Foh San Dim Sum Restaurant, Ipoh

Brinjals stuffed with Fish Paste

Wanted to blog bout this favourite dim sum joint of mine but did not have the time and chance to do so. On weekends it is normally so packed til either you use your most charming way to charm ppl off their seats, or be absolutely annoying by standing around REAL close to the table you set your eyes on, til the ppl sitting there feel uneasy and quickly sip their tea and leave.

Chinese-styled Gyoza ('Gau Chi')

Since on the Friday before departing for Pangkor I don't need to work, I offered to fetch colleagues from office and go for breakfast. Haha, yes, our jobs are real flexible, especially on Fridays.

'Ham Sui Kok' (Salty water dumplings?)

Upon reaching there, I thought it will be a breeze to find an empty table, being a typical weekday, and pretty early (9am++). How wrong could i be .... Packed to the brim, there were ppl standing everywhere, waiting for seats. And the 4 of us used our most alert sights, making eye contacts with customers who were finishing their meals. Hehe ... It worked, and we finally got a table, YEAH!

Char Siew Bun

Though not really hungry, I had to order more cz seldom come for breakfast, therefore must try as much as possible. Favourite item of mine is ... yong tau foo. Haha, funny i enjoyed their stuffed brinjals a lot, though technically not a dim sum original. The sauce they drizzle liberately over the yummy fish paste is tasty, complementing the brinjals very well. The 'Ham Sui Kok' were alright, nothing fancy, as was the Char Siew Bun. Definitely had better ones. They serve Pan fried Dumplings (Gyoza) with Lea and Perrins sauce and ginger shreds, tasty when hot, bland when cold. Sadly they were cold this time.

Special of the Day : Meat floss, Turnip & Walnut Rolls

The waitress recommended the Special item : meat floss, turnip and walnut wrapped in popiah-like skin. Though served cold, this item was special, crunchy from the turnip strips, and the meat floss and mayonaisse went very well. The addition of walnut bits enhanced the texture and taste somewhat. Not bad. But available on weekends only, unless the dim sum sifu decides to do something different, like that day.

'Har Mai' (Prawn Dumplings)

'Siew Mai' (Pork Dumplings)

Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun

'Har Kau' (Prawn Dumplings)

Other usual items we ordered were 'Siew Mai', Har kau, Har Mai and Chee Cheong fun with char siew and prawns. The prawns are generously stuffed into the skins, very fresh and springy. Chee Cheong Fun was nothing special. NO sambal some more. sigh ...

Yam Puffs

The most disappointing food of the day was .... the Wu Kok (yam puffs) Normally it is very savoury, filled with peas, char siew and deep fried til crunchy. However on that particular day, it was soft and squishy, slightly oily, and tasteless. Hmm, then the waitress herself admitted that the machine was not running well, and the puffs quality was compromised. HELLO? Wouldn't it be better if they DON'T serve them at all to prevent bad impression? Hmm ...

The bill for 4, including chinese tea at RM1.50 per head, came to RM40.50. Pretty reasonable for a dim sum meal. Other special items they serve are 'Hor Yip Fan' (Glutinous rice cooked in Leaves), and fried lo bak kou (radish cake). Let's hope next time my faith is restored. Oh and we did not get to taste the egg tarts as they were finished.

Location? No 2, Jalan Dato Tahwil Azhar, 30300 Ipoh. Website : www.fohsan.com.my.

Specifically, it is somewhere near the famous Lou Wong Chicken Tauge shop, and same row with Kamdar Textile Shop.