Since the hype over this restaurant has been off the charts recently, I thought I’d give it a try with the husband and give you guys my honest, no-fuss review of the place.
Also, full disclosure: We do love dim sum and a great deal on food is enough to get me really excited over a restaurant. 😉 We also paid for this meal so I am in no way bound, expected, or persuaded by the restaurant to wax poetic over their food and service.
The current promo is as follows:
Photo grabbed from the Tai Zi Heen Facebook Page
Since it’s a Sunday and I’ve been craving for dim sum as per usual, we made our way to the restaurant which was located inside the Pullman Hotel in KLCC.
FYI: The Pullman KLCC is formerly known as Prince Hotel.
Parking was a breeze and only took us a few minutes. Tai Zi Heen is located at the hotel’s 2nd level and from the 5th floor parking area, you’ll have to go down to the lobby first before taking a different lift or hopping on to the escalator.
We were seated right away. We had reservations (which is actually required) so this wasn’t that much of a shocker but I did expect the restaurant to have more people. Based on my experience here in KL, Malaysians love a good deal as much as I do.
Someone’s excited for Dim Sum! 😉
Without further ado, let’s move on to what I thought of the food we had today!
Crystal Dumplings filled with dried sole (har gao, hakao, har kaw)
I admit, I had my reservations on their har gao since it is one type of dim sum that is hard to perfect. It is also my favourite so I can honestly say that I know my har gao. (Side note: Is there a career in being a har gao connoisseur somewhere?)
The har gaos in Tai Zi Heen are a tad bigger compared to the usual har gao you will get around Kuala Lumpur. They use dried sole which is a kind of fish – not shrimps (some restaurants in KL and Manila opt for sole over shrimp for their menu, so don’t be shocked).
True, they taste quite similar (especially when you add small bits of shrimp into the sole filling) but dried sole gives you a bit more of a crunch while shrimps give you more flavour.
For a sole har gao, I’d still give this a 7 over 10 because I was able to eat a lot of it (we ordered this twice).
Was I just hungry and craving a lot? 😉
If you’re quite particular and more into shrimp like I am, I’d recommend Dolly Dim Sum’s har gao. It’s a bit smaller but more flavourful.
No, Dolly Dim Sum is not paying me to say these things but since they are my all-time favourite dim sum restaurant here in KL, I will end up comparing them a lot in this post.
Chicken and shrimp dumplings filled with mushrooms (siew mai, siomai)
This one gets really good marks! They’re tender, flavourful, and they pack a lot of ingredients in there. Although pork and shrimp siew mai will always be number one in my book, this finishes at a close second.
Shrimp and chicken dumplings with Szechuan soy chili dressing
This is perfection. A bit bigger than what Dolly Dim Sum serves and just a tad spicier. Normally, I stay away from spicy food but after trying a similar dish in Dolly, I became a bit braver. Yay, me! Although, I still get a runny nose after.
This one has a bit more chili oil but it’s not too overpowering. Ever had food that’s too spicy, you don’t get to taste any other flavour from that dish anymore? I hate such types of food. Just make people eat pure chili, if that’s the case, right?
But this one? You’ll be able to taste the shrimp and the chicken, laced with soy sauce while the spice tickles your tastebuds. I would go to Tai Zi Heen just for this! And yes, I think this is worth the runny nose!
Steamed fluffy barbecued chicken buns
Reminds me a bit of Tim Ho Wan‘s BBQ Pork Buns when it comes to the taste of the BBQ sauce. However, the “shell” is of course different. This is also the halal version. 😉
Though I love Tim Ho Wan’s crumbly and sweet bun, the fluffy, pao-type bun of Tai Zi Heen is also good and worth the visit to this restaurant. It’s nothing too unique but is always a must order, if you ask me.
Hong Kong style roasted duck
I’ve never been a fan of duck. I always find it too oily for my taste but my husband who happens to love it, told me that it was pretty good.
I tried it and I was reminded why I’m more of chicken person. The meat tastes good but if like me, you’re not a fan of food that’s too oily, better skip the skin.
Barbecued chicken puffs with parmesan cheese
This was… so-so. If you’re a fan of hopia (bakpia), you may love these. I wasn’t able to taste the parmesan as promised in the menu although the puff shell is quite buttery. You get to taste less of the barbecued chicken though because the shell’s taste is quite overwhelming.
Deep fried beancurd rolls with cheddar cheese and shrimp
This is my biggest disappointment. If you’ve tried Dolly Dim Sum’s version, you will hate this. In Dolly Dim Sum, you get something similar but instead of cheddar, they use mozarella.
In Tai Zi Heen, the beancurd is so thick and toasted, it’s just too crunchy and hard to bite on. I didn’t even taste the cheese in this roll and was just purely unhappy with it. Maybe it’s a preference issue as I do love cheese a lot. This dish may work for some people but personally, I don’t think I will be ordering this next time.
Wolfberry ostmanthus jelly
This is my favourite Chinese dessert! I’ve always loved the one from Tim Ho Wan as it’s so refreshing and not too sweet. This one is highly comparable to that. I would’ve ordered more if only I wasn’t watching my sugar intake. 😉
Steamed bamboo charcoal buns with salted egg yolk
I must say, this is the star of the whole show. I didn’t expect to love this because… well, it’s black. And that colour never looked appealing to me when it came to food. They looked like burnt buns!
Naturally, I made the husband try it first and when he gave me the green light, I took a small bite, and went “OMG this is amazing!”
The bun itself is a bit sweet while the custard-y salted egg yolk is the perfect filling to compliment it. Careful though as biting on this bun is quite dangerous. The yolk may burst, depending on how tight you’re holding on to the bun.
What stopped us from ordering another round of the charcoal buns is knowing that it’s full of cholesterol. Egg yolks! Eeep! But a visit to Tai Zi Heen won’t be complete wihout this. Go on your cheat day and live a little!
And there you have it! That’s all the dim sum we had today! We were so stuffed after!
The total bill came up to RM149.50 inclusive of water, chinese tea, orange juice, and of course – the GST. 🙂 Not bad for a dim sum buffet at a hotel restaurant, right?
Just some final thoughts:
On service
They are a bit understaffed and some of the servers looked like they got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. Some even looked unhappy and were kinda snappy. I asked one for chili paste for my husband and he couldn’t understand me so I repeated it slowly. He snapped at me, giving me a choice between chili padi and green chili.
There are some who are nice and really attentive, though. Like this guy named Nelson who took our order. Another one was one of their new hires who poured our Chinese tea. His name tag didn’t have his name but it said something like ‘F&B assistant’. I could be wrong though since the writing was tiny.
On seating
Ask for a table by the window for some good lighting during lunch. The table nearest to the door is also further from the tables that accommodate bigger groups so it is perfect for couples having lunch.
On Parking Discounts
Ask them to stamp your parking ticket to get the discounted rate of RM7 (flat rate). Parking in KL, especially in hotels is pretty expensive.
Reservations
Are required. Call the number on the e-voucher above to make one at least a day before. From my experience, we didn’t have any trouble doing the reservations via phone. Don’t do it via e-mail because I didn’t get a reply from them when I tried that option. Also, remember that the promo rate is only WEEKENDS and PUBLIC HOLIDAYS from 11:30am to 2pm. The promo also ends on April 30. You still have a couple of weekends to try this out so go for it!
Will I be coming back?
Of course! I’d like to try the rest of their menu. They also have Yang Zhou rice and other dishes like congee. So if you have a hearty appetite and think that dim sum may not satisfy you, don’t worry. They have a pretty extensive menu for a dim sum restaurant. With good variety too.
More later!
Love,
Carol
