Review Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Recommended)
Address: Lot G118, Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre, 3, Persiaran Desa Tebrau, Taman Desa Tebrau, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia (Located within Aeon Mall Tebrau City Mall)
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Xdo1Qxwoc6kPBjF56
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)
鱼子蒸烧卖 Siew Mai Dumpling = RM10.90
白玉翠虾饺 Har Gao Dumpling = RM11.50
香脆炸肠粉 Crispy Shrimp Cheong Fun = RM14.80
Service Charge 10% = RM3.72
Service Tax 6% = RM2.23
Click here for the Full Menu and Receipt (Opens in a New Tab, Price is accurate as of Posting Date)
This is quite a Large Eatery in Aeon Tebrau City. It's cutely renovated in a very Modern Style. And yet despite how Modern it looks, I was very pleased to see they use Traditional Bamboo Baskets to serve instead of the more Modern Plastic Ones. The Staffs were Polite and Courteous, especially so for a Pinoy Chap who attended to me. There were noticeably quite alot of Customers on a Friday Afternoon.
One thing to note is that this place is Cashless Only. You pay using either your Credit Card, Debit Card or other forms of Cashless Options. I've had no issues paying with my Debit Card in this place. The Food Ordering System is via Paper and Pencil and I especially like that the Staffs will re-confirm what you've ordered before they actually start preparing your Food. This is actually a very Good Practice that I've not seen done in other Dim Sum Eateries.
The First Dish (Siew Mai) took 7 mins to serve up, and the rest of them took about 5 mins between them. Everything was served up within 16 Mins. The Shrimp Cheong Fun was the one that took the longest. Abit Slow, but overall Not Bad Timing on a Friday Afternoon considering the Amount of Customers, although I'd expect the Wait to be much longer on Weekends.
Chilli is a very Light Garlic Chilli. When I say Light, I really mean it. The Garlic Taste is Super Super light but it's there. Not Particularly Spicy but does have a Very Mild Heat. Because of how light the Garlic Taste is, it doesn't feel like it's from a Supermarket Bottle. I have a feeling this is Homemade.
The Brown Sauce is a Thick Sweet Sauce with a very Slight Hint of either Oyster or Hoisin Sauce. Surprisingly quite some Depth with this one, I reckon it will pair well with Certain Dishes.
鱼子蒸烧卖 Siew Mai Dumpling = RM10.90
This has a Very Nice Chickeny Aroma when served up. Its of course made of Chicken which while not a Traditional Ingredient usually used in Siew Mai, I thought it was nice to have a Different Interpretation of this Classic Dim Sum Dish. Visually, it looks as Accurate Made as a Traditional Siew Mai should look like. 做的有模有样.
The First Bite into it gave a Strong Hit of Mushrooms. I like that the Actual Filling within is not 100% Minced Chicken, but a Good Mix of both Minced and Whole Pieces. The Chicken Taste is Not Overpowering, quite Subtle actually and I LOVE the Little Pockets of Spaces within the Filling which hid Little Bits of Slightly Salty Savoury 汤汁. This made the Whole Siew Mai exceptionally Bouncy and Juicy. Overall, I thought this was a Good Interpretation of this Classic Dish that is worth to try.
白玉翠虾饺 Har Gao Dumpling = RM11.50
Visually, I thought it looked Nicely Wrapped with a Tease of Orangey Hue. First Bite of this was a Very Solid and Bouncy Juicy Prawn Meat with a Very Slight Bit of 汤汁, although I feel Siew Mai has more 汤汁. Overall Not Overly Prawny. What didn't hit the Spot for me though was the Skin. I felt the Bite Texture was on the Thicker Side, perhaps Too Thick. I suppose they are playing it Overly Safe and Overly Cautious here because they don't want to make the Skin too Thin that it will Break after Steaming.
This Har Gao Skin was Certainly a Solid Bugger with No Breakage but in doing so, it sacrifices the Fragile Bite Feel. This is the Art of a Good Har Gao. The Skin should be Strong Enough to withstand the Steaming Process and not Easily Break when a Customer eats it, yet it must also be Fragile enough to avoid being Too Doughy for a more Melt in the Mouth Feel. This one just played it Too Safe. Good Effort though.
香脆炸肠粉 Crispy Shrimp Cheong Fun = RM14.80
This was the one that I saw many people order on Google Maps and the one that made me want to come visit this Eatery in the First Place. It was also the Dish that took the longest to prepare as it was the one that took 16mins to arrive. When it was served up, I thought it looked Visually Impressive and compared to the Cheong Fun I had previously in "Say Yes Hong Kong Dim Sum" at Sutera. I thought it looked a Whole Lot more Colourful in Comparison. The Scallion and Chilli Slice Garnishings really helped alot here.
When you actually eat this, you will realize this is actually a Popiah in Disguise. The Filling within is actually a Familiar Popiah Filling made up of Mangguang and Carrot Strips. Instead of using Popiah Skin to wrap though, the fillings are Wrapped in a Very 脆皮 Crispy Skin and then Double Wrapped with a Outer Soft Cheong Fun Dough Skin and finally topped off with Chicken Floss.
The Culinary Technical Aspect of this is Impressive because I wonder how they are able to keep the Popiah Filling wrapped in the Deep Fried 脆皮 Skin without using Popiah Skin to hold them? I suppose it's the same technique used for some 脆皮 Dim Sum Dishes but done on a More Smaller Scale? Perhaps this is the reason why this Dish took the Longest to serve up because they need to prepare this and Fry it Fresh on the Spot.
The Cheong Fun Skin while Soft, is on the Thicker Side and the Uniform and Clean Cut of it made me think that this is probably not Handmade, not the HK-Style Ultra Silky Soft Type. This is probably from a Prepared Package of Factory Made Cheong Fun Sheet. I wished it was Softer, but it does its Role well enough in this Dish. The Garnishings aren't for Fun either, especially the Red Chilli slices. Not only does it add Colour to the Dish, but occasionally it provides an Unexpected hit of Red Chilli Heat to tease your Tastebuds to avoid Flavour Fatigue. Excellent Choice to add Red Chillis here doing a Double Duty.
This Dish is a Play on Texture. Your Teeth will hit the Soft Cheong Fun Skin, followed by a Harder Crispy Crunch of the 脆皮 Crispy Skin, and continue with the Soft and Familiar taste of Popiah Mangguang Filling. All this is followed by a Hit of that Sharply Salty Sauce. The Saltiness of this Sauce did felt abit Too Salty and started to Overstay its Welcome the more I ate, so do share this with Someone. Arguably, I can't really call this a "Cheong Fun" though, as I felt this was more like a Different Atas Variation of a Popiah disguised as a Cheong Fun. To me though, this is still a Very Well Thought Out and Well Designed Dish that is certainly worth a Try.
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Conclusion and Closing Thoughts
Other than the Har Gao Skin, I thought Everything else was Very Well Made and I was actually quite impressed with the Quality of the Siew Mai despite it using Chicken instead of Pork for its Filling. Cheong Fun was Culinarily Technically Impressive and is also Worth to Try.
At a Total Price of RM43.15 (S$12.50) for everything I ordered, I thought this was a very Reasonable Price and if you are Ok that the Staffs will attempt to clear your Table while you are still Eating, I can recommend this for anyone to come give this a try.
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