Dim Sum @ Ying Jia Seafood Restaurant

Dim Sum @ Ying Jia Seafood Restaurant, Happy Garden.

Want some no frills affordable dim sum? Then check out Ying Jia. There are many places similar to this place; alfresco style, simple setting that looks like a typical Chinese coffee shop. I have tried a few of these ’no frills’ dim sum restaurant but this one is sort of recommended by my parents. It is not all that, as compared to dim sum made by top notch chefs from HK. But it still offers me quite a pleasant treat.

Atmosphere

Steam Station

Note: ‘No frills’ = no air conditioned atmosphere, no cushioned chairs and carpet floors, no dim sum carts, waitresses are not in cheongsam with high slits, no white table cloth, no appetizers like steamed peanuts, achar and wet wipes and no premium Chinese tea.

We took some friends from Germany to experience a typical Sunday morning dim sum outing and they liked it. They have many varieties to choose from. Check this out!

The Dim Sum

Seafood Roll wrapped in Bean curd Skin (Hoi Sin Kuen)

Its got crab stick, shrimps and mushroom wrapped in bean curd skin and steamed to perfection. Very tasty and full of flavours from all that ingredients.

Steamed Pork Ribs (Pai Guat)

One of the dim sum favourites, this plate is filled with small pieces of pork ribs and steamed in fermented black beans and garlic sauce with freshly sliced red chili. Savoury and yummy.

Steamed prawn dumpling in wheat flour wraps (Har Gao)

The prawns are fresh and the wraps are translucent and not too sticky. Nice texture and goes well with the Kampung Koh chili sauce.

Oyster Sauce & Kampung Koh Chili Sauce

Deep Fried Yam Croquette (Wu Kok)

Had many version of this before. The ones here are not the best. The fluffy pastry exterior is nice and crisp and not soaked with oil remnants from the deep frying. So a plus point there. The yam shell is pretty smooth and barbecue pork core is not too sweet. Quite a good balance.

Steamed Fish ball (Yue Tan)

Nice and has some ‘elasticity’ in it. Can’t really taste any fish flavours though.

Steamed Prawn & Pork dumpling (Siu Mai)

One of my personal favourites, this dim sum is probably the more popular of the two ( the other being the Har Gao. Kind of like you can’t have one without the other. Almost a sense of guilt if you do not mention Har Gao , Siu Mai in one breath. The Siu Mai here is pretty okay. A nice balance of pork and prawn and a great bite size too.

Steamed Rice flour rolls with roast pork stuffing
(Cheung Fun or Chee Cheong Fun)

You can have the rice flour rolls with pork stuffing or prawns. It is steamed in light soy sauce with infused shallots flavour and accompanied with pounded chilies / dried shrimps paste at the side. This one is too soft and overly drenched for my liking.

Fish Paste Dumpling (Yue Mai)

I can’t quite remember exactly what this is but it is some version of Siu Mai but with fish paste instead of pork and prawns. Apart from the looks, it has got a nice aroma from the chopped chinese mushrooms and extra crunch from the water chestnuts. Interesting variation.

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)

These buns are quite good. Fluffy on the outside and molten-like on the inside. Eat it when served as the core of bbq pork is nice and moist with steam making their escape the moment you pull the soft buns apart. Mmm!

Glutinous Rice with Chicken and Chinese sausage (Loh Mai Gai)

This is quite filling. Only have it towards the end when you couldn’t fill your bottomless pit with all the dim sum there is to try. Glutinous rice will do the trick and bloat you up like they always do. Steamed with probably chicken stock and soy sauce together with chicken pieces, Chinese mushroom and Chinese sausage slices, you can imagine the flavours you get from this little fella.

Pan Fried White Radish Cake (Loh Pak Kou)

Another dish that goes well with Kampung Koh chili sauce. But really, if this dish is done to perfection, you don’t really need anymore dipping sauce. The strong pungent flavours from the radish plus the aroma from the chopped shallots and dry shrimps would have sufficed. The ones here were kinda sticky in texture and I’d preferred it a bit more crispier on the outside. Just leave it on the pan a wee bit longer to get that golden brown crisp. That will do !

Oven Baked BBQ Pork Bun (Charn Bao)

This is classic. Not such a popular dim sum order but I loved this a lot when I was a kid. It was sort of like a bonus to take away after having stuffed myself with all those steamed and heavy goodies. So I would ask for it as a ‘take away’ to savour later on with the afternoon tea. This you can keep unlike the steamed buns. It is oven baked and glazed with syrup to give it that shiny golden brown glow. The core is pretty much the same (BBQ pork) but it has got that extra lingering edge from the baking in the oven. And it comes in twos. Nicely tanned, proportional and firm looking buns…I Like !

Verdict

Special Guest - Florien and Cora

I think this is one of the better ones out there that serves decent quality dim sum with reasonable price. They have varieties to choose from and the service there is quite prompt. Nice and cooling atmosphere, this is a place I would drop by occasionally. And apart from dim sum in the morning, they serve seafood at night. I definitely would try and check out their dinner menu. A great place to bring your overseas guests, my friends loved it and I think you would too.

Location

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Address:

Ying Jia Seafood Restaurant

5, Jalan Lazat 1,

Happy Garden,

Off Old Klang Road,

58200, KL

03-7983 6541