The Han Room @ The Gardens, KL

The Han Room is part of the Oriental group of restaurants and with such a good reputation, posh decor and nice ambience, my family headed there to try out their dim sum. 

    

My first impression of the restaurant is its unfriendly reception staff, one of whom was quite cold and stand-offish. Perhaps they were busy, perhaps I was prejudiced. 

     

Anyway, next grouse was the method of ordering dim sum. Instead of giving us a piece of paper to mark the types of dimsum we wanted like other restaurants, theirs was quite confusing. Steamed and deep-fried items came in a cart which allowed us to pick what we wanted from the array of dishes. For congee and braised chicken feet, we had to go to a corner where the congee is prepared upon order. For  steamed rice rolls, we had to order from the wait staff. No one informed us of this beforehand - we only knew of it after enquiring about the dishes because they were not among the items in the cart.

    

The final thing which gave us a bad impression of the restaurant was the super long wait for the bill. We requested for the bill twice and it still did not come. I reckon if we walked out without paying, they wouldn't even know as they immediately cleared our table when we went to the reception to ask for the bill.

     

Additional Dipping Sauces

      

Siu Mai

   
 The Siu Mai was good but as you can see from the picture, the amount of roe on top was very little.
   

Har Gau

     
The prawn dumplings were good with bouncy prawns and acceptable dumpling skin.
   

Char Siu Bao

   
The Char Siu Baos were inconsistent in size but quite good. One grouse is that the char siu filling is a little too crumbly due to it being chopped into too small pieces.

      

Loh Mai Kai

 
The glutinous rice came with a huge piece of mushroom and was quite good.
   

Stir Fried Radish Cake

   
This dish lacked wok hei and it was served warm. The cubed radish cake was also slightly hard and tough like it was the previous day's leftovers whereas the beansprouts were not crunchy.

   

Yam Puff

   
The yam puff was also disappointing and the yam shell was quite hard instead of being soft and fluffy and crunchy. The filling, on the other hand, was good but typical.

   

Char Siu

   
Char siu was really good with sweet caramelised layer on the outside.
   

Braised Chicken Feet

   
The braised chicken feet was really flavourful and absorbed the marinade very well but it was not very tender.

   

Medallion Carp Congee

   
The congee was really smooth and pleasant. My mum detected hints of oatmeal mixed into the congee for added aroma and texture.
   

Prawn Cheong Fun

   

The prawn wrapped in rice rolls and soya sauce were good but they were stingy with the prawns >.> For each portion of rice roll, there was only one tiny prawn so if you bit the rice roll in two, the other side is just plain rice roll =.=

   

Overall, the Han Room is really disappointing. The dim sum was really just average for that sort of restaurant and price - I've had much better at Grand Palace Restaurant at Pavillion and the now-closed Crystal Jade Fine Dining Restaurant at The Gardens. Go there only for the ambience and decor but the service and food leaves much to be desired.

 
 
PawPoints: 2 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
   
The Han Room
Lot G243, G246 & G247, Ground Floor
The Gardens
Tel: 03 2284 8833
Mon - Fri: 11am - 11pm
Sat - Sun: 10.30am - 11pm

Old Hong Kong Legend Restaurant @ Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore

Our friend PMS brought us to Old Hong Kong Legend as she said it was one of the few nice dim sum restaurants at Singapore. You can trust that it's definitely nice as she has good taste(buds) =P

       

Ji Gei Yau Restaurant

          

Complimentary pickles

     
The pickles which had a hint of spiciness were very tangy and refreshing. I couldn't stop munching on them.

     

Barbecued Pork Puff Pastry with Macadamia

      
The Char Siu Sou here is really good - crumbly baked pastry with lots of delectable filling within.

     

Abundant pork

    

Salted Pork with Century Egg Congee

      
The congee is extremely good as it was silky smooth with a sufficiently thick consistency. I love how the yau char kwai (Chinese crullers) is deep fried to a crisp and crunchy texture. Too bad I couldn't have a bowl to myself =P

       

Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with Scallop

     
Dumplings were springy and well flavoured.

    

Steamed Mushroom Dumplings

     
Somehow I don't recall eating this... =.=

    

Steamed Shrimp and Pork Dumplings

     
Gigantic siu mai with prawns and lots of pork filling - very good.

    

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

     
The har gau is springy and fresh and the skin of the wrapper is really thin - thumbs-up!

   

Steamed Mushroom Dumplings

     
I found this a little odd with the many ingredients within the translucent wrapper but it tasted quite nice.

      

Steamed Chicken Claws with Black Bean Sauce

     
The chicken feet fully absorbed the delicious savoury flavours of the black bean sauce. Yummy =D

      

Steamed Flour Rolls with Mushrooms, Barbecued Pork and Shrimp

     
The cheong fun consisted of mushrooms, char siu and shrimp so it was tough to tell which part consisted of which filling. Nevertheless, it was good.

    

Pan-fried Radish Cake

       
I love pan-fried radish cake and this was cooked to perfection. The accompanying chilli oil (not pictured) was the perfect companion to the not-oily radish cake.

     

Deep-fried Chive Dumplings

     
The chive dumplings had an abundant amount of chives and minced pork - this was good too.

     

Panfried Shrimp Rolls Wrapped in Beancurd

      
This is something new...I have not seen this in KL before. Shrimps were encased in a dried beancurd wrap which was then deep-fried. It was extremely crunchy and the shrimps did not lose their moisture - very yummy!

