Tian Tian Lai Dim Sum at Sungai Ara Foodcourt

I'm not too sure how many people actually knows that there is actually a foodcourt along Tingkat Kenari in Sungai Ara but there actually is and in the mornings till about lunch time, they serve some pretty good Dim Sum at a place called Tian Tian Lai Dim Sum.

The place is spacious and with lots of available parking and this is kind of my regular dim sum place when I just feel like having a peaceful late brunch without having the need to fight to get some food. The place have quite alot of variety but the best part is that its less crowded. Probably is because its tucked away in Sungai Ara thus not many know about it.

All the items I ate in this blog post and inclusive of a pot of tea only cost about RM22 which is good enough for 3 person. Thus they score on the affordability index and for taste, they are good, but probably not the best. But I'm not complaining and will surely continue to have them as my regular place for a decent breakfast. Check it out!

This is the fish ball noodle wrap. The fried wanton noodles is used to wrap the fishballs (and these are really big pieces) and then a gravy is put on top to serve. This one is really worth it and taste great. Understand its only available on weekends though

NEW YORK 2013 ~ Jin Fong Restaurant, Chinatown

On the Saturday morning, we skipped the same old breakfast at the hotel and made our way to New York Chinatown and the first agenda of the day was to grab some good quality breakfast! The place which we visited is called Jin Fong Restaurant and its located 20 Elizabeth St, on the upper floor of the building. Before you even see the dining hall, you will be greeted by one of the longest flight of escalators! I was really surprised but its also a good thing as this meant that the restaurant will have less issues dealing with a large crowd or old folks who would otherwise had to climb a long flight of stairs or use slow elevators which can typically only hold like 15 person at a time.

Anyway, back to the food. This place serve some very authentic Hong Kong style Dim Sum and the variety if really impressive. They have lots of choices from steamed to fried items and there is even a section of popular items such as Curry Fish Ball and beef stripes. Do check out some of the pictures here ya and leave a comment too!

Just a section of what was ordered. Steamed Lotus Leaf wrapped rice (Ho Yip Fan), Loh Mai Kai (Chicken steamed Glutinous rice), Steams Prawn Dumplings (Har Kau), Fung Chau (Phoenix Claws aka Chicken Feet) and Yu Wat Kau (Fish Cake Dumplings) 

Yung Kee Restaurant Hong Kong 2012

Finally got to sample another famous Hong Kong restaurant and this time it is Yung Kee Restaurant located at Central. This place is famous for their roast goose and since we were there for breakfast, we had ordered their dim sum as well. When we asked for the menu, was abit surprised that the waiter just gave a piece of paper with just a small selection of items on it. When asked, they mentioned that that is all the varieties of dim sum that they have. Oh well, I guess no complaints then,

So do check out this place, I understand it also has a Michelin star, though it seems that when you are walking around Central, many stalls also have a star or two!

This is what they are famous for, roast goose! Because we were early, we got to choose the leg portion and even which leg too!

Xixi Chinese Restaurant, Holiday Inn Guangzhou City Centre

Right at the Holiday Inn Guangzhou City Centre where I stayed, there is actually a pretty popular Chinese Restaurant which serves some nice Dim Sum daily. Its also a good thing that there was 3 of us and thus we were able to order a number of Dim Sum as the portion of each variety is pretty big. The restaurant probably has close to 50 table and when we arrived about 7.45am it was already pretty pack but we still managed to get a seat. The ordering is via the standard piece of paper to select what you want with a tick but since I can't read, I just told the waitress what I wanted. So, do have a look and see if its different to have Dim Sum in Guangzhou than somewhere else.

This is an item I have not had before. Its actually red dates cake, and its like a jello texture. Actually did not think of ordering this but I saw so many tables having it and asks for the same thing. Its not overly sweet and you can really taste the red dates flavor in it. Also, its served warm and not cold.

Phoenix clawa. The chicken feet here is different than those in Malaysia in that the chicken feet has not been pre-fried. The ones here are stewed instead.

Yong Pin Restaurant for Dim Sum

My friend Nicholas and I stumbled upon this place while we were looking for a place for some food and drinks in town. At first thought of going to Tai Tung but saw this and decided to give it a try. Well, when we arrived, there were already a few tables occupied and as time went by, the place just kept getting more crowded. After having the food here, I can now understand why. The Dim Sum here is served at night and till almost midnight. Besides Dim Sum, they also served noodles though on that night, I did not try any but from the many orders from other tables, it sure looked delicious. So my writeup for this entry would be only about their Dim Sum ya. Do leave comments too. As a note, their Dim Sum is really afford-ably priced and well worth the money! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they are located along Jalan Sungai Ujong which is same road as Cintra Street! Go google the address!

