I Love Yum Cha (我愛飲茶) @ Plaza Manjalara, Kepong [CLOSED DOWN]

Kindly note that I Love Yum Cha at Kepong is permanently closed now.

Egg Custard Tart 港式蛋撻　(RM4.80)
‘Hey, when will you be free. Let’s come out for yum cha’

Bean Curd Sheet Roll with Thai Chilli 泰式鮮竹卷(RM3.80)
In Malaysia, yum cha literally means hanging together for a drink, or a meal, but the main concern is to have gathering, chatting and gossiping. It can be anywhere, anytime, from the shabby mamak stall to cafes to restaurants. There is no specific place and time.

Polo Bun 菠蘿包 (RM6.00)
But in many other countries such as Australia, yum cha means going for dim sum. It’s that simple, as what told by Ann from I Love Yum Cha.This is also the reason why the restaurant is named so, as they served dim sum from 7.30am to 12 midnight.

Located in Plaza Manjalara, Kepong, I Love Dim Sum is a new, 8-month-old restaurant. You can hardly miss it as you pass by the place, thanks to the extra huge, bright red colour shop sign. The interior is spacious, a plus point as this will allow them to cater huge dim sum crowd especially during weekend morning.

Everything here is homemade, prepared freshly by experienced chef and team. During peak hours, there will be pushcart around the restaurant, so diners can choose whatever they want. But during off peak hours, menu will be presented and diners can choose accordingly. Then only the kitchen will steam your dim sum, ensuring fresh, pipping hot dim sum to be served to your table.

Honey BBQ Pork Puff 蜜汁叉燒酥 (RM4.80)
We went for lunch there last weekend, and get spoilt with the wide range of dim sums. They have more than 56 types of dim sums, and more will be up in future perhaps. We started off with usual favorite steamed dim sum, har gau, siu mai, xiu long bao.

Siu Mai魚子燒賣 (RM4.80)

Har Gau 原味鮮蝦餃 (RM5.50)
The filling is a mixture of pork and shrimp, providing a bouncier texture. Har gau is good too, with a wrap of at least three whole shrimps within the dumpling skin. All raw ingredients are strictly picked from market or supplier daily, guarantee quality dim sum.

Shanghai Pork Dumpling 小籠包 (RM6.50)
The xiu long bao possesses the basic requirements that it should have- thin skin, fresh minced meat, flavourful stock oozing out once biting through. But we still find it mediocre, better if the skin could be thinner with more delicate foldings, and less compact meat filling.

Yong Tau Fu 釀四宝 (RM8.00)
Summergirl likes this, especially the gravy. Fish paste is stuffed in bitter guard, eggplant and chilli, and cooked in a thick, flavourful brown oyster sauce that has scored herself double thumbs up from Summergirl. Recommended.

Yam Pork Ribs 芋香汁排骨 (RM4.80)

Spicy Chicken Feet 香辣鳳爪 (RM3.80)
Also, after trying out their pork ribs and chicken feet, we agreed that I Love Yum Cha does good on their sauce, hence set off their dim sum to be more delicious.

Deep Fried Black Pepper Flavoured Bacon Roll 黑椒熏肉卷 (RM6.00)
Deep fried black pepper flavoured bacon roll is our favorites among all. Homemade squid balls wrapped with bacon and deep fried, dressed over with black pepper mayonnaise. Love the bouncy and smoky combination with a piquant kick.

Deep Fried Squid Ball With Cheese 芝士章鱼丸 (RM6.00)

Deep fried squid balls with cheese, a simpler version of the former- Minus the bacon, and replaces black pepper mayo sauce with cheese. We are glad that this version has no bacon, as the cheese dressing is creamy, cheesy enough in adding a rich flavour. Any extra ingredient will make it too heavy.

Stir Fried Radish Cake 香炒蘿蔔糕 (RM6.00)
Bountiful texture contributed by bean sprouts, preserved radish, lap cheong, egg, chives, and cubed raddish cake. Lack of wok hei, but the combination of taufu-soft to juicy crunch in one plate manage to make it satisfying. Raddish cake is great though, proven to be prepared diligently,not just the bland type with only taste of flour. Instead, fragrant of raddish, crisp edge and bites of dried shrimp within munch nicely take over here.

