Dim Sum & Lap Mei Fan @ Elegant Inn, Menara Hap Seng, Kuala Lumpur

Recently I had the privilege of meeting fellow food bloggers, Boo_licious, Michelle and Rebecca for a makan session at Elegant Inn. I have been following their blogs so it was nice to finally be able to put a face to each of them. Coincidentally Marian (also known as the Makan Godmother) and Poesy were there for lunch as well, so Boo invited them to join us. We were more than pleased to have them join us. Afterall, dim sum is best enjoyed in the company of a large group.

Chandelier in Elegant Inn

Elegant Inn was one of the restaurants on my To-Eat List ever since I found out that they do a Crispy Vegetarian roll here which resembles my favorite dim sum dish, cha leung. I first ate cha leung at Royal China in London and I absolutely loved it. Cha leung is essentially yau char kwai (fried cruellers) wrapped inside chee cheong fun (rice noodle rolls) and drizzled with a delicious soy sauce.

Dim sum with a touch of heart..

When I arrived, I was surprised to see the restaurant so busy for a Monday. Despite that, the service was good. The restaurant is very tastefully decorated and definitely reflects a high-end Chinese restaurant.

Assortment of nuts to start the meal (RM6)

There are two things which distinguish dim sum from other Chinese cuisine; the enjoyment of the delectable morsels with friends and family while enjoying a cup of tea and also the huge variety of different tastes you get to experience in one sitting. A total of 44 items make up the dim sum menu, from steamed to baked and deep fried to special items and desserts. Dim sum here is served daily at lunch time. The beauty of this restaurant compared to other dim sum eateries is that you can specify how many pieces of dim sum you want. For example, if there are 4 dining in your group and a certain dim sum dish only comes in 3 pieces, they can serve you 4 pieces if requested and you pay a pro rata price.

We started off with some Shrimp Dumplings (RM8.80 for 4). The prawns were fresh and succulent and the skin was not too thick. A great start.

My dining companions did not really like the char siew pau (steamed BBQ meat bun) (RM6.60 for 3) as they found the pork filling too sweet. I on the other hand enjoyed it as I found the buns to be soft and fluffy and the sweetness of the filling was just right for me.

I do not usually like deep fried taro pouch (wu kok) (RM6.60 for 3) but the version here was fantastic. The batter was super light, airy and crispy. When I took my first bite, it melted in my mouth.

The Steamed Australian Scallop dumpling (RM10.50 for 3) was one of my favourite dishes. A whole plump scallop topped with roe sits on top of a succulent prawn. Everything was very fresh.

The Homemade Fish Ball (RM6 for 3) was just so-so for me as it tasted a little too rubbery for my liking.

The Watercress Meat Dumpling (RM7 for 4) was pretty good. The meat filling was very tasty and so was the broth.

My personal favourite was the crispy vegetarian roll (RM9.80 for 2), which also happens to be one of their signature dishes. This was what I came for and it definitely did not disappoint. The smooth rice noodle rolls (chee cheong fun) is wrapped around crunchy deep fried shredded taro, carrot and radish, and drizzled with a sweet and savoury sauce. The play of textures were excellent, I definitely prefer this to the ones with prawn or pork fillings.

I would revisit Elegant Inn again, just for this alone.

The final savoury dish we had here was the lap mei fan (waxed meats rice) (RM68 for small portion). My fellow diners were singing praises for it. I knew that if my mum and The Unc were here, they would have loved this dish as well. I must be the only soul that doesn't know how to appreciate lap mei fan. Since I was a kid, I have never been a fan of lap cheong (Chinese waxed sausage) or any waxed meat for that matter. Having said that, I did finish my bowl of lap mei fan so perhaps it is growing on me! To read more about the lap mei fan here, you can check out Boo's blog as she has done a fine job describing it.

Elegant Inn proudly proclaimed this the "best lap mei fan in town"

The Fillo pastry with avocado filling (RM8 for 2) was crispy on the outside with a smooth creamy avocado filling. The filling was not too sweet either.

Among all the desserts, my favourite was the Icy Longan Sea Coconut (RM6). It was very refreshing and was exactly what I needed after a semi-heavy lunch.

Double Boiled Hasma with Almond Cream (RM18)

Fresh Australian Mango Pudding (RM10)

Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Ball (Tong Yuen) in Ginger Soup (RM6)

One of the six private rooms available

One of Asia's finest restaurant in The Miele Guide 2009/2010

Overall, I enjoyed the dim sum here at Elegant Inn and am well chuffed to have made some new friends. I will be making a visit to their Taman Connaught branch soon for some of their dinner items.

Opening times: 12.00pm to 2.30pm (Lunch); 6.30pm to 10.30pm (Dinner).

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill was RM275 for 6 persons.

Location: Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine, 2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Floor, Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2070 9399

GPS Coordinates: 3.153323, 101.707172

The original outlet is located at 16 Jalan Waras, Taman Connaught, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Only opened from Friday to Sunday. Tel: 03-9130 2626.