Jin Xuan Hong Kong @ PJ Old Town

The last time I came here for dim sum, well not exactly here but at another branch of theirs in Damansara Uptown, I never got to try any yam stuff which I didn't know then was one of their signature items.  They had so many variations of it....yam puffs, yam encrusted prawns, yam rings with mixed vegetables and maybe more! ;)

Since we were in the vicinity one Sunday morning, we decided to drop by Jin Xuan Hong Kong @ PJ Old Town and finally get to try their signature item.

True enough, as soon as we were seated, one of their servers was peddling the yam ring with mixed vegetables but I decided against it as I thought the dish may be too filling.  This crispy yam ring, in a larger form, is a staple of many tai chow restaurants (referred to as fatt putt) and it usually comes with a filling of kung pao chicken with cashew nuts or an assortment of mixed vegetables.

I wanted to have a go at more dishes, so I politely said no to the yam ring. ^_*  The menu showcases their signature items, some of which I've already eaten at their Uptown branch.  These were what we had this round.

While having your dim sum, you'll see many servers coming by to peddle some of their items...and they're usually the more expensive ones (so clever!) like this Marmite Spareribs @ RM13.  They were sticky-sweet alright but you'll be doing a fair bit of jaw exercise chewing down the ribs.  Suffice to say I won't be having this again.

Since I've had the carrot cake stir-fried with taugeh before (and they weren't served steaming hot coz they were pre-fried ones sitting in the dim sum cabinet), I decided to go for the Deep-Fried Turnip (or Carrot) Cake @ RM5.50 this time.  It was really good and among some of the better ones I've had (and the best thing is you don't need it to be served hot).

We had to order the Siew Mai @ RM5.50 again coz this was one of very few siew mai we really enjoy eating.

A dim sum item we repeatedly order is the Fried Beancurd Roll @ RM6.50.  The beancurd skin is crispy but the prawn filling is minced, not whole prawns like the ones we love at Loong Seng.

Deep-Fried Eggplant @ RM6.50 is another must-order item for us and these were plump and juicy with a thick filling of fish paste.

The Lor Mai Kai (Steamed Glutinous Rice) @ RM5.50 is pretty decent too.  The glutinous rice is nicely cooked with the desired softness.

What can we say, we love our glutinous rice, so another order of the Fried Sticky Rice @ RM5.50 (which we enjoyed the last time) was inevitable.  The rice was fragrant with bits of lap cheong (Chinese dried sausage), dried prawns, egg and scallions.

Next, we tried something new, something I saw in their dim sum cabinet.  It looked like their house-made Fried Fish Cake @ RM10 studded with some chives or green onions.  Not too bad.

While prying into their dim sum cabinet, I also chose some kind of fish, prawn and meat paste-stuffed fried beancurd puffs @ RM10.  When I pointed to it, the server immediately squeezed some mayo over it before I could stop him.  Not sure why the mayo is not served on the side but I didn't want that so I asked him to give me another one without.  This turned out pretty tasty and one of my favourite items here.

Of course this time round, I must not miss out on trying their yam items, so I got the Fried Yam Pastry @ RM5.50.  The yam paste turned out alright and the crust was light and crispy but it was the minced pork filling that I didn't fancy.  Unfortunately, this won't be among some of my favourite wu kok.

I never fail to tapau (pack) their Steamed BBQ Buns @ RM5 (for two) whenever I eat here coz the buns here are really good, soft and fluffy with a char siew filling that's truly delicious.  They should have just stuffed this filling into their wu kok.

I didn't care much for their Cold Kopi-O Kosong @ RM3.50 though.

My Personal Opinion

The last time I blogged about their Damansara Uptown branch, I wrote that some people thought (based on the what I read online) that the Uptown and Damansara Jaya branches are the better ones and to avoid the PJ Old Town and Kota Damansara branches.

Well, now that I've tried the PJ Old Town branch, I really can't taste the difference.  Recently, I also happen to come across a review by choiyen.com and she seemed to have enjoyed her dim sum experience at the Kota Damansara branch.  Perhaps there's no truth in it. ^_~

Obviously, there are some dim sum items that I liked and some I didn't but I'm sure you'll find a mix of some good ones from their vast variety on offer here.  Among some of my favourites were the fish stuffed root (which I now know as sang kan yuen), fried sticky rice, siew mai, deep fried carrot cake, brinjal, stuffed beancurd puffs and steamed BBQ buns.

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Restaurant
No 19 Jalan 1/21 (Old Town)
46000 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-7781 5688