Deep Fried Salad Shrimp 米網沙律蝦卷 (RM5.50)
One of the popular fried items in dim sum shop, thanks to the plump whole shrimp that nestled beautifully within the golden brown crunchy layer, easily liked either by the young or old.

Bean Curd Sheets and Shrimps Wrapped with Rice Noodle Roll 鮮蝦腐皮腸粉 (RM6.00)
The enhance version of rice noodle roll, as it is rolled with more plentiful ingredients compared to Fried Dough Wrapped with Rice Noodle Roll, Rice Noodle Roll with Shrimp, and Rice Noodle Roll with Barbeque Pork. The inner part is shrimp, followed by bean curd sheets and the outest layer is rice noodle roll. Call it a dim sum duet.

Fried Dough wrapped with Rice Noodle Roll 炸兩腸粉 (RM4.80)
Fried Dough Wrapped with Rice Noodle Roll, favourite of Summerkid and a much better ‘zha liong” (炸两）comparing to those we had tasted in Hong Kong recently. The cruller itself has already won- Crispy at the outside, chewy in the inside. Great match with the silky smooth rice sheet, smoother with a shower of soy sauce base gravy.

Salted Egg Custard Bun 咸蛋流沙包 (RM5.50)
We found a few steamed bun choices from the menu, including Tri Colour Custard Bun ( yam, pumpkin, salted egg), BBQ Pork Bun With Mandarin Orange Peel, Red Bean Paste Bun with Black Sesame, Lotus Seed Paste Bun, Piggy Bun and Salted Egg Custard Bun.

Piggy Bun 豬仔包 (RM6.50)
Piggy Bun is available only on weekends, but they are too cute to be eaten. So charming that they stil stay in state until the end of our meal!

BBQ Pork Bun with Mandarin Orange Peel 橙皮叉燒包 (RM6.00)
Char Siew Bao here fares differently, as the chef adds in mandarin orange peel to the pau, leaving a faint hint of mandarin orange aroma that you particularly don’t find this anywhere else.

Hot and Spicy Pork Dumpling 紅油辣子餃
Recommend for vinegar lover, as to us, the sourness of vinegar is little overwhelm. Personally, we prefer to have the vinegar placed separately with pork dumpling, for the dumpling is great at its original without any gravy.

Squid Balls 上湯章魚丸 (RM6.00)
Three fish balls in clear soup, deeper dig we found glass noodles hidden beneath. Soup tastes light but this is the way we like it. Called it as super mini noodle soup.

Deep Fried Sesame Coated Mochi with Lotus Seed Paste 金黃芝麻棗 (RM3.80)
End the meal with Deep Fried Sesame Coated Mochi with Lotus Seed Paste, a petite dessert in sweet filling with chewy, glutinous sensation.

Durian Spring Roll 榴莲卷(RM6.00)

For durian lovers, do not forget to get yourself a plate of durian spring roll, you will enjoy having the rich, creamy durian paste that pairs well with the crispy skin, as well as the durian scent that develops in the palate.

Also, thanks to Gordon, tea master from I Love Yum Cha for showing us the Taiwanese style tea ceremony, very detailed preparations and brewing of tea to maximize the taste of tea. We were served with premium ooling tea (老烏龍)，which is best prepared with 95 degree celcius.

The first brew is an extended washing of tea leaves, not meant for drinking. The second refilling is then emptied into tea pitcher (公道杯), a vessel that ensures even taste of tea is poured for all guests.

Next, the tea is poured into scent cup (聞香杯) and covered with drinking cup (品茗杯). Turn the cups upside down, lifts up the scent cup to have the tea released into the drinking cup.

The scent cup captures cold scent, whilst the drinking cup captures hot scent. Take the scent cup and enjoy the aroma of tea, and finally sip on the aromatic, beautifully brewed oolong tea.the tea from the drinking cup.

In short, I Love Yum Cha certainly deserved a highlight for their homemade dim sum done using fresh and quality ingredients. Taste wise, we can only say that there are hit and misses, and is much dependable on individual taste. Sipping a cup of quality Chinese tea here is definitely a must!

Photography: Summer
Write up: YLing

Address:
I love Yum Cha
Plaza Manjalara,
Jalan 8/62a, Taman Manjalara,
52200 Kepong, Kuala Lumpur.
Business Hours: 7.30am- 12.00 midnight
Contact:03-6732 5308
Website: iloveyumcha.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iloveyumcha