Best dim sum in Melaka but overly-priced @ Zhong Hua Dim Sum Restaurant, Melaka Raya, Melaka

Finally, proper shrimp dumplings in Melaka! I've been staying in Melaka my whole life and every dim sum shop I've been to had no '100 %' shrimp dumplings, unlike those I often ate in Klang or USJ. When my family discovered this shop, I was quite excited to try it out so my mum and I headed there during my short break in Malaysia. It was a weekday, so no crowds at all and parking was quite easy although please remember to pay the parking ticket beforehand as this area is prone for officers going around with fines for illegal parking! So, like any other dim sum place I've been too, weekdays are usually order-to-steam unlike weekends where servers go round with the pushing cart. One word to describe, very, very disorganized (I was told the boss was not around so everyone was messy!). Anyways, when we finally got our orders, the first thing spotted was the price/plate which I felt was outrageous for a restaurant in Melaka. 

From L to R: Various type of shrimp dumplings (Har Gau, Har Mai, Har Kuin). Overcharged at more than RM 6 / plate 

From L to R: Radish cake, Fish paste, Siew mai (pork dumpling). Some of the slightly more reasonably priced items

Shrimp Chee Cheong Fun (Rice noodle rolls). Another overly-priced item. Nothing spectacular.

Nice-looking liu sha bao (salted egg custard cream bun with flowing filling). A must-try!

Pretty good liu sha bao but not well-steamed. R: Not well-steamed so there was no flowing cream :(

Overall, they really need to improve on their service because, there were like only 4 tables eating and they couldn't do a proper job! The usual siu mai / har gau was pretty good and up to standard but for the price, I totally disagree. Perhaps because they know there aren't much competition for good dim sum in Melaka, so they daringly charge the customers..what more a tourist-y area. For all the ones in the picture and a pot of tea, I paid more than RM 60 ( I'm pretty sure the lady got the wrong calculation so make sure you check your bill before leaving!).

Address: No 186, 187, Jalan Melaka Raya, 75000 Melaka (corner shop beside CIMB bank)
Opening hours: 7am - 2pm

Old-style trolley dim sum @ New World, Chinatown, London, UK

 After 3 trips to London over the past few years, I finally tasted their Chinese dimsum. Sis and hub are what I would say, loyal customer of New World, it being one of the very few or perhaps the only one that has the old style dim sum trolley service. We were there on a Sunday so there's lots of people and place looked hectic. Cantonese-speaking staff were efficient but servers pushing carts were moving at quite a slow pace and seemed to be in the word of their own ( can't blame them…they looked like high school kids or something or maybe they are just new with their job). Anyways, we already targeted what we wanted and we were quite determined to get what we want;p

Clockwise from top (L): Steamed shrimp rice rolls, siu mai (pork dim sum), bean curd stuffed pork dim sum and fried shrimp (wan ton style)

Steamed shrimp dumpling (our favourite!)

The 'thing' that made everything tasted superb! Chilli flakes oil

Steamed lotus paste bun and BBQ char siew pork bun

Shanghai (Gyoza-style) dumpling and fried yam stuffed with pork

Another must-have: Fried turnip cake and water chestnut cake

Steamed shrimp rice rolls tasted good especially with the chilli oil, though the rice rolls were slightly thick and not as delicate as those HK-style chee cheong fun we usually have in Malaysia. Our favourite item would be the beautifully-made shrimp dumplings which looked too perfect to be eaten (lols). The skin was thin enough yet it held the generous amount of shrimp inside perfectly well. The lady pushing the cart for the turnip, yam and water chestnut cake is also a must-have! Tell her which you would like and she will quick-fry it fresh for you! The water chestnut cake was really good; imagine slightly fried, sweetish, slightly chewy with chunks of chestnut. Make a good dim sum dessert apart from those commonly have items such as puddings and soybean. 

If you are in London, you've gotta stop by this restaurant. Make it a brunch and then spend some time exploring Chinatown thereafter. This place is less touristy and seemed to accommodate more of the locals.

Address: 1 Gerrard Place, Soho, UK W1D 5PA

Website: New World

Other places in London that you might be interested with:

The Proposal @ The Strand Dining Rooms, London, UK

The English breakfast @ London, UK
Discovering the royal palace and Chinese food @ Middlesex, UK
Noodles for everyone @ Wagamama, Earls Court, London, UK

Shrimp dumplings and Laksa @ Momo Cafe, Staines, London, UK

A Pork-y affair @ Pig's Ears, London, UK

A Chinese Affair @ New Town Bakery and Restaurant, Chinatown, Vancouver

Look at the big bun tray on top of the shop front!

One would not miss this bakery cum restaurant on East Pender St, Chinatown, Vancouver. Basically, its the only shop along the street that has throngs of people in and out carrying big yellow plastic bags. Having seen reviews prior to my visit, it was a must-visit place for my mum and I. First word. Impressive. From the shop exterior to interior to menu. They even have a numbering system to allow for easy ordering. We ate here a couple of times; dine-in and take-out ( because after a few tries in other shops around that area which was most disappointing, this was definitely the best we've tried!

Acclamation by CNN Travel!

Number system and the varieties of buns and biscuits !

I do agree on this !

Most popular Items : Sesame balls, coconut bun,  egg tart, apple tart, BBQ pork bun

Their dine-in menu located at front door

So, there are two ways to buy; take-out, in which you will need to take a number ( just like the bank system) and wait till they call or you can go further in and request for dine-in. Surprisingly, their shop was always quite full during the few times we visited. We dined-in and take-out twice each! Honestly, their dine-in dishes may not be the best ( I still felt Malaysia Chinese food suit my tastebud better) , they do have quite a variety of dishes from stir-fry, rice menu, noodles, appetizers and their dim sum items as well! Also, they win hands down on the variety of buns and fancy Chinese bakery items compared to the rest of the bakeries I've visited in Vancouver and Richmond. 

Pau (Chinese steamed buns) - Red bean paste and lotus paste with salted yolk

Pau were a bit of a letdown; considering they were selling like hotcakes. The pau dough was thick and not the best I've eaten ( probably less preservative ; which is a good thing ;P). Their red bean paste and lotus paste however were quite alright; not too oily nor too sweet.

Pau (chinese steamed bun) - BBQ Pork

The BBQ Pork bun was not too bad ( Mum didnt like it as she find it too porky). I on the contrary thought that its quite ok; very generous with the feeling and it has the good BBQ Pork taste...if only the pau dough was not so thick and hard. 

Yong Chow Fried Rice

We also ordered the Yong Chow Fried Rice during our dine-in. It was such a huge portion that we had difficulty trying to finish it ( are we small-eaters or what? lols ). Taste wise was quite nice ; rice consistency was good and would have been better it had more 'wok-hei' to it. One thing good is that it's not too oily (unlike the many fried rice you can find in Malaysian Chinese shops). 

Stir-fry mixed vege

Stir-fry vege was surprisingly good and also came in a huge portion. This had enough of the 'wok-hei' and taste to it.

From our table, the busy front for bakeries take-out!

Steamed shrimp dumpling (Har Kau)

Clockwise From Top Left : Coconut Bun, Har Kau, Steamed radish cake, Steamed brown sugar cake

Other items we tried were their har-kau (shrimp dumpling) which was really good especially when dipped in their bottle of chilli oil! We got so addicted to the chilli oil that we started dipping our steamed radish cake as well which was superbly delicious. The radish cake ( both steam and fried) were really good. The black sauce ( we are still not sure; probably is Kikkomon soy sauce) that came with it and when dipped with chilli oil was superbly delicious! We came back for the fried version a few days later.

Another item worth mentioning was their coconut bun which was THE BEST I've ever tasted! It apparently is quite a thing over here in Canada. Tried a few different ones before but this was definitely the best that I ended up tapao-ing as well! The freshly-baked buns were aromatic and with juicy buttery coconut fillings. Super good! 

Mum after a tiring but fun day :) Her favourite place during her stay!

This place is a definitely must-visit place if you are at Chinatown !

Address : New Town Bakery and Restaurant, 158 E Pender St, Vancouver BC

Website : New Town

Dim Sum @ Hoong Foong Dim Sum Restaurant, USJ 21/10

I don't mean to exaggerate but on my 2 weeks break back in Malaysia, I had dim sum thrice (yes, three times!) at Hoong Foong. I've always had a thing for dim sum so I will not get tired of them. Anyways, I had this so many times because it was near and convenient to where we were staying. I also met up with my ex-colleagues whom had highly recommended this place as well.

Salted Egg Siu Mai

They have quite a variety of dim sums. Panda and I loved the steam fish ball (yes, fish ball) and the har kau (prawn dumpling). I do admit that they have one of the best har kau around. The transparent har kau skin was really thin and you will not feel like eating some starchy wraps. The bacon-wrapped siu mai was really tasty as well but beware of the bacon calories for those weight-watchers ;P.

Har Kau (Prawn Dumpling)

Steam har kuin (fried prawn rolls)

The Fish Ball that Panda and I loved so much !!

We also had the prawn chee cheong fun (prawn rice noodle roll). They only have either char siew (roasted pork) or prawn chee cheong fun separately. Overall, it tasted ok; nothing to shout about; for me, it tasted like any other chee cheong fun though the serving was smaller than the other places I've eaten so far.

Prawn Chee Cheong Fun 

One thing that always attract me to dim sum restaurants is the custard bun (kam sa pau); not all dim sum restaurants have this. The best I've eaten so far is from a dim sum shop at Seri Kembangan. Hoong Foong's was quite ok too. It comes in threes and the size was just perfect; not too big or small. The consistency of the custard filling was just nice; not too diluted/watery to the point that it will splurt out when you take your first bite! Totally worth trying! They also have yam buns which I have yet to try.

Kam Sa Pau filling

Menu 1

Menu 2

Price ranges between RM 3 - RM 6 per plate; which I felt was quite reasonable for KL city (compared to what you can get in Canada here..@__@). Two people can easily pay a total of RM 40 for brunch. 

* Service seems slower on weekdays even though there are less people. Dim sums are steamed upon order. So, if you are in a hurry, save your dim sum meal for a weekend instead. It will be usually packed but we found a table almost immediately without any waiting. ( And food is served fast as well). 

Address: No: 77&79 , Jalan USJ 21/10, UEP Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia 47600
Website: https://www.facebook.com/hoongfoongdimsum
Opening hours: Mon - Sun 7 am to 3 pm