     

Mini Egg Tarts

      
The mini egg tarts had a flaky, buttery pastry and smooth egg custard. Yummy when eaten piping hot =)

I gather this is like fine dining dim sum and I wouldn't mind returning here whenever I'm at Singapore. Really good stuff <thumbs-up>
 

   

PawPoints: 4 Paws

    
Old Hong Kong Legend Restaurant
City Hall MRT
#02-18 Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road

Singapore
Tel: +65 6336 3038

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum @ Damansara Jaya, PJ

This place is always packed with families on weekends enjoying a late dim sum brunch. This is a good place to go as the dim sum are affordable and there is a huge variety. The downside is that it is really packed on weekends and you have to register at the counter where they'll call you once a table is available.

      

Customers spilling onto the road

       

Minced Pork Century Egg Congee

     
The congee was good overall but it was not very smooth as you can still feel the rice grains. For this price however, it is acceptable.

     

Minced Pork Potstickers

     
This was quite good although the skin was a little thicker and the bottom of the potsticker was not crispy enough. I wished they provided 2 saucers of ginger and vinegar dip as one is not sufficient. Or at the very least, more ginger shreds. I think the potstickers at Esquire Kitchen are the best d^_^b

    

Prawn Cheong Fun

    
The cheong fun was smooth and silky and the prawns were of average size. Quite good, I'd say.

   

Loh Mai Kai

    
Loh Mai Kai was not bad though I think the char siu is a bit too sweet for my liking.

   

Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice

     
The Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice was value for money as the lotus leaf's fragrance permeated the glutinous rice. JS enjoyed this dish as it had lots of filling. The salted egg went really well with the glutinuous rice and bits of meat.

   

Abundant filling

     

Steamed Prawn Dunpling

     
The prawns here are big and bouncy. Very nice.
   

Steamed Pork Dumpling

     
The Siu Mai here are also humongous. Lots of filling with a sweet taste to it due to the pork juices.

     

Braised Chicken Feet

     
The chicken feet here are not intact =.= The sauce is also much thicker which wasn't really my preference.

    

Yam Puff

    
Yam Puff was good with crunchy outer layer and creamy yam within. The char siu filling was sweet and it complemented the taste of the yam on the outer later.

   

Deep Fried Prawn Dumpling in Cheese

    
This was the most expensive item on the menu =.= The fried wantans were very crispy and the prawns inside were huge. My bro loved the cheese topping.

   

Egg Tart

    
The egg tarts were flaky and eggy. JS thought that they were not too bad although he had tasted better ones elsewhere.

  

Cha Siu Bao

    

The char siu pau here had lots of filling although the pau skin was a bit too thick for my liking.

In conclusion, do come to Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum for a variety of relatively cheap dim sum. If you're looking for something refined, I'd suggest Grand Palace at Pavilion.

     

PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Onion

     
Restoran Jin Xuan Hong Kong 

59, 61 and 63, Jln SS22/19
Damansara Jaya
Tel: 03 7729 6866
Daily: 7am - 11.30pm

Congee @ Sang Kee Coffee Shop, Hong Kong

We originally came here to try their famous Dace Ball and Beef Congee but when we reached the shop around 9.30am, we were told it wasn't ready yet. Nevertheless, we decided to stay to try the other congee varieties as there were lots of newspaper review clippings taped to the shop's window. The shop was packed with people and it took a while to get a table to fit 6 of us.
   

Yau Char Kwai aka Chinese Cruellers (HKD 5)

   
As is the norm, we ordered some Yau Char Kwai (aka Chinese Cruellers) as accompaniment to the congee. They were very fresh and crispy but not extraordinary.
   

Hong Kong Style Milk Tea

   
Some of us ordered a cup of Hong Kong's famous See Mat Nai Cha which translates literally to Stocking Milk Tea, indicating the silkyness and smoothness of the milk tea. The tea was very concentrated with a strong tea taste which no amount of sugar and milk can help dilute. It does take some getting used to but I think it'll taste nice after your tastebuds have adapted to it. The long teaspoon looked like it belonged more in a glass of cold milk tea than on the saucer =P
   

Sliced Beef and Pork Ball Congee

   
Unfortunately, we were too busy digging into our respective congee to snap pictures of the other varieties -_-"
I had the Pork Ball and Fish Ball Congee and it came in a bowl smaller than a ramen bowl but bigger than the small orders you get at Sushi Zanmai. The congee was very smooth and the rice grains were all boiled down to a concentrated swirly mixture as Hong Kong congees usually are.
   
The pork balls and fish balls were HUGE and I'm not exaggerating here...they're the size of ping pong balls! I think I was given 3 pork balls and 4 fish balls so imagine 7 ping pong balls in your tummy lol. The pork balls were very compact, full of minced porky goodness and very flavourful. The fish balls, on the other hand, were translucent in colour and very pasty. I wasn't a big fan of it.
  
The congee comes with an individual serving of ginger slices and spring onion in superior soy sauce. It was served in a tiny bowl smaller than the average rice bowl and you can opt to pour as much as you like into the bowl of already flavourful congee. Check out the picture below for a (blur) picture of the condiments.
  

Condiments *taken from OpenRice

   
All in all, the congee was good, serving was large as is typical in Hong Kong and meatballs were huge. It was a shame we weren't able to try the famed Dace Ball and Beef Congee.

 

PawPoints: 4 Paws

 

Sang Kee Coffee Shop
Sheung Wan MTR Exit A2
7-9 Burd Street
Sheung Wan
Hong Kong
Tel: 2541 1099
Mon - Sat: 7am - 9pm