Min Huang Restaurant – Shanghai & Hong Kong Style Dim Sum & Desserts @ Kepong

After coming back from Hong Kong I have been shunning our local dim sum joints because I feel they are not up to the standards anymore. If you have been to Hong Kong and tasted some of the best dim sum in the world, I am sure you can relate to this. The last time I had dim sum was at Foh San 2 months ago and I found myself not enjoying the food at all. Everything just tasted uninspiring and dull.
Now, based on a reader’s suggestion, I went to Min Huang Restaurant in Kepong. They serve plenty of Shanghai and Hong Kong style dim sum and desserts which I find to be good enough to earn a recommendation from me. And yes, even after comparing them with those I had in HK.

Among the many dishes we had here, the Shanghai Special Fried Bean Sheet @ RM4.80 (small) would be the most recommended one. The bean sheet is very similar to koay teow but appears a lot thinner, more translucent and with a slightly chewy texture. The chef sure cooked the dish right by infusing a lot of ‘wok hei’ and egg fragrance into it, it tastes just delicious.

A special variant of Xiao Long Bao seasoned with Chinese herbs is served here @ RM7.20. It tastes exactly like the normal Xiao Long Bao, just that it has an extra pleasant herb flavor to it.

Steamed Dumpling with Shrimp Roe (Siu Mai) @ RM3.80 – made up mostly of pork and definitely worth trying if you don’t mind them being merely bite sized.

Steamed Filled Salty Egg Sauce Bun @ RM3.80 – cleverly made and the sauce does flow out immediately after you bite into it. This is good stuff, best enjoyed while they are still warm.

Light Soya Sauce Dumpling @ RM4.80 – simple yet tasty.

Prawn Dumpling Soup @ RM5.40. Despite the thick dumpling skin, you will be glad to find there are two whole prawns in each of them. Seasoning is kept light and the soup tasted pretty much MSG free to our delight.

Steamed Black Pepper Dumpling @ RM4.20 – quite a novelty but like the Siu Mai, it is also bite sized and will be gone in a whiff. The small dollop of Mongolian/Black Pepper sauce on each dumpling has a strong but not overpowering flavor so you can still appreciate the sweetness of the meat.

Now for the desserts. From what I see the ceiling price is RM7 and most of them are priced below RM5, which I find reasonable. The Durian Pancake here is shaped to resemble the actual fruit and you can expect it to taste better than those served in chained dessert shops as well. My only complaint will be the cream and durian flesh ratio, which is only about 70 to 30.

Chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo @ RM4.80, nicely presented and doesn’t rely on artificial mango syrup and sweeteners to enhance the flavor. Personally, I like this a lot and would rate it as one of the better Mango Sago I have had so far.

Although I am not so agreeable to some of the dim sum’s portion, overall the food at Min Huang is great and does not disappoint. For a restaurant of their scale and pricing, they are able to serve laudably good dim sum that would put many hotels and restaurants that boast hiring oversea dim sum sifu to shame.

Leave a comment: