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Friday 3 April 2015

Jin Xuan Hong Kong (Dim Sum) @ Damansara Uptown

This dim sum restaurant (with 7 branches), Jin Xuan Hong Kong @ Damansara Uptown is always packed, so much so that they've set up large tents outside the restaurant to cater to the crowd.  The large tents basically obscure the signboard, so the name of the restaurant is not that visible.

There's a queuing system here...inform the lady at the entrance that you need a table for how many pax (also state if you wish for a table inside, where it's air-conditioned, or choose to dine outside under the tents) and she'll give you a number.  Then take a seat and wait for your number to be called up.

Once seated inside, we got down to ordering...they do give you a chit to pre-order (while you're waiting for your number to be called) but it's quite unnecessary as getting what you want directly from the servers is a lot faster.

This is the Bacon Roll @ RM12 (one of the more expensive items on the menu).  It's a fish + meat paste wrapped in bacon and doused with a sweet-sour sauce.  How can anything with bacon be not good.....it's unheard of, right? ;) 

Next came the Fried Beancurd Roll @ RM5 with a plump filling.  It was still good...we did order a 2nd plate....just not as good as the ones we had from Loong Seng with its super crispy thin bean curd skin.

They call this Fish Stuffed Root @ RM6 (I haven't the faintest idea why but that's what is written on the menu).  It resembled large fish balls that have been wrapped in a very thin bean curd sheet and fried...something different from the usual steamed fish balls offered at other dim sum places.  We liked this a lot!

The Pan-Fried Chives Dumpling @ RM5 was a 'miss' for me as I could hardly detect the flavour of chives in it.  I'm not sure why they felt that they needed to serve the dim sum on lettuce as the leaves looked well past their prime...better to just omit it.

The Steamed "Chee Cheong Fun" (rice noodle rolls) with "char siew" (barbecued pork) wasn't as great.  The sambal accompaniment fared better.


As always, I would not miss out on my must-have Deep Fried Brinjal @ RM5 and the ones here were respectable.

And so was the "Siew Mai" (Steamed Pork Dumplings)

But the Porridge (with Minced Pork Century and Salted Egg) which my mother-in-law wanted was not something I would order again.  Although Hong Kong style congee has a high degree of brokenness, the texture of this congee felt like it had been pulsed in a blender.  It was too smooth and thick for my liking + the flavour was bland.

The Fried Turnip Cake @ RM5 was another well received dish by all...if only it was served hot!

Finally, the Fried Sticky (or Glutinous) Rice @ RM5 was excellent.  The well cooked rice with bits of "lap cheong" (Chinese sausage), dried prawns, egg and scallions was truly fragrant and enjoyable. 

But my most favourite dim sum item from this place has to be the Steamed Char Siew Pau that I "tapau" (packed) for my lunch.  The buns were so soft, it literarily fell apart when I tore into the bun and the blackish char siew filling was simply "deliciouso"!!  I'm not sure if I liked this one better or the Loong Seng one more! I may have just found my new favourite char siew pau that trumps all other char siew paus...I'll have to eat it a few more times just to be sure.....kekeke!! :D

Service is fast and furious here....as they just plonk (nicely though) the plates of requested dim sum at your table without the need to write anything down.  The steamed dim sum baskets come with a coloured tape at the rim while others come in different shaped plates.  When it came time to settle the bill, the waitress would base the prices on the rim colours and plate shapes.

On the way out, I passed by the place where they store some of their dim sum and noticed that they serve a lot of fried yam stuff like yam encrusted prawns, yam puffs and yam rings with mixed vegetables.  This must be one of their signature items...and I missed it! :(  I'll be sure to order this the next time I'm here.

Check out a more recent post on the place here.

My Personal Opinion

I think there's a 'forever' crowd because all the dim sum here is decently priced (with most around RM4 - RM5)....plus decent portion sizes too....and decent tasting as well.  My favourites were the steamed char siew pau, fried sticky rice, fish stuffed root and bacon roll (in that particular order)...hee..hee!

It's another dim sum place that you can consider when you want a dim sum breakfast but be forewarned that not all the branches dish out the same tasty dim sums.  The ones that are decent are the Damansara Jaya (some say this is the best of the lot) and Uptown branches...and the ones to avoid are the PJ Oldtown and Kota Damansara ones.  I don't know this for a fact as I've only eaten the one in Uptown but I'm sharing what I've seen on other blogs.  It's a shame to open a branch (or branches) that don't quite live up to the standards and taste....it's like shooting yourself in the foot really! :D

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Restaurant
63G & 65G Jalan SS21/60
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-7729 8881

13 comments:

  1. My favourite gotta be that siew mai and chau lobak koh.. I always order that when I go for dimsum.. Oooo and fried prawn sui kows too with mayo, and wookok.. Yummzzz..

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    1. If you like wu kok, maybe you can try this place. I think it's their speciality here though I didn't get to taste it yet.

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  2. despite them having seven branches, i'm not sure i've visited them before! :) brinjals are my must-have too ... and the ones here look plump and reasonably juicy ... turnip cake is my second must-have, and ya, i want them steaming-hot! :)

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    1. I like it when the brinjals are big and thick. Yeah, nothing beats a freshly fried hot plate of carrot cake! =)

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  3. Ah, this is near my work place! Yes, it is always packed. I've been here only once as the dim sum at that time did not quite wow me and my partner. So we did not return. But seeing that you enjoyed most of the offering here, it warrants and revisit!

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    1. **warrants a revisit**

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    2. The dim sum here are decent tasting but not like 'wow'. But, if you do come here, the few must-try items are the char siew pau, sticky rice and fish stuffed root...and probably the yam stuff since they have so many variations of it.

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  4. The name looks somewhat familiar, I probably have seen some other branch some time ago. Seems like they have a good spread, but need to queue ahh... erm... :/

    And, whoever says bacon is no good will need to be slapped until he/she wakes up! :D :D

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    Replies
    1. I'm afraid if the restaurants are popular and you go during their peak times, queuing is a norm but your queue no. gets called quite quickly.

      Yeah, bacon rules! ;D

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  5. I have been to the branch in Kuchai Lama in 2011 a few times but no longer goes there anymore because I only eat dim sum once a month so would not mind paying more for better tasting ones.

    http://lifeafter38.blogspot.com/2011/02/sunday-dim-sum.html

    I think the other dim sum chain tastes nicer - the yuan garden dim sum - branches at PJ SS2 and a few in Puchong.

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    Replies
    1. I've seen blogs saying that not all the branches are good though. When it comes to dim sum, I find that this type of food garners the most mixed reviews coz there will always be some items you like and some you don't. My experience in Yuan Garden Dim Sum was no different but just like you like this one better, so did others, that's why the post is among my Top 10 most viewed posts of all time, I guess.

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  6. That's koay khak, right? I think it is called carrot cake in some places...but that is very confusing, as there is the actual carrot cake as well. Why is it called turnip (sengkuang, aka jicama) when it is actually radish (pek chai thou, in Hokkien), I wonder? Th eone here looks good though I don't quite recall having any with bean sprouts, anywhere.

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    1. We don't usually refer to it as koay kak here, it's a term more commonly used in Penang, I think. It's easier with the Chinese name of lor bak gou but, in English, I've seen it refer to as carrot, radish or turnip cake. It's more commonly referred to here as carrot or radish cake. I think calling it turnip cake is probably a misnomer but that was what was stated in their menu, so I just went with that. The ones here are usually (actually, most of the time) fried with bean sprouts.

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