A Dim Sum Experience

You know, when I was a kid I hated dim sum. I grew up in Kuala Terengganu (a place not known for dim sum obviously) and I used to spend the weekends (Friday) with my cousins. We had art class in the morning and after that my uncle and my late aunt would ferry us to a restaurant somewhere for lunch. Then we proceed to my uncle's house where we kids would settle down and play. Come dinner time, I would pray that it was NOT dim sum.

There was this place called "Chui Guek Lau" (not too sure of the spelling) where my late aunt loved to go for dim sum. So sometimes we ended up there for dinner. Not my favorite place. What I remember is the fried fish balls and the red chilli yong tau foo. The rest I forget. 

Thank goodness, in my adult life, I have come to appreciate dim sum. Though I can't say that I am crazy over it. Last Saturday, I decided to go to Tim Ho Wan to check out what the hoo hah is all about. I read that there are long queues at this place.

I was there with my auntie and my brother. We arrived at 1-Utama at 10:00am sharp hah..hah.. because we wanted to avoid the crowd. I understand that the restaurant now opens at 8:00am. We got a seat very quickly as the restaurant was not fully occupied as yet. 

At the table, there was the menu and an order chit. Ah! I love order chits! I prefer to tick what I want instead to having to tell the server. This time, my brother took charge.

Before coming here, I did some research just to get an idea what to expect. Well, the reviews were rather lukewarm (the ones I read lah) with mention of hits and misses and how certain items were "not the best I have eaten". But there was however, one item on the menu that got good reviews and comes highly recommended - the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork.

This one leh, everyone says must eat!

I am no dim sum connoisseur and I trust that I would be easy to please as long as the food is decent. My brother and I agreed that we should try Tim Ho Wan at least once to find out for ourselves if it was any good.

This was what we had :

This Braised Chicken Feet was my brother's choice. It was alright to me. I think I enjoyed the strips of beancurd skin (?) more. I only like chicken feet kerabu hah...hah...

Oh ya, they have condiments on the table and this one I believe is chilli bean sauce. I like it a lot.

This Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling was rather good. Crispy with fresh crunchy prawn and well complemented by the wasabi mayo. Next time, I want two servings.

Ah, this Baked Bun with BBQ Pork was a much anticipated item. I couldn't wait to dig in. It came piping hot and I almost burnt my tongue. The bun has a nice crispy exterior. Though I enjoyed it very much, I find the filling too sweet. I think I can eat 3 buns in one sitting. Next time.

The Steamed Spinach Dumpling was quite nice. I like it. My auntie however complained that there was too much chives. I don't know if there were any chives in there. I just walloped.

Being a beef lover, of course I had to order this Beef Ball with Bean Curd Skin. It was nice. And I shan't be hoity toity and say that it's not the best I have had because this is my first time eating it.

Generally speaking, I love chee cheong fan. This Vermicelli Roll with Sweet and Sesame Sauce was rather good except that I don't like the peanut butter thingy. I mean, I love peanut butter but not with chee cheong fun. 

Pork Dumpling with Shrimp aka Siew Mai. To me, this is synonymous with dim sum. Siew Mai = Dim Sum = Siew Mai. See I told you I am a simpleton when it comes to dim sum. My brother placed 2 orders for this. It must be his favorite. This was alright for me.

The Prawn Dumplings (Har Kow?) were good. But I find the skin too thick. Ahah! Becoming a fussy pot liao, huh? But I enjoyed the fresh crunchy prawns. Again, two servings of this next time.

And that's it! We could have eaten more that's for sure hah..hah... But this is just a test drive. Besides, we were heading to another auntie's house and she was treating us to lunch. So we should save some stomach space.

The damage for our late breakfast came to RM110.20. That's the price range to expect for a place like Tim Ho Wan. This sort of outing will be reserved for special occasions or the once-in-a -blue moon-treat.

Will I come back? Yes. But I will only stick to two or three items with 2 servings each. I think my brother agrees :)

I think these looked rather pretty. Maybe it's because I love green.