Yun Lai Huat Dim Sum

Niu Ze Xui (牛車水) or NZX is a failed shopping mall in Ara Damansara. It started with a bang 3 to 4 years ago, but it fizzled out. As it was very near to where we live, my wife and I used to frequent the place. The problem with this mall was that it was not air-conditioned. It could be quite warm and stuffy there. Malaysians love air-con and perhaps that was one reason why this mall did not make it.

Today the mall is in a sorry state. The walkways are empty. The shops are empty. Some areas are starting to show signs of neglect and rot.

Surrounding the mall are many shops and offices. Many of them thrive in spite of the gloom inside. In fact it is often difficult to find a place to park. There is an basement parking. But it is shady and they charge RM2 per entry. People avoid it.

One of the shops that thrive is a dim sum restaurant - Yun Lai Huat. It really is not a great place. But dim sum is a popular food. And being the only one in Ara Damansara, it appeared to do a reasonably good business.

We have eaten there a number of times. And each time, it was a crowd.

Their tables spill to the five foot way and into the empty mall.

Their dim sum selection is not fantastic. The usual stuffs - nothing out of the ordinary. Prices are not that cheap - comparable to other more established dim sum restaurants.

I was quite pissed off once. I asked a waiter for refill of water for our tea. He very rudely and loudly told me to do it myself, pointing to a hot water boiler nearby. Later I told off the boss. He did not apologise and gave me the excuse on the shortage of workers, and that his workers would refill if they were free. I had to tell him that his man was standing idle when I requested for the refill.

Now to the food. The dim sum were not extraordinary. Quality was mediocre and the flavour, so so. One notch below places like Jin Xuan Hong Kong in PJ Uptown.

The porridge was too thick and mushy.

They serve noodles as well. Perhaps the saving grace. The texture of the noodles was nicely al dente.

Yun Lai Huat is perhaps living proof that a successful restaurant need not necessarily have the best food and the best service. It perhaps has a lot to do in being at the right place selling the food that people want. That actually had been the reason that we had repeatedly gone back to the place in spite of the mediocre food quality and tea refill fiasco. We balked at the thought of driving all the way to Jin Xuan in Uptown PJ, and having to hunt for a parking space or to wait in queue for a table.

Axian Dim Sum

Axian Dim Sum restaurant apparently has links to Astro AEC food personality Jason. The signboard carries a caricature that somewhat resembles him. Whether or not the makan shop belongs to him, I really do not know. Thy have a web page here. Axian Dim Sum has 2 outlets. Their first outlet is in Bandar Puteri Puchong. We visited their second outlet in Subang Jaya USJ 9 on Jalan USJ 9/5N. You can find the addresses and maps of both outlets in their web page.

Their Subang Jaya outlet has 2 floors of dining space. The place was packed when we were there. Dim sum is surely the favorite food among us Chinese. The place was quite new but rather messy. Perhaps they were too busy to take care of house keeping or too new to be properly organized.

Food wise, they were OK. But I was not excited by the dim sum they served. They were not too bad but I did not find them exceptional to want to go back for more. Also the portions were rather small for the restaurant prices that we paid. Between this place and Jin Xuan Hong Kong that I had previously blogged, I would much prefer the later.

Enjoy the visuals below. They do not need any description and comment. Certainly I do not know the names of the various dim sums.

The dim sum here is really quite good...

Restoran Jin Xuan Hong Kong offers reasonably good dim sum at reasonable prices. They have 2 outlets and both are in PJ. One is located at Jalan SS21/60 in Uptown, Damansara Utama. The other is located not too far away at Jalan SS22/19 in Damansara Jaya, near the Atria shopping complex. Both are very popular and be prepared to wait outside for a table. But don't be deterred. The queue is normally not very long and they provide chairs while you wait.

The restaurants have a wide variety of dim sum selection. Service is fast and efficient. On weekdays, you order your dim sum on menu slips that they provide. On weekends or during peaks, waiters carry the fares around the tables and you pick what you want.

Enjoy......