15 to be pleasantly rich in seafood flavour with a firm yet tender texture. They simply hook you in immediately at the first taste.

They might be a tad chewy for our liking but the cleverly made X.O. sauce made up for the Pan Fried Radish Cake. I think this is the same delicious sauce that was used on the prawn dumpling earlier.

The Sticky Rice Lamb Siew Mai‘s presentation sure is interesting. For those who don’t really fancy lamb, you might find the gameyness of the steamed meat balls slightly overwhelming.
As for lamb lovers like me, I’d want my lamb to taste like lamb so I am quite happy with it. This dish must enjoyed while it’s still hot before the sticky rice turns hard after it cools down. RM19 for 3 pcs.

After a string of delectable items, here are some that we (personally) think could be improved further. The Lotus Leaf Steam Sticky Rice with Duck @ RM10 tastes good overall with a commendable portion size but it certainly could use more ingredients, say maybe more duck meat.

The idea might be a good one but ultimately the Fish & Chips @ RM16 falls flat due to the mushy consistency.

There’s nothing not to be liked about the fluffy yet crispy exterior on these nest-like croquettes. Alas, the filling in the Seafood Curry Nest @ RM13 did not resemble the curry taste we were expecting; it’s more like a sweet Japanese curry.

Although not everything we had was amazing, the overall experience was still a positive one with a couple of good surprises especially the memorable Skinless XLB and Prawn Dumpling with X.O. Price wise, you’ll have to fork out more for the nice and classy décor – it’s a fine dining restaurant after all.
If you are not ready to splurge, you can give their weekday “Let’s Do Lunch Dim Sum Set” @ RM29++ per pax a try first. So do check it out on their Facebook page for the details.

Way Modern Chinois
G-1, WORK@Clearwater
Jalan Changkat Semantan
50490 Damansara Heights KL
Tel: 03-2095 1118
Business hours: Mon – Sat (12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 10.30pm) Closed on Sundays

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I have been searching high and low for an excellent dim sum restaurant in KL that won’t cost a bomb. I was extremely strict though: the restaurant must serve fresh to order dim sum, not crowded, priced around RM100 per pax, and better if it’s eat-all-you-can. With that in mind, my options are narrowed down to only a handful of Chinese restaurants that are mostly in hotels.
Now, as you can probably tell from the title of this blog post, my recommendation based on the criteria mentioned earlier is Celestial Court of Sheraton Imperial hotel.

For those interested to know more before I bombard this post with photos of the dim sum. Here’s the gist of Celestial Court’s All You Can Eat Dim Sum promotion:

• The promotion is valid until 31st December, 2015
• It is available on every Sunday and public holidays from 10.30am to 2.30pm
• Price: RM114 nett/pax (food only)
• The restaurant is pork free and features 70 authentic and innovative Cantonese a la carte items – means the dim sum is not steamed in batches and laid out on a tray or table. Waiting time is between 5 to 15 minutes.
• SPG members enjoy 15% off the bill (if you don’t have it, can apply on the spot before you pay)
• Citibank card holders can enjoy up to 45% off the bill (details here)
• My bill came to a total of RM204 for 2 (RM102/pax inclusive of Chrysanthemum tea) after the discount I got from the applied-on-the-spot SPG member card
• Food’s generally fresh and good, restaurant is classy and the overall experience was great. Besides dim sum there are also seafood on ice, roast duck and chicken, Western cakes and desserts. So it’s super worth it and hence highly recommended.

Since the selection of dim sum is quite huge, we only managed to try less than half of what they have to offer. You are given a smaller menu booklet that is divided into steamed and deep fried dim sum, special menu items that can only be ordered once, appetizers, soups, vegetable and bean curd, rice and noodle, and chef recommended dishes. Based on what we sampled, the dim sums marked with ‘*’ are recommended:

*Wok Fried Scallop with Fungi and Celery

*Crystal “Spinach Phoenix Eye” Dumpling with Scallop and Prawn

*Celestial Court Steamed ‘Har Kao’

