One Sunday morning, my hubby decided to take us for a dim sum breakfast at Yuan Garden Dim Sum House @ SS2 PJ.
We got there at around 10am and, although the place was packed, we managed to get a table almost immediately. Here's some of the dim sum items we ordered.
The "siew mai" (steamed pork dumpling) was fairly decent, both in terms of taste and size, though it didn't 'wow' us.
This is another type of steamed dumpling with salted egg yolk, though I couldn't taste much of the salted egg yolk.
The "har gow" (steamed prawn dumpling) was ok, the prawns were fresh, but would have preferred the skin to be a little thinner.
The steamed "fu chuk roll" (bean curd roll) in a sweetish sauce was another ok dish.
The fried "har guin" (fried prawn roll) with prawn paste filling was freshly fried, crunchy and served with a mayo dip. Though not the best I've had, it was still alright.
I didn't like the fried 'money bags' because the "wantan" wrappers and filling were soggy (at the bottom) as they were probably fried and left outside for too long.
One of my favourite items I never fail to order is the stuffed brinjals. I enjoyed the brinjals, served with a slight sweet bean sauce, because it was not as oily as most brinjals served in other dim sum places, plus I really liked the sauce. Just wished that they came in thicker slices of brinjal...actually the fish paste filling was thicker than the brinjal!
The fried "wor tip" (Chinese pork dumplings or Pot Stickers) was not bad as the skin was quite thin. This was probably why the dumpling skin was breaking apart (from being too thin....which is good but presentation wise, not so good-lah). It was served with shredded ginger and black vinegar but there was no sweet-sour chilli sauce....hmmn!
The "lor mai kai" (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) was good enough to be acceptable. The sticky rice was steamed till soft (although it could be softer) but the sides (the rim of the lor mai kai) were a bit hard. You'll find a piece of chicken, Chinese mushroom and "lap cheong" (Chinese sausage) with bits of minced pork (rather similar to the type you find inside a char siew pau aka steamed barbeque-pork-filled bun) in the lor mai kai and this was the plus point (for me).
On a separate visit, I ordered the Lotus Leaf Wrapped Steamed Glutinous Rice which was flavourful (not too salty) with bits of fatty pork, salted egg yolks, dried prawns and (maybe) mushrooms. The rice was perfectly soft.
The Stir-Fried Carrot (or Radish) Cake was ok (though we've had better) but wished it was fried a little longer to get a more crisp and caramelised exterior.
The Fried Carrot Cake (on its own) fared better as it had nice crisp edges though the flavour of the radish cake was still a bit lacking.
I would say that the "Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun" (rice noodle roll stuffed with barbequed pork) was passable as I found the char siew bits to be too finely chopped that you can't really taste the char siew. However, I did like the "ma lai chan lat chiew" (fried belachan chilli paste) that was served with it.
Their Homemade Fried Tau Foo with Fish Paste @ RM6.30 was surprisingly good! The smooth silken tau foo was soft and the outside was fried till crispy and it was served with a mayo dip.
The Fried "Sui Kow" @ RM6.30 were 3 pcs of very plump dumplings (very generous with the filling, I must say) though the skin was a bit thick.
I noticed someone having these Bacon Rolls on a previous visit and I knew I had to order it on my next visit. These were fish paste rolls wrapped with a somewhat crispy fried bacon and served drenched in a sweet tomato-based sauce. If you ask me, it didn't need the sauce. It was good but needed a bigger piece of bacon!
The Porridge, with bits of minced meat, salted egg, century eggs and topped with crispy "yau char kway" (Chinese crullers) was pleasant and subtle in taste.
The Egg Tarts had a flaky crust and a smooth and not-too-sweet egg custard. It was quite good although not the best I've had.
This was the "Char Siew Pau" (Steamed Pork Buns) @ RM1.70 each which I packed for home. The bun was not the fluffiest I've had but the blackish char siew filling was good (and the type I liked).
All the dim sum we had so far were decent enough (some better than others). But who knew that they had a 'hidden gem' in this place.....and it wasn't the dim sum.....it was their "siew yoke" (roast pork)!
When the server 'waltzed' by with the last plate of siew yoke on her tray, it looked so inviting (eat me, eat me) that I instinctively knew I just have to have it! So much so that my hubby took a piece before I could even snap a pic of it! When it looks good.....you know it will taste good!!!
Their "siew yoke" @ RM6.30 (for 10 pcs with 1 pc missing already) was fragrant and the skin was roasted till very crispy. And best of all, the meat was quite lean (with hardly any fat or very little fat), but yet didn't taste dry (unlike most siew yoke which normally has a layer of fat) + it was not too salty.
It was so good that we immediately ordered a 2nd plate....and I managed to take a pic of it 'whole' this time! Since, this is 'somewhat healthy' siew yoke (which is lean and less salty), we can 'console' ourselves by ordering more. I liked the 4S sauce (of sweet-sour-salty-spicy) that accompanied the siew yoke, which had a nice balance and quite a spicy kick to it, which left a tingling fiery sensation in my mouth.....oh yeah!
This glass of "kopi-o ping" (iced black coffee) @ only RM1.50 (in PJ some more) is the cheapest I've come across. Our total bill (for 3 pax) on our first visit came up to RM64.15 (which was pretty reasonable) with the dim sum prices ranging between RM3.30 to RM6.30 a plate.
My Personal Opinion
I would say that the dim sum here is average fare, at best, but not as bad as some of the reviews out there.
The prices of the dim sum are reasonable and parking is not a hassle.
And, who knew that we would find a good "siew yoke" in a dim sum place, of all places...wouldn't mind returning for their "siew yoke" and a bit more (average) dim sum!
Likes: Definitely the "siew yoke"...and the Fried Tau Foo, Stuffed Brinjals, Fried Dumplings, Bacon Rolls and Egg Tarts.
Dislikes: The "teem cheong" (sweet sauce) that we're supposed to eat the dim sum with tasted kinda weird...didn't like it (stick with the bottled chilli sauce or the one that came with the "siew yoke")!
Update: The restaurant has since relocated to 31 Jalan SS2/30, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Yuan Garden Dim Sum House Sdn Bhd
58 & 58-1 Jalan SS2/24
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
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