For Dim Sum That Is Pork Free Go To Maju Palace

Pork-free Dim Sum @ Maju Palace

BLOGGER REVIEW
Check out Maju Palace for delicious pork-free dim sum

By PureGlutton

There aren’t many pork-free independent restaurants around town that serve good dim sum. Maju Palace Restaurant is one of those rare gems that can whip up a great pork-free dim sum feast and that’s exactly what a group of foodie friends and I discovered recently.

To ensure freshness and piping hot dishes, dim sum items are only cooked to order here. As Executive Chef Justin Hor (whose company we were lucky enough to enjoy during this dim sum feast), puts it, “Every dish is freshly prepared once our customer places an order. You can be sure there is no re-heated dim sum served!”

Chicken pies; Fried radish cake; Deep-fried codfish rolls

[more...]The menu is truly extensive, featuring steamed, baked, deep-fried and boiled items. From the baked section, we love the crumbly flaky pastry of the chicken pies and egg tarts. The minced chicken filling in the pie was very tasty and the egg custard was smooth, rich and slipped down our throats effortlessly.

Fat stubby beansprouts dotted our plate of fried radish cake and I knew we were on to a good thing. The cubes of radish cake were wobbly in the centre yet the sides maintained a nice crusty layer. Chopped garlic, chillies and pickled vegetables (“choy poh”) added flavours to the dish. We also tried the pan-fried radish cake on on its own without all the other added embellishments – it was superb.

Our dining companions went gaga over the fried items and we had a whole lot of them, including the divine deep-fried prawn rolls with mayonnaise, crispy brinjals with chicken floss, deep-fried fishcake, golden crispy shimeiju mushrooms, deep-fried shredded duck and chives with beancurd skin, deep-fried vegetarian rolls and various types of fried dumplings. The deep-fried shredded duck was a nice touch and the chives in it gave it added aroma. The all-time favourite prawn rolls were a hit and gone in a matter of less than a minute.

Deep-fried vegetarian rolls; Fried whitebait with salt & pepper; Fried prawn rolls with mayonnaise; Pan-fried radish cake

We enjoyed the steamed rice rolls with crispy prawns – chee cheong fun with a twist. The prawns were encased in a layer of crunchy beancurd skin before being rolled between the rice rolls.

Rice rolls with crispy prawns

We also sampled a few items from the steamed section: the must-have Imperial har kow, Yunan-style siew mai, chives dumpling with XO sauce, dried scallops and spinach dumplings and cha siew pau. All were executed impeccably. You must try the big pau here as very few restaurants offer this old school favourite.

The big pau here reminded me very much of those I used to enjoy in some of Ipoh’s authentic traditional dim sum joints during my childhood days. I can hardly find them nowadays and can totally understand why Executive Chef Justin called them a 1970s dim sum icon.

Big pau; Poached river carp medallions

Another unique item at Maju Palace is the poached river carp medallion, a piece of round rolled-up river carp fillet, poached in a delightful light tasty broth, flavoured by ginger strips and spring onions.

At one corner of the restaurant, there’s a live cooking station where you can pick and choose an array of special dishes for the day. Dishes are changed weekly. Just tell the chef what you’d like and those dishes will be cooked there and then, and brought to your table.

We ordered two types of porridge there: the red crab porridge and the shredded chicken and snow creek vegetables porridge. The clean clear umami flavours of the crab and fish were infused into the rice broth, giving it a natural sweetness. Ahhh … such comfort food. The double-boiled superior soup with beef and enoki mushrooms served in a Japanese paper wok was similiarly soothing and addictive.

Shredded chicken and snow creek vegetables porridge; Red crab porridge; Double boiled superior soup with beef and enoki mushrooms; Braised noodles village-style

The Oriental group of restaurants also dish up great tasting noodles and my all-time favourite is their braised egg noodles village style. It’s a plate of very simple egg noodles yet the execution and taste are far superior to any luxe complicated version. Alternatively, the fresh water prawns noodles are just decadent – the thick briny prawny soup is simply to die-for.

Freshwater prawns noodles

Desserts are aplenty. Those of you who know me will know that I can never resist lemongrass jelly and Maju Palace serves a very decent version. The lui sar pau (steamed custard buns) we tried had hot golden lava-like salted egg custard oozing out sinfully the moment we bit into them. The steamed egg with bird’s nest was so pretty and full of goodness! Maju Palace also offers the usual glutinous balls, longan herbal thong sui and other usual sweet Chinese snacks.

Aloe vera tarts, Steamed egg with bird’s nest, Baked egg tarts, Lemongrass jelly

Prices of the dim sum dishes are really reasonable, starting from RM6 and above and the selection is quite mind-boggling. A member of the Oriental Group of Restaurants, Maju Palace has just passed its 10th year anniversary in Maju Junction Mall. Parking is ample and the restaurant is spacious, with five private dining rooms.

Maju Palace Restaurant | Address: Suite 5.6 – 5.11, Level 5, Maju Junction Mall, 1001, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Telephone: 03-2691 8822 | Opening hours: Mon – Sat 11am-3pm, 6pm-11pm, Sun & Public Holidays 10am – 3pm, 6pm-11pm | GPS: 3.159799,101.696537 | Pork-free

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