*Steamed ‘Siew Mai’ topped with shredded Scallop and Pacific Clam

*Stir Fried Shrimps with Honey Bean and Fungus

*Chinese Cruller stuffed with Squid Mousse served with Thousand Island dressing

*Sweet and Soup Grouper Fillet served with Pineapple

*Stuffed Mushrooms with Shrimps and Squid Mousse served with Crab Roe Sauce

*Skillet Shrimps with Capsicum and Mushroom in Hot Bean Sauce

*Crystal Vegetarian Dumpling with Truffle Oil Essence

*Steamed Grouper Dumpling with Century Egg and Asparagus in Vinegar Soya

*Steamed ‘Lion Head’ Beijing style with Abalone Sauce

And here are some picks that were not great but won’t disappoint either: Homemade ‘Yong Tau Foo’ with fish paste.

Steamed Chicken with Fish Maw in Hong Kong style

Steamed Charcoal Soft Bun stuffed with Chili Crab Meat filling

Soups are generally good with plenty of seafood, shown above: Seafood soup with Snow Fungus and Egg White

Poached Seafood Dumpling served in Superior Chicken Consomme

There were only two items that did not meet our expectations. Shanghainese ‘Siew Long Bao’ in Tom Yam broth: the dumpling and tom yam tasted good on their own, but weird when paired together (personal opinion). Steamed Prawn with Julienne Ginger and Bird Eye Chili: bland and underwhelming in portion size and presentation considering it’s one of the ‘one time order’ items.

While waiting for your dim sum to arrive, you can get some prawns, salmon, crabs and clams from the seafood on ice. Next to this are the various dipping sauces and roast meat served in small plates. We only tried the roast duck and it’s pretty good compared to what the other similar restaurants are serving.

For desserts I think you won’t be disappointed with the selection that they have. Since we did not expect these to be included in the promotion, it was a rather pleasant surprise.

Conclusion: Although it’s an eat-all-you-can kind of thing, they certainly did not skimp on the quality of the food served. So if you are looking to enjoy a slow-paced, delicious dim sum meal with your family and friends in a gorgeous restaurant, then do not look any further – Celestial Court’s the place for you. We enjoyed every minute of our time here, it’s simply money well spent!

Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial Hotel
Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2717 9302

Business hours: Mon – Fri (12pm – 2:30pm)
Saturday (11:30am – 2:30pm) Sunday and Public Holiday (10am – 2:30pm)
Daily (6:30pm – 11:30pm)

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If you want to eat at Tuck Cheong, you need to come early before they run out of dim sum. Tuck Cheong opens as early as 6am and it was and still a haunt for Pudu‘s senior citizens to enjoy tea and mingle. Most of the customers here are regulars and some of them even have their breakfast here on a daily basis.

Anyway, let me just begin by saying Tuck Cheong’s homemade dim sum is not great by today’s standards. What they serve are traditional dim sum prepared with old recipes.
The current generation (those who are accustomed to eating at Jin Xuan/Kam Hin) will undoubtedly find the dim sum here bland and similar tasting since they share the same meat base. A lot of sauce dipping is required to get flavor out of the dim sum, which are mostly steamed items.

That said, keep your expectations low and just go for the sake of nostalgia. Everything is almost self service here – there’s no one to carry the baskets of dim sum around for your choosing pleasure.

Instead, you will have to queue at the steamer where the owner or worker will retrieve them for you. Chili and sweet sauce are here as well and you will have to scoop them into the small plastic saucers provided.

Although we did not find the dim sum any good, we did not regret eating here because we can’t really complain for the prices they charge. In total, our breakfast cost only RM17.30 for 5 plates of dim sum (RM3 each) and a pot of hot Chinese tea.

Tuck Cheong might not be the best place to have dim sum but I am sure glad they are around to cater to the older generation. At least they have somewhere to gather and spend their mornings, so for me that’s the bigger picture.

Restoran Tuck Cheong 德昌饱饺茶餐室
Jalan Kancil, 55100 Pudu
Kuala Lumpur
Business hours: 6am till finish

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The Ming Room is probably the most sought after dim sum restaurant in KL currently. It was full house, packed to capacity on a Sunday noon and many customers (including us) were waiting for tables to free up. On Sundays and Public Holidays, they have a special menu which highlights a number of dishes that are not in the dim sum category.

