vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Dim Sum
Tho Yuen Chicken Rice
Apr 24th
A few weeks ago on 8tv’s HoChak program, they introduced a [tag]dim sum[/tag] [tag]restaurant[/tag] in [tag]Penang[/tag]. I didn’t watch that episode but according to my sister the dim sum shown was really good. Anyway [tag]Tho Yuen[/tag] was the restaurant being featured and it’s located in [tag]Campbell Street[/tag]. Another restaurant, Tai Tong which is also famous for dim sum is just a few steps away in Cintra Street.
I finally found the place after driving aimlessly around Penang Road for an hour. And because I started going there quite late in the morning, it was already noon when I reached the restaurant. Needless to say, the dim sum was already finished.
So we settled for the [tag]chicken rice[/tag] and a basket (steel?) of dim sum. The chicken rice tasted not bad, but I can think of many places that are nicer. The best thing is the chicken soup, which was really delicious. I wonder if they put any MSG lol.
This is the only dim sum left that noon. Next time I gotta be early.. planning to go during this weekend! Anyone wants to tag along? lol
Zim Sum Tea Garden
Mar 24th
Touted as the best [tag]dim sum[/tag] in [tag]Penang[/tag] by some, I just had to try it for myself. Zim Sum Tea Garden dim sum restaurant is located directly opposite KDU along Anson Road. If you have difficulties finding this place, just look out for Penang Plaza and Sheraton Hotel.
The variety here is good enough, there are a few dim sum which are new to me. But I just took the common ones.
Some of the staff here are quite rude and clumsy.. Our table was knocked hard by the push carts and I was excused to make way for the waitress at least twice for each incident. If I were to open a restaurant, she’d be the first to go. To me as a customer, that’s a totally unacceptable attitude.
Egg tarts are good, warm and fresh from the oven. I like egg tarts like these, with puffy crusts.
This twin buns have char siew in them. There are other varieties as well like peanut and meat floss.
Overall, I won’t think too highly of Zim Sum Tea Garden. The dim sum taste mediocre although they look really good. I was already disappointed and lost a bit of mood after my first bite.. Worse still, there was a pirated DVD peddler from China getting caught and handcuffed by the enforcers right in front of me. Man, that totally put off my appetite. The only good thing about this place is the cheap price, I only spent RM11.20 for this meal.
Soon Hong Dim Sum Restaurant (Revisit)
Jan 31st
[tag]Dim Sum[/tag] has always been my favorite choice when it comes to snapping food pictures. They are small and great for macro shots and looks good even if they taste bad lol. A revisit to Soon Hong Dim Sum Restaurant last weekend was a pleasant one because there were some new dim sum we tried.
The one located bottom right is fried siu mai. Quite surprising, first time I saw siu mai being deep fried. It was good.
Who can resist these cute looking mini egg tarts 
I just had to take a plate lol.
This dim sum has a funny name, lou shu mai. Do they resemble the shape of rats? A bit la.
Not sure what is this dim sum called but it was very nice! One of the best I had that morning.
No that’s not sharks fin on the century egg lol, just tong fun (glass noodles) only.
Lastly, the must-order siu mai. This gotta be the nicest photo of siu mai I have ever taken 
As I mentioned before the only problem eating at Soon Hong is that they don’t use trolleys with hot water, causing the dim sum can to get cold pretty quick and lose taste. So do request for them to be reheated, the staff is very helpful 
Dim Sum @ Sungai Ara
Dec 6th
Warning: You are about to see some bad tasting dim sum :yuck: I think that this dim sum restaurant is the worst ever I have been to. It is located in a food court near the newly completed apartments in Sungai Ara. I can only remember the food court’s name is Eagle something.. Usually, there aren’t too many customers. Sigh, I knew this served as a sign of bad food but I still had to try lol.
My ex-supervisor in Dell used to treat us egg tarts and fried [tag]dim sum[/tag] bought here. They tasted quite good actually and that’s the only reason why I wanted to give this restaurant a try. Lets start with the one and only qualified dim sum.. which was this plate of fried wantan. It packed a rather strong garlic taste and came with some mayonaise sauce.
And now comes some failed dim sum. Crab stick + fish ball = dim sum. Wow, I didn’t knew it was THAT easy Do you notice they look like tadpole.. and vaguely also something *else*?
Bleh, the worst tasting Siu Mai I ever had. Bleh x infinity.
The waitress told me this is Yu Chi Kao (Sharksfin Dumpling) But the so-called ‘sharksfin’ are actually glass noodles.
A couple of Ha Mai (Prawn Dumpling) The prawns are quite big but tasteless.
This dim sum ar.. fell off in pieces once taken up using chopstick. Also tasteless.
And finally Char Siu Mai. Don’t let them deceive you, no matter how nice they appear in photos! 
All dim sum costed around RM2.00 a basket. Althought that’s the typical price in Penang, it is definitely not worth for the quality of food served. If you are wondering, “Kei Tak Sek” is the name of the restaurant. And if you are from KL, you should know that there’s a popular dim sum chain called “Kei Tak Zek”. Comparing both is like comparing heaven with hell lol.
