Dim Sum @ Sri Petaling - Grand Shanghai Banquet Dim Sum Review

There are many Dim Sum restaurant in Sri Petaling area ranging from coffeeshop style to restaurant. +BestRestaurant ToEat was invited to savour the Shanghainese version of Dim Sum at Grand Shanghai Banquet located at 45, Jalan Radin Tengah, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

The Grand Shanghai Banquet has a very Chinese theme; from the front entrance to the table setting, up to wall decor and lighting, it exudes the charm of Old Shanghai.

Belting out old Chinese songs of yesteryears it gives you the experience of the charms and ambiance of old China dining like those of the "Shanghai Bund".

For this review; the presentation will be on my favourite taste of the Dim Sum ranking rather than on a chronologically basis.

My personal No 1 favorite is the Claypot Porridge With Shang Har Prawn (RM26.80). We like the texture and the flavours of the silky smooth porridge. Coupled with the prawns roe which is normally associated with this type of prawns and the fresh succulent bouncy texture, this one has my thumbs up. It was so good that we ordered a second helping of this porridge.

As pork knuckle is one of my favorite dish, I just have to try out this Pork Knuckle Shanghai Style (RM9.80). This pork knuckle is braised with some dried chillies, which lend a spicy taste to this dish. The meat was cooked to the right texture ie. not too overly hard (very hard to chew) or too soft (no texture, meat falls off the bone). Just the way I like it which needs a little pulling and bouncy texture.

The next one is the Grand Shanghai Shrimp Dumpling (RM8.00). As expected the prawns is juicy and succulent with a bouncy texture wrap in a thin layer of special skin.

followed by the Grand Shanghai Special Baked Bun With BBQ Pork (RM12.80) - I like the crunchy crust of this bun, but find the BBQ Char Siew filling a little on a sweeter note, perhaps for those that loves the sweeter taste will really find this a delight.

After that it is the Baked BBQ Pork Puff (RM7.00). Liked the crust, which has a soft crusty feel but the same BBQ Pork filling is on a sweeter note.

You can't miss out the Shanghai most popular Dim Sum dish which is the Xiao Long Pao, Here at Grand Shanghai Banquet it is called the Steamed Pastry with Grand Shanghai Style in Superior Soup (RM9.00). We like the superior soup which has a slight vinegar infused taste; so you do not need to topped up any of these while you enjoy this piping hot Xiao Long Pao.

Dinosaur Roll is a very unique Dim Sum as it is a combination of 2 different style. Firstly using a "Wai Fa Che", a type of eatable wrap much like the vietnamese rice wrap paper; is wrapped with finely shredded radish and fried to a crisp brown (like a fried popiah). After frying, it is then wrap with the Cheong Fun and set to steam and finally topped it with premium soya sauce and pork meat floss. We love the different texture to each bite as you can taste the crunch and yet the soft texture of the Cheong Fun.

We are normally accustomed to the Steam Custard Bun (RM7.50) which is also served here but Grand Shanghai also have a version that is called Fried Custard Quicksand Bun Shanghai Style (RM8.50). This Fried version has a distinctive feel compared with the steam as the dough; has a special crisp feel when bitten into it. At Grand Shanghai, the filling is a little more of a watery based; so once you bite into it, the juicy filling will flow out. I still prefer the steam version as it is smoother and have a softer texture.

Next is the Steamed Fish Maw Mai with Spicy Sauce (RM7.50)

After which is the Freshly Baked Egg Tarts (RM7.00)

Stir Fried Radish Cake With Bean Sprout (RM7.50). Generous amount of eggs and preserved vegetables was used to fried up this dish.

For desserts, we had 2 of them; the first of which is the Longan With Sea Coconut (RM6.00). 

and the final one is the special Aloe Vera With Grass Jelly (RM7.00); This dessert is served chilled and comes with a special crystal like ball which is actually Yakult ball; and once bitten it will explode and the juice has a slight sourish Yakult taste. This dessert is an acquired taste and for me, I like it.

Thai Syok Thai Restaurant Yakitori Sunway Mentari - A simple restaurant that serves real authentic Thai Food

If you are on a budget and loves to taste Authentic Thai Cuisine, then this review will be of great interest to you. Best Restaurant To Eat was invited to try out the newly open Thai Syok Thai Food Restaurant located at 15, Jalan PJS 8/18, Dataran Mentari, Sunway Mentari, Bandar Sunway, Selangor.

