I am a big fan of dim sum, especially
siew mai,
ching pai kuat, prawn
chee cheong fun, lor mai kai and of course the
char siew pau and porridge. These are normally the 'must haves' at a dim sum outing. Some of my favorite dim sum outlets are the famous one at Taman Connaught, next to CIMB and the unforgettable Overseas at Central Market in the good old days.
Closer to home, i.e. Kajang, we don't have much choice for dim sum. We have Restoran Mexim Tim Sum right in the heart of Kajang, facing the main road heading to Semenyih, almost opposite the Kajang Police Station. This is the new premises, about 100m away from the old premises and very close to the famous Malaysia Restaurant Satay.
I am writing this piece just 2 days after having dim sum at Connaught, on a Saturday morning. Yes, it was packed there and to our horror, the
siew mai was almost uncooked, service was slow, bordering on bad and in general, it was really disappointing.
So lets give credit where its due. The dim sum at Mexim has been quite consistent and tasty. Even during peak on weekends, they don't crack - an extra team of youngsters are deployed to ensure fast service. The stewed chicken feet (
kai kiok) is one of the better ones I have eaten. The pickled green chillies on top give it an excellent taste when taken together.
Prawns are always fresh and crunchy, be it steamed or fried. One other thing that I just love here is the baked yam with pork filling (
woo kok)- this is a must have here. It just tastes right and not too oily - the best I have eaten. The porridge (minced pork and century egg) is A+ too, I have been having porridge here and packing back since they started business many years ago - even my mom loved the porridge and would occasionally ask specifically for it.
Other favorites -
siew mai and the
pai kuat are well executed and are must haves here. My normal order is 2 plates of siew mai - they've got it just right.
Finally, the Chinese tea served here is pretty good quality too, you can taste the difference and it comes at a right price. This makes the washing down of the dim sum just perfect. In fact, after the bad experience at the famous Connaught dim sum place, my message to Kajang folks is: "Don't bother driving to Connaught, Maxim in Kajang offers you equal if not better dim sum offerings".
I love it, hope you do too. I hope they remain the same for years to come. Keep it up Mexim!
There used to be Maxim in Connaught but has since closed. Passed by Taman Cheras last week and saw another one. I've read there's one at Seri Kembangan too. I wonder if they're all branches??
ReplyDeleteI like this place too, great dim sum.
ReplyDeleteThe variety is quite limited on weekdays. Parking is a real problem after 8.30 a.m. on weekdays. This causes less customers being able to visit and I suspect that some dim sum are carried forward i.e. not fresh ?
ReplyDeleteThe only other place for Dim Sum in Kajang is Fortuna Palace but they only open on weekends. So no choice actually ;-)
Yes, the Mexim in Connaught closed, replaced by some Klang Dim Sum - I was not impressed in my last outing. I have also tried the Mexim at Yulek/Taman Cheras - i.e. next to Pantai Hospital, Cheras - again, not memorable.
ReplyDeleteThe dim sum in Sg. Besi (night only) though tradisional, was not enjoyable.
Just this morning we also tried Fortuna Palace's dim sum, this too did not make the mark. Watch out for that review soon.
The surprise came when I tried the Sri Kembangan Clan Dim Sum just a week ago - that is a different class - watch out for that review, coming in soon!