Kuala Lumpur - Dim Sum at Jin Xuan Hong Kong Restaurant (锦选香港特极点心)

[klyeoh]

I'm never going to take good dim sum for granted ever again - after returning from my recent trip to Indonesia where one can't find any authentic Cantonese dim sum for love or money, coming to Kuala Lumpur and walking into a dim sum restaurant filled with Cantonese chatter and packed with Chinese patrons can be heaven-sent!

We had the usual suspects: cha-siu sou (BBQ pork-filled pastries), crispy wo-kuk (yam puffs), har-gow (prawn dumplings), siu-mai (pork-prawn dumplings), steamed cha-siu bao, fish-balls, seafood dumplings. So good!!

And in typical Chinese-Malaysian style, you get sweet chilli sauce dip besides the hoi-sin sauce.

Address details
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Jin Xuan Hong Kong Restaurant (锦选香港特极点心)
59, 61 & 63 Jln SS2/19 (Damansara Jaya)
Petaling Jaya, Selangor 47300
Tel: [phone]

[klyeoh]

Back in Jin Xuan Hong Kong Restaurant (锦选香港特极点心) for lunch again this week. Funny how, after tasting a few other dim sum restaurants within a short space of time, the food in Jin Xuan did not quite bowl me over as much as before, when I first returned from a 5-week stay in Indonesia - a culinary desert where good Chinese food is concerned.

But Jin Xuan's offerings were still above average by KL standards, though they fall short compared to HK or Singapore's dim sum houses of the same standing. Jin Xuan's "har-gau" had thick, chewy skins, rather than delicate translucent ones one would expect to find in good dim sum places. Jin Xuan's "cheung fun" (rice rolls) likewise was thick & rather rustic in taste & texture. Its egg tarts were also not buttery enough, and the pastry shells were rather dry & hard. Every one of its "xiao long bao" dumplings actually burst when lifted with chopsticks! :-(

Texture-wise, most of the dim sum items were oversteamed - resulting in hard, dry filling. Not in a hurry to come back here. I think KL does Cantonese street foods and noodles better than delicate dim sum items.

[Charles Yu]

Hello Klyeoh! Whilst you were having your HK Dim Sum in KL, I was having these Toronto version half a day later!! Some photos for comparison! Including your favourite ' Taro Croquette' in a 'rare 3!' Ha!!

[klyeoh]

Hi Charles, I think your Toronto dim sum looked so much better than what I had in KL! BTW, taro croquettes( 芋角/"wu kok") always come in 3's, right, even in HK? It's har-gau & siu-mai which traditionally come in 4's.

I still can't get over the "3 of everything" approach in KL. But I guess things do evolve as people's lifestyle - many KL-lites (and also Singaporeans) lunch out alone or in pairs these days, and by reducing the number of dumplings per serving, I guess the restaurants allow the patrons to try more stuff.

It may come to a point, like in some Chinese restaurants in London like Dumpling's Legend, where each patron gets a large basket containing an assortment of dumplings. Of course, Hakkasan already pioneered this approach a decade ago - pic below was taken at my first ever meal at Hakkasan London then.

[huiray]

Well, that never stopped me. I order as many as 7-8 types of dim sum just by myself. :-)
I don't have to eat every scrap of food, and "ta-pow" takes care of what is left over. (Yes, yes, it's not as good afterwards but I don't care)

[klyeoh]

I'd do takeaways if I'm in KL or Singapore, where I can go home & re-heat the leftover dumplings later (even microwave does wonders). But it's more difficult when I'm on business travel & staying in a hotel. I usually leave what I couldn't finish behind.

Once, when I was lunching alone in Chiuchow Garden restaurant at the then-Bond Centre (now called Lippo Centre) in HK, I ordered the yin-yang soup (enough to serve 4), a braised goose platter (also meant for 4), and a casserole dish containing steamed Chiuchow-style vegetables, plus an order of Chiuchow stir-fried rice noodles. The waiter said I over-ordered, but I told him it's okay.
I remembered at that moment, the dim sum trolley trundled by my table and, seeing my eyes looking at the trolley, the waiter, exclaimed, "Oh no, sir, you CAN'T order any of those!". I nearly burst out laughing then.

[huiray]

Heh. HEH. Well, did you anyway? :-)

As for the dim sum at Jin Xuan - sorry to hear they weren't that good. (Yet their banner name as shown in your last photo claims HK superb dim sum!) The egg custard tarts do appear somewhat unappealing just from the photo.

[klyeoh]

No, I didn't order any dim sum as the waiter looked pretty distressed as he was. Maybe leftover food on the tables did not bode well for a restaurant's image, but I do salute his sense of responsibility - in some places in Singapore (or China), you'd never be warned that you've over-ordered.

I'd not found really good egg tarts in KL yet. Some places in Singapore do them well - e.g. Crystal Jade Palace (Ngee Ann City), Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck (Paragon), Imperial Treasure (Great World City). Lei Garden (Chijmes) is inconsistent.

In HK, I won't bother to count or list them here - simply too many places which served superb egg tarts.

[huiray]

I see. :-)

Hmm, there appears to be an old (now rebuilt) air-conditioned hawker food center a block or so north of Jin Xuan, on the northern corner of Jln SS2/6, called Ho Ho Sek. Have you eaten there? Here're some links:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/food/article/old-favourites-with-a-new-twist/
http://pohkemonfooddiary.blogspot.com...

[klyeoh]

Fascinating! Thanks for the heads-up, I'll explore those places in due course.

[NilesCable]

I think I read some time ago that HK government wanted to bring in a law that customers have to pay a fee if the leave leftovers. This was because of too many rats around the garbage bins of restaurants.

[Charles Yu]

Must be super-superstious!! All the Dim Sum morsels are in threes not fours!! Ha!

[klyeoh]

That was exactly what my KL colleagues here said!

I distinctly remember that siu-mai usually come in fours, but not at this place! But their cha-siu bao only come in pairs, usually a basket has three.

[huiray]

I know it's a little OT, but d'you think the dearth of proper Cantonese dim-sum and associated cuisine in Indonesia has to do with the overwhelming press of the larger muslim-based culture?

[klyeoh]

Yep, the Chinese are only 3% of the population in Indonesia, mostly Fujianese & Hakka Chinese originally (and they are also very much assimilated into Javanese culture) - so good Cantonese dim sum would indeed be very hard to come by.