Chinoise

Special thanks to Thistle Port Dickson Resort for extending this food review invitation.

Thistle Port Dickson Resort has a Chinese restaurant called Chinoise. The culinary team here is led by veteran Chef Min, who has extensive experience in Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine. The restaurant does not serve pork.

On weekends from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, Chinoise offers Dim Sum Semi-Buffet Lunch to in-house guests and the general public. Customers can order unlimited servings of dim sum during the meal. In addition, there is also a buffet counter with supplemental dishes, soup and desserts.

The restaurant employs a unique serving method where dim sum is served from steam-heated carts, which is wheeled from table to table by the restaurant staff. This way, diners can savor steaming hot dim sum without having to leave their tables.

There are more than 20 types of dim sum available. Prominent ones include Chicken Dim Sum (烧卖), Loh Mai Kai (糯米鸡), Hong Kong BBQ Pau (港式叉烧包), Shanghai Dumpling (上海小笼包) and Teochew Style Dim Sum (潮州粉粿). The selection of dim sum may vary from week to week.

If you are blessed with an adventurous palate, Chef Min has several unconventional dim sum varieties up his sleeve. Shown here are Curry Flavour Deep-Fried Char Gui (香辣油条), Thai-Style Fried Wanton (泰式炸云吞), Braised Kucai Sui Gao (韭菜水饺) and Thai-Style Prawn Roll (泰式虾卷). I love the lemongrass aroma of these dishes!

Diners can also help themselves to hot dishes from the buffet counter. Today's Chicken Meat Ball Porridge comes with condiments like fried anchovies, spring onions, fried shallots and pickled radishes (菜脯).

Meanwhile, cold dishes include Marinated Soya Herb Chicken (豉油鸡) and Wok-Fried Assorted Vegetables With Preserved Radish & Peanuts (菜脯炒花生). The latter is particularly appetizing!

As for chafing dishes, today's menu features Chinese-Style Lo Han Vegetables (罗汉菜), Fried Egg With Onion & Cai Pu (菜脯葱蛋), Chinese Fried Rice (扬州炒饭) and more. Lotus Root Red Dates Soup (莲藕红枣汤) is prepared too.

Ingredients for Nyonya Curry Laksa are yellow noodles, green beans, bean sprouts, chili peppers, tofu and hard-boiled eggs. The curry contains lots of coconut milk, making it rich and creamy.

Bubur Kampiun is a sweet dessert of Minangkabau origin. It comprises of bubur sum-sum (coconut rice porridge), kolak pisang (banana compote), buah candil (glutinous rice nuggets), pulut hitam (black glutinous rice), coconut milk and gula melaka (palm sugar).

Other desserts at the buffet counter include Pulut Bunga Telang, Penjan Ubi Kayu and Deep-Fried Chinese Pancake. Cut fruits are available too.

Last but not least, cleanse your palate with a bowl of Laici Kang (五味汤). The sweet dessert contains snow fungus (雪耳) and longan (龙眼). Laici Kang is best consumed chilled.

The Dim Sum Semi-Buffet Lunch is priced at RM50.00 net per adult and RM28.00 net per child. The meal includes free flow of coffee and Chinese tea. On a side note, Thistle also serves Cita Rasa Gerai Buffet Dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Name: Chinoise
Address: Thistle Port Dickson Resort, KM16, Jalan Pantai, Teluk Kemang, 71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
Contact: 06-648-2907
Business hours: 12:30pm-2:30pm, 6:30pm-10:30pm
Website: https://www.thistle.com.my/portdickson/restaurants/chinoise
Coordinates: 2.43044 N, 101.85883 E
Directions: Thistle is approximately 16 kilometers south of Port Dickson town center. Turn right as soon as you see the resort's signboard and follow the winding road to the hotel lobby. Chinoise is located at Level 1. The resort provides complimentary parking.

Ming Huang Dim Sum Noodle House

Ming Huang Dim Sum Noodle House (新明煌点心面馆) is a new dim sum restaurant in Setia Taipan. The owner was formerly operating a shop at Kepong.

There is a reasonably large number of dim sum dishes on the menu. I like the fact that the menu highlights recommended dishes; this really helps us to narrow down our choices.

Some of the signature dim sum items are Light Soya Sauce Pork Dumpling (豉油王抄手, RM6.50), Steamed Siew Mai (鱼子烧卖王, RM5.50) and Salted Yolk Lotus Seed Bao (咸香莲蓉包, RM4.00).

Crispy Cha Siew Cheong Fen (脆皮叉烧粉肠, RM6.80) is recommended too. Barbecued pork is rolled in two layers of steamed rice rolls: one is soft while the other is crispy.

Fried Rice Flour With XO Sauce (上海XO酱炒粉肠, RM8.50) is cooked with prawns and eggs. This dish is reasonably well prepared.

