Foh San Dim Sum Ipoh, Perak 怡保富山茶樓 – we ended up at this forever popular dim sum restaurant for our Ipoh food trail first stop last week. Planned to have breakfast at Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum opposite to Foh San initially but sadly, it was full house by the time we reached, around 8.30AM. So packed and difficult to move around, with people waiting behind almost each occupied table, plus short queue outside because couldn’t squeeze in. Hahaha.
Reluctantly change plan to Foh San Dim Sum with a not so happy mood. We already know that despite being a highly-mentioned restaurant, the not-so-good comments they have are a lot too. Established since 1971, this award-winning restaurant is undeniably one of the first few eateries that will cross the mind of many when asked “what to eat in Ipoh for breakfast”. Is just like you will go for Pun Chun Duck Noodles when in Bidor. Famous, but, not our first choice.
Foh San Dim Sum restaurant now has a nicely constructed premise, two floors spanning over 8400 square feet. They even have private room on 3rd floor, booking required. There’s no queue needed when we walked in, but was on brisk business. No one serves you at the front counter, so just grab an empty table then sit down.
Dim sum is self-service. Look for a centralized dim sum counter brimming with various types of dim sum. You’ll see people making a beeline for it, that’s the place to get your dim sum. Remember to bring the order card with you, so that the staffs can have a tick on each of your order for bill tracking purpose.
Foh San menu is extensive, covering from steamed items including Siew Mai, Har Gao, steamed fish paste, steamed fuzhok roll, black pepper siew mai, scallop dumpling, mushroom dumpling, sunflower seed siew mai, chee cheong fun, loh mai gai…
.. to deep fried and baked food such as crispy prawn dumpling, crystal spring roll, wu kok/ deep fried yam pastry, sweet potato roll, fried prawn roll, crispy glutinous rice ball, egg tart, char siew pastry, cocktail sausage bun, baked pineapple bun..
.. and many other items not seen on the counter, like claypot yam & stewed fish head rice, claypot ginger duck rice, claypot spare ribs & chicken feet rice, claypot BBQ pork & chicken Rice, Hong Kong style stewed beef Raman, Ginger Duck Ramen, Stewed Fish Head Ramen Noodle, Beijing style ramen, Hong Kong wantan soup & ramen, chicken feet & mushroom ramen, and more, which we are not too sure how to order. LOL.
We kept our order on the normal – siew mai, har gao, chee cheong fan, fried fu zhok meat roll, char siew bao, pai guat, and milk custard as dessert.
Glad that the taste wasn’t that bad though. Siew mai was quite alright with bouncy, meaty filling.
Deep fried fu zhok meat roll was quite oily, lack of crispiness but meat filling is ok. Doesn’t quite like the pronounce soy sauce taste in their meat though.
Supreme Prawn Dumpling 富山虾饺王
Har gao was quite a let down. Worth a mentioned on generous amount of prawns, but the skin was a little too thick for our liking.
Char Siew Cheong Fun 叉燒蒸肠粉
Chee cheong fun is forgettable, just give a skip because you can easily get a better version out there.
Cha Siew Pau 蜜汁叉烧包
Char siew pao scores on soft, fluffy bun, wrapping flavourful, thick saucy chopped meat within. Nice but not the best we had. RM2.20 per piece. You can also try out the mushroom bun, lotus paste with salted egg bun, charcoal bun, lau sha pau and more.
Double Skin Steamed 顺德双皮奶
End our meal with 顺德双皮奶. Silky smooth, melt-in-mouth milk custard dessert. Total bill came to RM43.05 including tea for 2 pax. Honestly, Foh San dim sum price is almost comparable to KL dim sum. Touristy, expensive as expected. Taste wise, mediocre.
Ipoh Foh San Dim Sum 怡保富山茶樓
Address:
51, Jalan Leong Sin Nam,
30300 Ipoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia.
Contact: 605 – 254 0308
Opening Hours: 6.30AM – 2.30PM (Closed on Tuesdays)