For dim sum, they are still sticking to traditional where you have to wait for the push carts to reach your table. From what we experienced, this could take a while because the dim sum runs out faster than they are being replaced. So feel free to order from the staff if the push carts don’t come your way.
That said, some will be offered without you even have to ask, like the roast pork and char siew. As soon as they come out from the kitchen, they will be peddled around the restaurant.
Although we never thought of having it, we took it anyway. So, I guess this method works. Ming Room’s roast pork @ RM18 had an enjoyable crackling but overall it was just alright and certainly won’t unseat your favorite roast pork in town.

Steamed Pork Ribs – great flavor but the ribs are too boney and there weren’t too much meat on them too. Still, would order again just for the taste alone.

Siew Mai looked impressive and posed such a stark contrast to the steamed pork ribs earlier. This one’s plump and succulent with generous filling of prawn and pork, therefore extremely satisfying.

The same goes for the Scallop Dumplings, they come in pretty big portions and nearly filled up the entire basket. Taste wise it felt like an upgraded version of har gao with a scallop on top.

Har Gao was delicious; albeit having a thicker-than-preferred skin. I am seriously nitpicking here.

I usually omit char siew bao and go for the puff version instead. Ming Room’s rendition is as good as it could get with a light and crumbly puff pastry and sweet and savory char siew filling.

Egg tarts are made the way I like with layered puff pasty so I am just going to say it’s delicious, melt in your mouth kind too.

Fried Carrot Cake won’t disappoint as it had sufficient wok hei imparted for a nice smoky flavor, though I feel the pices could have been sliced smaller. If you have a keen eye you’d notice that the bean sprouts had been trimmed, both head and tail.

Since there weren’t any price tags on the dim sum, nor were we provided with a dim sum menu, I am not sure about their individual prices. But when the bill was tallied, I could see that there are RM10, RM9 and RM7 items. We had ‘Guk Bou’ for tea and it was charged a reasonable RM3 per head. Lastly for your information only, the restaurant serves sharks fin so there’s that.

The Ming Room

3rd floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre
Tel: 03-2284 8822
Business hours: 10am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm

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This was actually my 3rd attempt to have dim sum at Hee Lai Ton (Pudu) restaurant. The first time we were here, the restaurant was closed temporarily for renovation which was why we went to The Ming Room instead.
In the following visit we came slightly too late and they were already out of dim sum. So this time, I made sure we arrived early to avoid another disappointment.

Even though Shaw Parade looks like an abandoned mall from inside out, you’d be surprised by the amount of diners at Hee Lai Ton. It’s almost as though everyone who walks into the dead mall is here for the dim sum. So that says a lot about their popularity.
While the restaurant might excel in their food department, the same couldn’t be said for their service. Pudu’s Hee Lai Ton is notorious for its horrendous service especially during weekends and public holidays.

For a normal Chinese restaurant, I’d rate the Char Siew here as excellent and all of us enjoyed it. The moment the char siew arrived we knew it was going to be good by looking at the glistening glaze of coating on it.
It’s so well marinated that you don’t need any additional sauce to further flavor it. Not to mention it had the right amount of crispy caramelized marinade too. Those bits provided the sweetest and most concentrated flavor, simply sinfully delicious. RM25 for a small portion, enough to be shared among three pax.

My only gripe was that the cut we got was too lean (still tender though), if it had more fats then it should taste considerably better. I am not sure if you could actually specify your preferred cut for the char siew since it’s not an option in the menu, but I reckon there’s no harm trying to ask – just make sure you ask the ask a helpful staff instead of the grumpy ones.

Unfortunately everything from here onwards started to go downhill, slowly but surely. Siew Mai @ RM8.50 was not bad but nothing exception either. I felt it was a tad underseasoned and could use more prawns in each piece.

Steamed Spare Ribs @ RM8.50 is good. At least it’s meatier than what Ming Room offers and the overall flavor is not too salty compared to the others in town.

