Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

Gone were the days when we used to see old ladies pushing trolleys and carts filled with piping fresh dim sum from the kitchen; shouting on top of their lungs …”Har Gau! Siew Mai! Char Siew Bao! Lor Mai Gai!”.

It’s no secret that I love dim sum. Could be the love for communal dining; seated at a round table where everyone’s eyeing for the same basket of dainty morsels, all the while chatting away in a loud yet not obnoxious fashion (every single soul around you is doing the same) and at times, vultures standing behind you wondering aloud when are you going to stop ordering platefuls of food.

It’s the experience. Of gathering a group of 3’s (since most dim sum come in triplets) or hoarding an entire table with food for photography sake or plain gluttony. Of waking up during the wee hours of the morning just so you can taste the freshest Har Gau or Char Siew Bao, instead of cold/reheated items. And how eating dim sum brought back extremely fond memories of breakfast at the old Foh San with my late grandpa.

The story continues with an early breakfast last weekend at Clan Dim Sum Restaurant @ Seri Petaling; famed for their Chicken Nest Bun (Gai Woh Bao). Read on for more ramblings on dim sum and life. Read the rest of this entry »

Hakka Minced Pork Ban Tiao (RM6/USD2) – Yes, for only RM6 per bowl and substantial portion too. And this .. was at Pavilion’s Ying Ker Lou.

Affordable eating in malls sounds so distant nowadays. Especially when you add cheap, delicious food and Pavilion to the mix.

Ying Ker Lou Restaurant has a few branches in the Klang Valley; all of them located in shopping malls. Naturally, the true Hakka food connoisseurs shy away from the rapidly commercialized brand. Paying almost RM20 for a bowl of Lui Cha rice is one thing, being served a feeble attempt of a classic Hakka fare is another story altogether.

Thankfully, the ‘yum cha’ session during high tea was met with rapturous applause. Though it was only two of us. But the vast selection of dim sum; coupled with reasonable price tags made it all so tempting to go crazy on the orders. Read the rest of this entry »

Two Variety Dumplings with Chicken Stock (RM4.30/USD1.40)

Indeed the name rings a bell. You remember Qi Yuan in Greentown? The dim sum house that opens until 1pm daily; and routinely packed with blue-collar workers on weekdays; while families and even tourists throng the place on weekends. Li Yuan is opened by the same brothers.

While Qi Yuan dabbles on a mixed Shanghai and Cantonese dim sum and noodles, Li Yuan is their brainchild for Beijing style of dumplings and slightly different style of dim sum; plus several varieties of steamed rice with toppings (“zhung zhai fan”).

Here’s their story …. Read the rest of this entry »

Fresh, piping hot dim sum from the round, wooden steamers @ Restoran Sun Kim Aik, Jalan Lahat – Last of the classic dim sum series. I hope.

Admittedly, I kind of felt ashamed that this was my first visit to Restoran Sun Kim Aik on Jalan Lahat in Falim near Menglembu. The name might sound unfamiliar, but ask your parents or even your grandparents about this decades-old dim sum shop on Jalan Lahat; and chances are they could have eaten there before.

My parents had their breakfast here ages ago. Just without me in tow. Hmm. But there were those odd times when Mum would take away (‘ta pau’) the famous Tai Pau (literally translated to “The Big Bun” … don’t roll your eyes, please) for breakfast at home.

And I was not impressed. This could lead to my instinctive aversion to reviewing the dim sum here; slightly biased owing to the lacklustre Tai Pau I have had a couple of times.

But what are the odds of their ‘usual’ dim sum outshining their signature pau? Read on to find out more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Always pleasant to find baskets of freshly-steamed dim sum on the table to grace the morning with …

Dragon Gate Dim Sum. Corny? Bombastic? Or plain ingenious?

For slightly less than a year, Dragon Gate Dim Sum Restaurant has been operating at this slightly quieter corner of Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara. (Map to come at the end of post). To no fanfare or barrage of brickbats, albeit the unmistakably-oriental branding and relatively prime location.

Shanghai Fried Rice Sheets with Shrimps (RM6/USD2) – Something you’d be hard-pressed to find in conventional dim sum outlets

Spearheading this Dragon Gate movement would be the dim sum ‘si fu’ (master) hailing from his stint in the kitchens of Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, and one whom has learned the ropes from a dim sum maestro from Hong Kong.

Ironically, chef Cheah comes from Ipoh too. 🙂

Read the rest of this entry »

Blissful – To be breathing in the crisp morning air of beautiful Ipoh once again. Although yeah, Ipoh’s far from the days of being a painting of one exceptionally serene old town now, yet the old saying’s true;

“There’s no place like home”

This dim sum restaurant in Bercham of Ipoh, located directly in front of the new Giant hypermarket is new. Well, relatively, since this has been operating for at least 3 months …  yet this was the first time we managed to hop over for a taste of their supposedly superior dim sum.

More details …. after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

“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. Read the rest of this entry »