Yam puff or Wu Kok in Cantonese. The yam paste is use to wrap a mixture of pork and vegetables and then deep fried. The skin was soft and flaky and the filling was very well flavored. 

Fried prawn fritters with Mayonaise. The prawn fritters were very crispy with lots of bits of prawns in it

Hong Kong 2011 ~ CHE's Cantonese Restaurant

So this is the 2nd day I was in Hong Kong and what a bright sunny morning it is. Finally get to see better where we were staying and the scene out the window was just WOW! I'm 45 storeys high up and surrounded by blocks of building! Just kind of amazes me that these kind of construction is able to take place so closely to each other. Then its off to breakfast or brunch with Dim Sum on the menu today! Read on.

Liberte Apartments in Lai Chi Kok!

Bangkok Airport Royal Silk Lounge + Spa

So as I have time to burn at Bangkok Airport and after walking endlessly among the many shops here, finally decided to rest my feet at the Thai Royal Silk Lounge. The one I went to is located at Gate C and its very open and comfortable.
There are many comfortable couch for one to just relax and there is also free WI-FI here so connectivity is great. The facilities in this lounge includes of course free flow of food and drinks, and they also have a shower room and also very simple beds should one decide to take a nap.
So on to the food ya... heheh, well, they do have a decent selection but I was told that it cannot beat Cathay's or SIA's lounge in terms of variety. But I'm not complaining. They have a central island where the main food trays are located and then at the sides there are some of the special for the day. Then drinks (alcohol included) is free flow and there is only so much you could drink I guess. There is also an area for snacks and fruits too.
So I tried their chicken and shrimp steamed bun and also their siew mai (dumplings) (chicken). I think its chicken as I don't recall if its pork.(I could be wrong). I also had a piece of chicken sausage (mini). My colleague on the other hand had a plate of salad with some dressing on top. Looks yummy and healthy too. Next I had a second helping of mushroom pie and a few more of those lovely siew mai.
Unexpected, we then found out that we are entitled to a complimentary massage. You can choose to have a neck+shoulder massage or foot massage. I chose the former and I must say that it really helped to loosen up the stressed out muscles. After the massage, we are brought to the spa lounge where we are served some snacks and also scented teas. Very refreshing indeed. The decorations here are really superb and gives a calming mood. As we still had time, we headed back to the lounge.

I decided to chomp on more food and this time took the chicken dumplings with soup. I added a spoon of paprika to give the soup some oomph. I finished off my meal with a seafood flavored potato chips! So this transit time was well spent, and off to the long flight to Frankfurt.

The lounge setting 

 

 The food island

 Cakes, puffs....

 Sandwiches

 My first round of food

 Salad

 Mushroom pie

 Another angle of the lounge

 Snacks at the spa

 And the tea

 Spa setting

 

 Dried mangoes

 Lotus flower

 Round leaves

 Dumpling soup with paprika at side

Seafood flavor potato chips

Zim Sum Dim Sum Restaurant @ Anson Road

Well, seems like my friends have been here many times but this is my first. When we arrived, it looked like any Dim Sum place, big, many tables, self service for faster food, etc. A typical dim sum restaurant.
With that, heheh, we go to the food.
Now as with any dim sum place, my take would be 2 basic items which is Har Kau (prawn dumpling) and Siew Mai (pork dumpling). Typically if this two items are good, that will set the standard.
So my take on the Har Kau is that it was just ok. This is definitely not the better ones I have had. The prawns were not particularly big or tasted super fresh. The skin was abit thick and was not well made as you can see from the picture, the dumpling was not even properly made.
Rating : 3.5/5

On the Siew Mai, this was another so so dim sum again. First, it was cold. It was not even put on the steaming trolleys. Then there is just too much fat instead of a good pork meat mixture.
Rating : 3/5

We did have a bit of other dish such as fried carrot cake and also some fried prawn role. Not too bad. Overall for 4 person, total was RM33 which is not a bad price. Will definitely try some place else before returning.

Links to more pictures : www.apples-studio.com/gallery/ww42.6_09_bfast_ZimSum/index.html

Wikimapia link : http://wikimapia.org/#lat=5.4195434&lon=100.3238976&z=18&l=0&m=b&show=/14219450/