The decor and setup at Thai Syok Thai Restaurant Yakitori is a no frill, simple setup; on entry to the restaurant you will be greeted and welcomed by 2 special Thai figurine.

The chef in Thai Syok are all Thai's, so our expectation are sky high on the quality and taste of the food served from the restaurant.

Our review started with the Papaya Salad (RM10.50). This salad has a spicy and sourish taste. With the combination of toasted peanuts, shredded raw papaya, it was a nice appetizer to kick off our food review.

This is then followed by the Seafood Tom Yum Kung (Medium) RM24.30. It is loaded with a combination of seafood like prawns, squids, mussel, mushroom and more. But, what is more important was the potent concoction of this Tom Yum; which has a distinctive strong taste; of which you could easily get choked. The chef uses a special in-house made Tom Yum paste with the right amount of bunga kantan and lemongrass. The soup was very addictive as we can't stop slurping it spoonful after spoonful.

For the mains, we had another Chef specialty dish which is the Fried Tom Yum Fish. At Thai Syok, you can choose the type of fish that you like i,e Grouper, Tilapia or Barramundi; for us it was the Red Tilapia (prices for the fish is based on type of fish and weight). Fried to a bright yellow crunchy crisp and then topped with the appetizing special Tom Yum sauce laden with generous amount of cut Bunga Kantan; the entire dish was very aromatic and fragrantful. This is another dish that goes pretty well with the white rice. We finish this dish right to the last drop of sauce.

At this Thai Syok outlet, the owner is introducing some special skewers or Thai yakitori to its menu.  We had the Yakitori Combo (RM24.00) and only available for dinner. The main difference between the Thai and the Japanese Yakitori will be the Japanese usually does not premarinate its meat before being grilled, while its Thai counterpart will be marinated in special sauces. This makes the flavours of the marinate penetrate to the meat. In our combo set we had a skewer of pork neck, pork belly, pandan leaf chicken, basil minced meat with lemongrass, king prawns on tom yum paste and chicken wings.

The next dish is the Deep Fried Pork Knuckle (RM58.20). According to the owner, the pork knuckle are first pre cooked in a special broth, both to soften the texture and immerse it with the fragrant aroma of the broth. Before serving, it is then fried to a crisp; so that you can really taste the crackling skin while enjoying the juicy sweet flavour of the meat. Another dish that gets our thumbs up.

After that we had the soon to be released BBQ Lamb Chop. The pre marinated lamb chop are then grilled to the right charred while the meat still retains its juiciness and succulence. 

For vegetables, we had the Wok Fried Asparagus with Shrimps (RM24.30). We love the crunchy texture of the young asparagus and was a nice vegetable to accompany our other dishes. 

For desserts, we can't leave without trying out my favourite Thai Mango With Sweet Glutinous Rice. This dessert must be eaten fairly quickly as the glutinous rice tends to dry up quite fast; thereby having a hard texture toward the end. It was nicely decorated with the mango surrounding the Glutinous rice and the coconut sauce.

and the second dessert was the Ice Blended Red Rubies With Jack Fruit and Coconut Syrup to close off our dinner. The difference with the ice blended compare with the crush ice version, is that it is much finer, blended well with the coconut syrup and smoother to drink. We like this too.

As most people will know that Dataran Sunway Mentari is famous for steamboat, but you will never expect such good quality and reasonably price Thai Food from this area and certainly Thai Syok Thai Restaurant Yakitori  have proven their capability to dish out such a cuisine.

Premium Dim Sum @Bandar Mahkota Cheras Sg Long - A touch of Traditional Classic Dim Sum

With a name as Premium Dim Sum one has a very high expectation of the quality of the Dim Sum that will be served at Premium Dim Sum Restaurant located at 2, Jalan Temenggung 29/9 Bandar Mahkota Cheras, a strong throw from AEON Bandar Mahkota Cheras.

At Premium Dim Sum, the decor is very different from the classic Chinese Dim Sum Restaurant but one that exudes a very modern style setting with comfortable leather chairs and marble table top. With an open kitchen concept, one can experience the sound and bustle of watching your Dim Sum being prepared and cooked.