Baked BBQ Pork Puff @ RM7 is a personal favorite that I never miss ordering at every dim sum restaurant. Hee Lai Ton makes it slightly more special by adding walnuts on top of the puffs lending it a crispy texture as well. Overall, somewhat enjoyable but far from the best I’ve had.

The Celery & Garlic Dumpling @ RM8 looked promising but as soon as we tried to lift it from the basket, the skin broke. A pity because the fililng was actually quite tasty.

Steamed Meat Balls with Diced Water Chestnut @ RM8 – normal stuff.

Spinach Chee Cheong Fun with Prawns @ RM8 – great tasting superior sauce but the amount of prawns in each roll is miserably little.

Loh Mai Kai @ RM7.50 – moist, sticky and savory. The chicken had a strong ginger taste which could be a turn off for some.

In total, we spent close to RM99 for this meal which I feel is still reasonable considering it’s the same price we paid at the Ming Room. However, this time there were the three of us instead of the usual two.
Lastly, if you are not the patient type, you should seriously think twice before eating here. Either you reach here freaking early before the crowd swells, or prepare to loiter. For your information, our dim sum arrived 30 minutes and an hour apart.
Due to that we spent more than two hours at the restaurant, with more than half of the time just waiting. Come to think of it, the reason the restaurant is so packed is because most of them are still waiting for their food so they are not ready to leave!

Hee Lai Ton Restaurant (Pudu)

3rd Floor, Shaw Parade
Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, Off Jalan Pudu
55100 KL
Tel: 03-2148 8666

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Despite the name, Hong Kong Sheng Kee Dessert is actually a chain from Singapore. Besides desserts, Sheng Kee also offers a selection of Hong Kong cuisine including snacks, dim sum and various rice and noodle dishes.
Although I visit 1 Utama quite frequently, I have no idea why I never noticed this restaurant until recently. I should be kicking myself because if I had discovered Sheng Kee earlier, it’d be one of our to-go places to eat in the mall.

Sheng Kee’s signature Combination Noodle @ RM17.90 is a thing of a beauty. The amount of toppings that they place on the wantan noodle itself is probably worth the price, moreover considering the restaurant’s setting and location. You get 3 wantan dumplings, 2 sui gao and a rather generous cut of char siew too.

The noodles’ texture is exactly like what you’d expect from a HK wantan mee, thin strands with a bite yet void of any ‘kan sui’ taste. It was nicely seasoned too and the sauce had a perfect mix of sweet and savory flavor.
The char siew was just alright, so we enjoyed the dumplings more. If you ask me, I think this tastes better than another restaurant nearby which specializes in wantan mee.

Snowy Char Siew Bun @ RM6.90 is a popular starter here and I highly recommend it especially if you haven’t had anything like this before. But for those who have been to Tim Ho Wan, you should be familiar with this, as they are essentially the same thing. Taste wise, it’s delectable but I thought they could have been more generous with the char siew filling, as half of the bun was filled with air.

Crispy Beancurd Skin with Shrimp Cheong Fun @ RM7.90 – a clever combination that I highly enjoyed, even tastier when had with their homemade chili paste. And that’s coming from a person who doesn’t fancy cheong fun at all.

I’d also recommend the HK Carrot Cake @ RM5.90, it was flaky with slices of Chinese sausage stuffed in between and goes extremely well with the chili paste too.

Siew Mai @ RM5.90 – decently made and surprisingly affordable.

For a fuller meal, the rice dishes should fit the bill. The Crispy Braised Chicken Drumstick @ RM15.90 comes with a whole chicken thigh that’s drizzled in a sweet soya sauce.
As you can see the rice was also well cooked, fluffy with separate grains. The addition of fragrant onion dried shrimp on the side was a nice touch. Besides adding texture, it also boosted the overall flavor with an umami punch.

Another rice dish we had was the HK Braised Beef and Tendon Rice @ RM15.90. I liked that the braised gravy was rich but not salty, while the beef was tender and easy to shred.

The Gold-dusted Chicken Cutlet Noodle @ RM15.90 would be perfect for the youngsters. There’s everything to like about the juicy boneless fried chicken thigh, but what really made it stand out was the blend of ‘gold dust’ strewn on it – it was dangerously addictive.

If you feel like having something light, you could opt for their congee. The most elaborate choice on the menu has got to be the Supreme Congee with Sliced Fish, Prawn, Scallop and Sliced Mock Abalone @ RM17.90.
The congee itself is pretty good (for Malaysian standards), it had the soothing gluey texture resulted from slow cooking, and the seafood which provided most of the flavor was impressively fresh too.

As for the desserts, I am pleased to say that Sheng Kee lives up to their name. The Mango Pomelo Sago @ RM8.90 was the best I have had so far, hands down beating all the others in town.
The Black Glutinuous Rice @ RM9.90 on the other hand was not bad, could have been better if it was a lot thicker in consistency but that’s just my personal preference. Nonetheless, I highly enjoyed the coconut ice cream and the honey pearls that came with it.

Another mango dessert that’s worth a try is their made to order Mango Glutinous Rice Roll @ RM5.90. I don’t know why, but I have a nagging feeling that this is somewhat underpriced, as other dessert shops would easily price this close to RM10.

The drinks at Sheng Kee deserve a mention as well. If you like your drinks strong in flavor, then you wouldn’t be disappointed with their Green Lime with Plum Juice or Lychee Peppermint, both @ RM5.90. They are nice and refreshing alright, especially the one with plums. However, they could prove to be a tad too tasty for some.

Overall, the food we had was enjoyable and reasonably priced for the portion you get. Frankly speaking, I had my reservations before coming here due to the reviews I read on their FB page.
But as it turned out, almost everything was more than satisfying and even exceeded my expectations for a chain restaurant. My dining partners, some of them who had eaten at Sheng Kee a couple of times before this, also agreed that the meal experience we had was better than what they had previously.
Lastly, for your information, Sheng Kee can also be found in IOI City Mall, and their third and latest outlet is located in Paradigm Mall.

Hong Kong Sheng Kee Dessert

Lot LG 311b, 1 Utama Shopping Centre
47800, Petaling Jaya
Business hours: 10am – 10pm daily

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Dim Sum & Co is the only pork free dim sum restaurant in Publika. Currently, it shares the same space as The Beer Factory X Press, which means you could enjoy dim sum during happy hours if you want. The combination is definitely something new worth checking out.

Their colorful menu is loaded with photos so the ordering process should be friendly enough even for those who don’t take dim sum regularly. Besides the common steamed and fried items, there are a couple of interesting creations here that set them apart from the rest.
The Cheesey Chicken & Onion Puff @ RM8.90 is like a tart, made with a crumbly cheese pastry that encases a salty/savory chicken and onion filling. It lets you experience different layers of texture and flavors that come through with each bite. Delicious and highly recommended.

The Szechuan Dumplings @ RM8.90 are so good we had seconds. Each dumpling is filled with a dense yet succulent meat filling that goes really well with their homemade sambal chili sauce.

I can’t help comparing the Oriental Chicken Wings @ RM6.90 with the steamed spare ribs we get at the non-halal dim sum restaurants. I think I actually prefer this more and that alone says a lot about the dish.

Crispy Avo Roll @ RM9.90 is also recommended, all of us like how the contrasting textures hold together. It feels more like a dessert to me though because of the sweetened avocado cream filling.

Next up, some of the regular stuff like Siew Mai @ RM7.90, Har Kau @ RM9.90, Homemade Fish Ball @ RM6.90, Loh Mai Gai @ RM7.90, Oriental Carrot Cake @ RM9.90 and Fluffy Yam Bites @ RM9.90.
All of them taste just as expected and none of them were bad even if I had to nitpick. In fact, they are cleverly made in the sense that the flavor and texture really mimics those made with pork.

For kids (and adults alike), the Molten Charcoal Bun @ RM8.90 ought to be a fun and delicious mess to enjoy. Simply poke a hole with a chopstick, squeeze it lightly and watch as the salted egg custard ooze out from the soft pillowy bun.

