Wednesday, June 04, 2014

D' Shanghai Dim Sum (大上海点心) @ KSL City [Johor Bahru]

Despite the fact that i don't enjoy being called a food blogger, the hard truth is that more than 50% of my posts is related to things i put in to my mouth! I did try to cut down on the number of posts by not bringing out my camera but it can be so frustrating when the food turned out to be way better than expected. 

D'Shanghai is one of the classic cases when i regretted not taking any picture and sharing the good find with my readers. I had to do something about it; by visiting again a week later although this time, i went to its second outlet at KSL City. 

As the first photograph shows, the cuisine at D'Shanghai would be identical to what you can find in Crystal Jade, Imperial Treasure etc in Singapore, at a fraction of their prices.

Prices aside, what's most important was that i came out of the dim sum restaurant fully satisfied and questioned if i should have ordered more of those mouth-watering dishes on the menu since i don't travel up to Malaysia that often! 

Sugarcane Water Chestnut Drink
竹蔗马蹄水
Now, i wasn't glad to see this! For a full fledged restaurant, it is unbecoming to have drinks served in plastic cups; what's the point of spending so much on decor when you try to scrimp on basic tableware? Other than that, i have no further complaint on the drink which was a thirst quencher in the bloody hot days recently. 

Shanghai Xiaolongbao
上海小笼包
In my recent Taiwan trip, i had the opportunity to have a basket of xiaolongbao said to have won the first prize as the best xiaolongbao in the country. It was honestly not fantastic and i was wondering if the xiaolongbao in D'Shanghai would be any better. 

Verdict - much better!! The oily burst of savoury sweet broth that had sufficiently absorbed the very essence of the tiny piece of tender pork meat was something i look forward to whenever i have xiaolongbao! Compared to the epic ones at Dragon-i, i thought the taste wasn't as rich even though it was still worth ordering a few more baskets!

Soup Dumpling
霸王灌汤饺
I could not resist not ordering this whenever i see it on the menu. Basically, this is a gigantic dumpling (as in jiaozi, not bazhang) in a bowl of delicious soup that tastes quite similar to shark fins soup. 

This could have been better if the slices of chicken were not as generous. The correct flavour would have been a more intense infusion of seafood yet in this soup dumpling, i could not help thinking it was a weird combo of both poultry and seafood. 

Red Bean Paste Pancake
传统豆沙锅饼
Balanced with a base that was of a right thickness, I was extremely contented with the crusty exterior outer skin and the scalding hot red bean paste which wasn't overwhelmingly sweet! Perfect as an after meal snack! 

Fried Fen Pi
上海炒粉皮
This was so amazingly delicious; the taste continued to linger in my mouth for a few days after i returned back to Singapore from the flagship outlet at Sutera Mall. Must thank Michelle Sam and her husband for the great recommendation! 

The texture of the noodles lookalike stuff was a bit like guo tiao but they have a surprisingly light sweetness to them that didn't appear to be as a result of any sauce. My love for black-style char kway teow has now been shaken as this version appeared to be much healthier but just as good! 

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Location
No 33, Jalan Seladang,
Taman Abad, Level 2-132 (B), 
KSL City, 80250 Johor Bahru
[Next to the cineplex]

Price
Sugarcane Water Chestnut Drink - RM $3.90
Shanghai Xiaolongbao - RM $4.20
Soup Dumpling - RM $9.80
Red Bean Paste Pancake - RM $5.20
Fried Fen Pi - RM $9.80
[Subject to Service Charge]

Dim Sum Menu / Ordering List
As above

2 comments:

  1. 小笼包is so dried without any soup inside, ask the waiters they said is like that. Out of the 5 items ordered only 1 dish merely pass. This will be my last time to visit this place. To what i can tell my fans, don't waste your money there.

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    Replies
    1. gosh, did quality drop that much?!

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