Dim sum and more dim sum!

While browsing through my daily dose of food websites, I stumbled upon an article in the Star's food section (kuali.com) about an ongoing dim sum (ala carte) buffet promotion at Zuan Yuan, One World Hotel. The review was good. The price? That's what caught my attention.

Normally a dim sum meal at a five star hotel would not be cheap, but the price for the buffet was pretty darn reasonable at RM38++. So off I went one Saturday morning to try it out. Yes, I even booked a table...for one...lol! You know, just in case, it being the school holidays and all...

Lunch begins at 12 noon (until 2.30), but frequent visitors to 1-U would be familiar with the nightmare of finding a parking lot during peak hours. So I went early...and took some pictures.

Ongoing movie fair at 1-U...SPEED RACCCCEERRRR!!!

Hey look there's a new X-Files movie coming!
(Actually I had no idea there was a new movie...)

This used to be Genki Sushi...oh noes...

The signboard at the entrance

I think this is supposed to be a rice container of some sort

Chandelier

Classy interior no?

Everything nicely laid out

It's time to order!

Surprise! You get cashew nuts instead of peanuts as an appetizer!

Seafood dumpling with superior stock and shark fin

Yes, that's real shark fin right there

'Water Prawn' noodle (their version of 'sang har meen')

Steamed scallop dumplings

The scallops were tasty, but don't expect large portions

Steamed prawn dumplings ('har kau')

You can't see it clearly here but there's actually two prawns per dumpling!

Siew mai with flying fish roe

Glutinous rice siew mai

Steamed minced squid ball with dried octopus and crab stick

Deep fried prawn dumpling with salad dressing (on the side)

Cheese tart and egg tart (all mini size)

Hong Kong style chee cheong fun with char siew filling

Chilled aloe vera infused with lemon grass

The verdict? Good food, great (really really attentive and friendly) service at a price that's right. Overall quality of the dim sum was noticeably higher than the ones you get at the usual dim sum places (hotels and classy Chinese restaurants not included), but variety is lacking. No fish balls (yee mai) at all? What the...

In the steamed dim sum section, notable mentions include the prawn and scallop dumplings and the squid balls. Very very yummy! Thumbs up all around here!

Oh yes, the HK chee cheong fun however deserves special mention here. Although the chee cheong fun was oh-so-smooth, the amount of char siew (grilled pork) inside was...almost non-existant. In fact I think I only counted 3 puny pieces of char siew...which for such a swanky restaurant like this is an almost unforgivable mistake. I get more char siew in the HK chee cheong fun served at SS2 food court for goodness sake...

For the fried/baked stuff, the (mini) cheese and egg tarts were ok. Nice flaky pastry shells with reasonable amounts of filling. Don't expect an orgasmic experience here though. And what baffles me was that the description for the egg tarts actually said "oven baked mini egg tarts with caramel and cinnamon". I certainly did not taste any caramel or cinnamon here...

Oh yes, the soup and noodles are both one time orders only. No complaints here as both were great. I can see why they are both one time orders only...the ingredients are expensive...heh!

Lastly, dessert. The double boiled crystal pear with fresh ginseng was packed with ginseng flavour but a bit on the sweet side. I neither liked nor disliked it though. As for their chilled aloe vera, what can I say? I had three bowls. Simply superb!

Overall for RM38++ per person, I would say it's worth checking out if you are a big eater. After all it's not too expensive at all considering the fact that you are dining in a classy restaurant. Oh yes, before I forget there are actually two different sets (Emperor and Empress) with minor differences between them (mainly the soups). So take your time to browse before deciding.

Just stay away from the HK chee cheong fun unless you like hunting for char siew pieces...lol!

Check out that Lego Milipede!!!