We have tasted a lot of Dim Sum from street type to old kopitiam to restaurant and up to hotel restaurant. From Dim Sum that are served from the trolley, to ala carte; the difference is clear on the difference of quality in the serving. Each of the restaurant have certain specialty Dim Sum but at Premium, we were treated to the taste bud of traditional Dim Sum.

With 2 main Dim Sum specialist chef; with more than 30 years of experience using choice ingredients to serve you ala minute Dim Sum (please allow a 10 to 15 minute) at a very reasonable prices (ranging from RM5.00), you can't get any better than this.

There are a few specialty Dim Sum that retains its originality in terms of taste and serving; which we will be highlighting in this blog. For me, we love to start with the steam dishes, the first among many is the Siew Mai (RM 5.50) - which has a generous amount of meat and prawns topped with ebiko to gives you a popping feel with every bite.

Next, we had the Prawn Dumpling (Har Gao King - RM5.50) - which has a bouncy, succulent and chewy smooth texture.

Other highlights under the steam section are the Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (RM6.50) which was served in a special spoon. The broth in the dumpling has a strong Chinese wine aroma with vinegar taste; it was a real treat slurping it into our mouth while it is still piping hot.

Another Dim Sum that we love is the Steam Bacon Roll Dumpling (RM5.00). The filling in this Dim Sum is the succulent prawns, which when married to the slight salty bacon, gives it a very nice savoury taste.

Next, we move to some Pau Dim Sum - we love the Ma Lai Ko (RM5.00), as the texture was very fluffy and soft; which literally melt in the mouth feel. With a spread of melon seed topping, it reminds us of the original taste of this simple Chinese cake.

We then had the Fish Paste Dumpling (Yu Mai  RM5.00). The fish paste has a firm and chewy texture which we like. Unlike most other restaurant which will serve this Dim Sum with a bed of Chinese cabbage; the Chef choose to use baby spinach as the base.

After that it was the Steam Beancurd Roll (RM5.00). Wrap in the beancurd roll is the fish paste which has the same quality like the Yu Mai.

For the Steam Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun (RM6.00), you can have yours either with Prawns, Char Siew or a mix combination of Prawns and Char Siew.

Another favourite among us, was the Custard Bun (Lau Sa Pau RM5.00); the texture of the free flow custard was superb with a well balanced taste of the salted eggs in the custard cream.

The Char Siew Pau (RM5.50) was next on the table, we love the evenly breakoff of the dough which show a perfectly time steaming of the Pau to get to this texture.

For the fried series of Dim Sum, we love the XO Fried Raddish Cake (RM6.50), it was fried to the right precision without being overwhelmingly oily, while the generous portion of the Chinese chives (dog vege) was good and cooked to the right precision with the eggs and the preserved vegetables.

We also love the Fried Beancurd Roll (RM6.00), which has a nice crunch with a succulent prawns wrapped into it. Best eaten with some mayonaise sauce.

Another of my favourite is the Century Egg, Oyster, Pork Porridge (RM5.50). The texture of the porridge was so fine, silky and flavourful. Mixed with the condiments, this porridge was indeed tummy warming to start off with.

This next Fried Dim Sum which is Fried Sticky Rice Dumpling (Ham Tsui Kok) does spring a surprise to me. When it landed on the table, we did not touch it as it looks too simple and from the look of it; was not too impressive. Upon some coaxing, we decided to taste it and it was very nice with a balance of soft crisp and the filling which has pork meat was very delicious.

Other Dim Sum that we tasted was the Lotus Leaf Rice.

and the last Fried Dim Sum that we had was the Fried Sesame Ball.

In most Chinese Dim Sum restaurant; the normal tea that are served are usually the Chinese tea, but at Premium besides ordering these Chinese tea; you can try out their special Flower tea (RM8 for 2 pax) which were the Lavender  Chamomile, 3 Combination Chrysanthemum, Pink Rose + Jasmine, Peach Fruit Tea, Apple Rose Fruit Tea and the Blueberries . Each of these tea are served in little coffee cup and has a very unique flavours, aroma and taste. We love the Blueberries tea.

Make a visit to Premium Dim Sum at Bandar Mahkota Cheras for some traditional Dim Sum in a modern setting.