The dim sum items at Ming Huang Dim Sum Noodle House are fairly tasty but there is certainly room for improvement. The prices are on the high side compared to similar restaurants nearby.

Address: 10, Jalan Setia Utama AV U13/AV, Setia Alam, 40170 Shah Alam, Selangor
Contact: 016-422-7996
Business hours: 8:00am-4:30pm, closed on Wednesdays
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Hoong Foong Dim Sum

Today's breakfast brings us to Hoong Foong Dim Sum (鸿丰港式点心) at Pusat Perniagaan USJ 21. Facing Main Place Mall, the restaurant is a combination of 3 contiguous shops. One section of the dining area has air conditioning.

Siu Mai (烧卖, RM5.00) is commonly served in Cantonese dim sum restaurants. Made from minced pork and shrimps, the steamed dumpling is wrapped in lye-water dough.

Ha Kao (虾饺, RM6.00) and Basley Prawn Dumpling (鲜虾粉果, RM6.00) are both filled with shrimps. The latter also contains scallions (青葱) and garlic chives (韭菜).

Salad Prawn (沙律虾角, RM6.00) also contains shrimps but is deep-fried instead. Sweet mayonnaise is provided as the dipping sauce.

We also ordered an Egg Tart (蛋挞, RM2.00) and a Portuguese Egg Tart (葡京蛋挞, RM2.50). The latter is dusted with cinnamon and has a caramelized crust. I love the crumbly texture of the flaky pastry.

The pastry for Cha Siu Cake (叉烧酥, RM5.00) is pretty good. Glazed with honey, it is filled with sweet barbecued pork.

This is followed by Lotus Bao With Egg Yolk (莲蓉包, RM2.30). It is filled with lotus paste and salted duck egg yolk.

The final dish is Fried Carrot Cake (炒萝卜糕, RM6.00). The "cake" is actually made from daikon, not carrots. Cut into bite-size cubes, it is stir-fried with eggs, bean sprouts, garlic chives, garlic and soy sauce. I think the serving size is way too small.

For customers who park inside Main Place Mall, Hoong Foong Dim Sum gives RM2.00 rebate for a minimum spending of RM25.00. This rebate is applicable on weekdays only.

Address: 77 & 79, Jalan USJ 21/10, Pusat Perniagaan USJ 21, 47630 Subang Jaya, Selangor
Contact: 03-8081-2653
Business hours: 7:00am-5:00pm
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Dim Sum Station

The Promenade is one of the latest dining places in Bayan Baru. One of the restaurants here, Dim Sum Station (点心栈), serves Hong Kong-style dim sum (港式点心). The dining section is rather spacious and has an upscale appearance.

Steamed Dried Scallop Dumplings (干贝海棠果, RM8.50) are a type of siew mai (烧卖). They are filled with minced pork and shrimps, making them fairly succulent. The dumplings are topped with chopped scallops for the extra savoriness.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Juicy Meat Dumplings (上海小笼包, RM7.90) are typically eaten with ginger slivers and rice vinegar. In my personal opinion, the dough skin is too thick and this suppresses the taste of minced pork inside. I also feel that the amount of broth in the dumplings is inadequate.

Steamed Chicken Feet (柱侯酱凤爪, RM6.50) are flavored with chu hou paste (柱侯酱), which is a savory condiment from Foshan (佛山) in Guangdong Province. Unfortunately, I feel that the seasoning is excessively salty for me. Although I do not mind eating chicken feet, this dish is just not my cup of tea.

Steamed Char Siew Pao (蜜汁叉烧包, RM7.90) is considered one of the better items today. The steamed buns are filled with delicious barbecued pork. The pork's honey-sweetness works well with the soft bun.

I enjoy the savory egg yolks inside the Custard Shortbread (奶皇一口酥, RM6.90). It is made from flaky pastry and is glazed with honey to produce a glossy surface.

Another recommended item is Steamed Glutinous Rice (生炒糯米饭, RM7.50). The rice dish is traditionally prepared by frying, but more often than not, steaming is much preferred by restaurants nowadays. Besides glutinous rice, this delicacy also contains Chinese sausages (腊肠), dried shrimps (虾米), shiitake mushrooms (冬菇), peanuts and scallions.

As for Century Egg & Shredded Chicken Porridge (鸡丝皮蛋粥, RM5.90), the rice grains have mostly disintegrated into the congee. The bowl of porridge is garnished with crispy rice vermicelli and chopped scallions. I feel that the serving size is rather small.

Moving on to tea, Ju Pu (菊普, RM1.90 per person) consists of tea leaves of pu er (普洱) blended with chrysanthemum flowers. This drink is very popular in Hong Kong and Guangdong. Hot water refills are free. However, I feel that the staff is pretty slow or reluctant to help us on this.

Address: 5-G-2, The Promenade, Persiaran Mahsuri, 11950 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
Contact: 011-2232-8888
Business hours: 7:30am-3:00pm
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