Magic of Dim Sum in the Morning & 4 Million Now!
January 15, 2012 | 19,855 views
“Lau Sar Bao” (Flowing Golden Custard Bun) – Rich, golden hue infused with goodness (or sin, depending on how you look at it) of salted egg yolk; encased in a pillowy soft bun. The runny fillings would need some tight maneuvering in case you’re sharing a piece with another.
Now, I have never been really engrossed/enamoured by dim sum in KL. No, I don’t mean that the dim sum in restaurants parked in 5 star hotels; charging upwards of RM10+ per basket are not up to par (in fact, I rarely go to these places for dim sum anyway). And no, in case you think that I’m a biased supporter of Foh San @ Ipoh, you’re wrong too.
Aside from one dim sum unknown (to the younger generations anyway) in SS2 named Loong Seng, which was reasonably memorable, the other experiences were either horrible, or best forgotten. And let’s forget about Hong Kee ……
But then came the Jin Xuan experience. I was fairly skeptical. Dim sum restaurants charging slight premium for the environment, churning out basket after basket, plates after plates of generic dim sum from the kitchen? Been there, done that.
Tray load of dim sum for choosing; still a good option to be able to see what you’re ordering, in my opinion.
But colleagues (who are locals) kept showering praises on Jin Xuan; one outlet in Damansara Jaya, and another in Uptown (Damansara Utama). There are two more that I have heard of; one in Puchong while another’s in Kuchai Lama. And then we tried that other one in PJ Old Town once. Not sure if there are more. And we were supposed to arrive before 9am on a Saturday morning to grab a table! WHAT?!
Read on to see if I am a convert. Or vice versa.
Okay, so we relented. We gathered at Jin Xuan at an unGodly hour of 8.00am I believe. This WAS a Saturday, remember? The one in Damansara Jaya was temporarily closed, because of a breakdown. To which we drove a short distance over to the DU’s branch.
Good thing about eating at Jin Xuan? They have FREE valet parking. Or maybe I should rephrase that …. valet ILLEGAL parking, or DOUBLE parking’s more like it. Still, they got the job done on busy weekdays I suppose.
Har Gau (Prawn Dumplings), Siew Mai (Pork Dumplings), Char Siew Bao (BBQ pork Bun) and Lor Mai Gai (Glutinous Rice with chicken, mushrooms and waxed sausages)
Crispy Yam Puff (Woo Kok), Prawn Rolls with mayonnaise, Baked Char Siew Bun, and Fried Radish Cake (Lor Bak Gou)
Ordering was a cinch. They give this HUGE two pages menu (back-to-back), one side with steamed items and another with fried and baked ones. You grab an order chit, and go crazy with the doodling.
Prices hover at around RM4.00 per portion (slightly more expensive than your usual dim sum stalls), but everything was generally above average. Best was the Lao Sar Bao; or Flowing Custard Bun. I tried this TWICE at two different outlets before, and the salty-sweet cream was absolutely delicious. Seriously.
Although bear in mind that there were times when they overcooked the buns and the custard hardened, according to a friend and one of the reviews I read.
A sweet and sour pork + shrimp rolls with ham. I forgot the actual name, but this was good, like a funkier version of Ipoh’s ‘suin jook quen’ (sweet and sour beancurd rolls)
“Sang Chau Lor Mai Fan” (fried glutinous rice) was good at the Damansara Utama branch, but not at the one in PJ Old Town.
Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun (Steamed Rice Noodle Rolls with Mixed Shrimps and Cubed Char Siew)
In fact, I enjoyed most of the selection at Jin Xuan …. to a point that I started to wonder; how did they maintain the standards after going the commercialized route? Maybe, true fanatics of authentic dim sum based in KL/Selangor may argue otherwise, much like how I don’t recommend Yee Hup or Lou Wong to out-of-towners, Jin Xuan passed the acid test a few times now. I must have been there for about 5 times over the last two months.
Come at 10am, and you’ll be sun tanning with the hungry crowd. Or worse ….. standing guard like how the good folks at Foh San would.
Yeah, so there were missed and forgettables here and there … the yam puff and seaweed rolls for example. The spare ribs were not too magnificent either; at about RM2 per piece! But on the whole, the dim sum experience at Jin Xuan got the thumbs up. Even the HK Chee Cheong Fun was satisfactory, and the sambal was a good complement.
Oh … since they open from morning until night, this would be a really good spot for in-between snackings. We had dinner at the Damansara Jaya and PJ Old Town branches, without the crowd but with less items on the trays. Not to lament, since I don’t mind having the same old classics (Char Siew Bao, Lor Mai Gai, Har Gao and Siew Mai) again and again.
“And Motormouth would like to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for the amazing years together. This blog has just breached the 4 million hits mark!”