Among the dozen of dim sum we had, both the Charcoal Egg Tartlet @ RM9.90 and Crispy Beancurd Cheesy Shrimp @ RM6.90 were the OK ones.
They aren’t exactly bad, but the egg tarts have a sad ‘sinking’ look, while the latter could have had more prawns in them – which is weird considering they didn’t skimp on the ingredients for the rest.

Currently, Dim Sum & Co only serves two kinds of desserts – Mango Pudding and Lemongrass Pudding, both at RM8.90.Presentation wise, they are definitely nothing spectacular and could use some rework to make them look more appealing.
That being said, as far as the taste is concerned, we found them to be well-tuned, refreshing and enjoyable. If you could only pick one, I’d say go for the lemongrass one.

Overall, Dim Sum & Co might not appeal to everyone especially those who frown on pork-free dim sum. Nonetheless, it’s a great place to enjoy a dim sum meal with your Muslim friends if they don’t mind that beers are also served in the same premise.
This is also one of the few dim sum places in town that opens till midnight. So if you have a sudden late night crave for dim sum, you know where to head to. And lest I forget, all prices mentioned are nett.

Dim Sum & Co

A2-G2-1, Publika Shopping Gallery,
Solaris Dutamas, 50480 KL
Business hours: Tus – Sun (8am – 12am)
Tel: 03-6211 9808

The post Dim Sum & Co – Pork Free Dim Sum @ Publika appeared first on Malaysia Food & Travel Blog.

Tao Chinese Cuisine is InterContinental Hotel KL‘s signature restaurant and it has a reputation of serving some of the best pork-free dim sum in town.
What better way to try them out than indulging in their all you can eat dim sum promotion? Priced at RM78 nett per person, the buffet is only available in the weekends and public holidays.
It’s ala carte style so you will be ordering off the dim sum menu which includes selection of various steamed and deep fried dim sum, congee, rice noodle and snacks. In total, there are 49 items to choose from. With that said, I feel the overall quality of the dim sum here is just alright.

Lets start with the better ones first. Steamed Crystal Prawn Dumpling (Har Gao) was probably the best dim sum we had that day at Tao. It was also the only item we bothered to ask for seconds.

Steamed Rice Noodle Roll with Prawns – the prawns were big and succulent but the soy sauce was a tad bland. Fortunately, the dried shrimp chili paste made up for it.

Deep Fried Seafood Dumplings – nicely executed so complaints.

Mini Egg Tarts – warm and oven fresh with a nice buttery fragrance. My only gripe was that the custard filling could be a bit sweeter.

Baked BBQ Chicken Puff Pastry – the crust was rightfully crumbly and melts in your mouth. The BBQ chicken filling was forgettable though.

Crispy Salmon Skin with Salted Egg Yolk – this was delicious and worth trying.

Deep fried Baby Octopus with Spice Salt – flavor was spot on but the octopus lacked the crunch to make it great.

And now for the lacklustre stuff. Steamed Chicken Siew Mai with Mushroom – underseasoned and the texture doesn’t taste like siew mai’s at all. Some may say ‘oh because it’s not prepared with pork’ but I know that some pork free dim sum could still be good.

Steamed Chicken ‘Xiao Long Bao’ – bland to the point of almost being tasteless.

Steamed Boneless Chicken Wings in Black Bean Sauce – it had a foul chicken smell, I took a bite and sent it back.

Steamed Diced Chicken with Mushroom – the chili oil tasted odd with a sourish flavor, maybe they were a bit heavy handed with the vinegar.

Steamed Custard Bun – the custard filling solidified and was not runny as expected, which is a shame considering the custard tasted pretty good.

From what I could see, it seems that Tao has difficulties recreating the taste and texture of dim sum which are supposed to be made with pork. That could explain why the tastier things we had were seafood based.
So if you ask me if the buffet is worth going for, I’d say no. For dim sum buffet, Celestial Court of Sheraton Imperial is still my top recommendation. Thus far, it’s simply unbeatable both in terms of taste and value.

All You Can Eat Dim Sum @ Tao Chinese Cuisine

Valid on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
From 11:30 am to 2:30pm (till 31 July 2016)
RM78 nett per person, RM40 nett per child (6-10 years old)
InterContinental Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2782 6128

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