Tai Woo Dim Sum

Tai Woo Dim Sum Restaurant has been around for sometime. But it was less known and talked about due to its less strategic location in Ipoh Garden South. Recently, they have been advertising in The Star and this place has been reviewed by famous Ipohboy flogger Motormouth. Finally, I decided to give it a try, during a Sunday lunch. Can you guess what is the first item which attracted me to place my order first? (picture above) Read on to find out....

Next came the Mango Prawn Spring Roll. Food is prepared/served upon ordering. Similar concept with Qi Yuan, a step to ensure you get piping hot fresh stuffs. Not the same can be said for the fried stuffs though. It was abit cold when it arrived. Tastewise, so-so. Prefer the mango to be not too ripe. The mango filling is more of puree type. If it could give the "refreshing" feel like using mango cubes, it would have been better.

Some generic dim sums. Most items here are reasonably priced between RM3-5 per portion. The Siew Mai is okay but the prawns in the Har Gow were not too fresh.

The Xiao Long Bao. A failed attempt. It is even visible from the picture how THICK the skin is. A good xiao long bao should have a thin skin YET secure enough to contain the soupy filling in it. This is more like those Chai Keuh you find in those economical fried noodles stall. The missing delicate touch rendered this Shanghai Dumpling below satisfactory. Try those from Din Tai Fung or Dragon-I and you will know that Xiao Long Bao is an edible piece of art. =)

Bypassing the normal version, I opted for the X.O Sauce Fried Lobak Gou. With a faint hint of spiciness, there is some crushed dried shrimps for additional aroma. Not too bad.

There are some noodle and rice dishes in the menu. And I'm tempted to try out one out of curiosity. This is the Pork Ribs Noodles. Nothing spectacular. Especially when they are using normal Wantan noodles here. Since they are charging like RM7.90 a bowl, I expected some home made or hand stretched noodles instead. Hmmm...

This is a DISASTER. An attempt to innovate the Hong Kong Curry Fish balls normally found in pasar malam resulted in a calamity. The sauce is totally weird and not palatable at all.

The Char Siu Bao did not make its mark too. The skin is very coarse. From the photo you can see the bun is not well puffed up (the actual term is proofed). The rough and compacted/dense texture did not appeal to me at all though the filling is well caramelized and fragrant.

Had the Wolfberry Jelly for dessert. In the menu, its called Boxthorn Guai Fa Gou. This is the first time I tried Guai Fa Gou, a jelly made from brewing flower tea. Yes, those strands which looks like moulds is actually flower petals! I cannot do a benchmarking since its the first time tasting this but I conclude its a refreshing dessert. The incorporation of wolfberries is a good idea!

Just as I promised, the first picture is actually Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice. This is by far the best dish of the day. Served with a small portion of Char Siu Bao filling, the glutinous rice is soft indeed and has a faint fragrance from the lotus leaf. In conclusion, Tai Woo failed to give a shot to challenge the few famous brand name when it comes to Dim Sum. A lot of brushing up need to be done as I feel it is just a normal average second division dim sum restaurant. =S