JIN XUAN HONG KONG DIM SUM (Damansara Utama/Uptown)
63 & 65, Jalan SS21/60,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
JIN XUAN HONG KONG DIM SUM (Damansara Jaya)
59, 61, 63, Jalan SS22/19,
Damansara Jaya,
47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
congras on your 4 million hits. amazing!
i love the lao sar pau at jin xuan. definitely one of the best i’ve ever had. and since i am reading this and almost salivating…the deal is to head in for lau sar pau before i go to work tomo morning.
[Reply]
[…] Motormouth From Ipoh – Malaysian Food & Travel Blog Filed Under: Asian Cuisine Tagged With: asian cuisine, asian recipes, chicken recipes, food […]
Ahh I miss the dim sum! Used to have it more often when I was staying in Puchong.. but the wait for tables could be a turn off sometimes. Still, I loved their lau sar pao and most of the steamed items!
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Yeah … not too bad, and dare say one of the better ones in Klang Valley? Though I know there will be haters. Anyway, I had horrible experiences with Hong Kee … so this is definitely miles apart.
[Reply]
Congratulations James on the 4 million hits, many more to come in the future!!!
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Thanks Kash. Let;s hope so … and this passion to write won’t fizzle out.
[Reply]
congrats james! always enjoy reading ur rantings hehe
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 7:26 pm
TQ Wei Zhi …. I have more ramblings in me than a 80 yrs old grandpa!
[Reply]
Congratulations MM on 4 mil hits!!! luv reading your blog and your photography.
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Thanks Marilyn. Very encouraging to hear that as well.
[Reply]
long time didn’t visit Jin Xuan due to the long waiting >.<
Congrats on the 4 mil hits!
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Thanks Choi Yen. Go during the in between hours like we did.
[Reply]
Well Done James,keep up the good work
[Reply]
looking forward to try some of the places You have been,especially those from our hometown Ipoh.James,any recommendation on which restaurant in Tanjong Tualang?much apprerciated to hear from u
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Hi stanley! Sorry the reply comes late. I would suggest Luen Fong or Lung Seng.
[Reply]
Congrats on your 4mil hit!
I like eating at Jin Xuan, but the weekend crowd is crazy….right up to 1pm. >.<
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Thanks Bangsar Babe. Yeah, crazy crowd. But try making it earlier and choosing the freshest dim sum possible. All the while having vultures by the side of your table.
[Reply]
Great that you have featured this restaurant. Serves pretty decent dim sum at what I consider to be reasonable prices.
Crazy crowds on the weekend but unlike Ipoh, the crowds only start at 9am ish… me and my friends showed up at 8am one weekend and they weren’t even ready to serve us!!
[Reply]
I tried the outlet at damansara jaya, i’d say it is good, much close to ipoh standard. but certain type of dim sum simply have too much msg/salt, very thirsty after eating.
And the one in pj old town, eerr…. i tried only once, it was almost as bad as hong kee. fried glutinous rice was half cold, chee cheong also not warm enough, fried prawn roll taste a bit like plastic on the spring roll layer ( maybe that is the result from reheating in the microwave oven or due to other reason not known to us), and, cold too.
In short, just not up to par at all, a truly horrifying experience!!!
[Reply]
apeng Reply:
May 6th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
I agree with Daisy for the Kuchai Lama Outlet, only once I tried and never return, especially the HK chee cheong fun I actually ordered for my son, but it was so sticky and salty (cold as well) which is totally unsuitable for children. I still wonder where had the previous owner of this outlet gone, their dim sums are much more tasty!
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Hmm…. I see. But that outlet was also crawling with people in the weekends! Crazy dim sum lovers. Like me. 🙂
But then again, in KL/PJ, where else can you find better dim sum? Please share.
[Reply]
tried eating at this new dim sum shop at kota damansara, dragon gate……taste good and very reasonably priced.
[Reply]
have tried the pj old town one, 1st try and will never go back again
Dim sum not tasty, and after eating, all of us feel so thirsty!
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
October 17th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Uh oh … that bad huh? I tried the one at KD last month or so.
Equally horrible too. The QC ain’t the same for each branch, that’s for sure.
So far, the D.Jaya branch is the best of the lot.
[Reply]
My favorite branch will be the Puchong one. If you guys had not try the Puchong one …should give it a try. They also have the Roast Pork Belly …amazing.
I do believe minor percentage that their quality might fluctuate and it is also depends your blessing/luck level you have with the food at that given day :p
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
October 27th, 2012 at 8:28 pm
Yup, just that the KD one was really bad. But the Damansara Jaya one has been consistently delivering.
[Reply]
The Winky Frowny is probably the most poorly comprehended emoticon on the Internets. It is presumably used to symbolize sorrow, with a little bit of sarcasm, cynicism, as well as hilarity. It is intending to assert “tragic, but you get it”, yet its meaning can not be any far less certain. We strongly discourage its use. And under no circumstances make use of Comic Sans MS.
[Reply]