Zing, Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur: Irresistible Dim Sum at its Best!

Am I dreaming or not? J

A mecca of Dim Sums featuring classic to modern, I was certainly pampered that beautiful day at Zing (now renamed to Lai Ching Yuen)!

Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur signature Chinese restaurant – Zing combines an authentic Cantonese menu with light, creative oriental cuisine and places a strong emphasis on the daily Dim Sum made live on the open kitchen led by Master Chef Leong Weng Heng together with dim sum Chef Thye Yoon Kong and staff. The menu features a large selection of Chef’s Signature dishes, daily Dim Sum lunch and local and regional Chinese specialties with exciting live cooking.

Zing features seven gorgeous private dining rooms all dressed in dark wood and splashed with red textiles and gold chandeliers. The restaurant’s interior reminds me of the Shanghai in the 30s with not an oppressive dose of the traditional elements.

I love the lamp shade featuring a pair of phoenix and dragon motifs printed!

The restaurant features an open kitchen visible as soon as one walks in and will definitely make you pause to check out whats cooking and ignite your hunger. Chefs and staff are seen discreetly performing their preps and cooking activities. The slightly steamy smoke engulfing the whole kitchen and smell of the unmistakable morsels of dim sums were intoxicating and mouth-watering.

Here’s a chef in action chopping up juicy looking barbeque meat! The pieces of meat looked so delectable that I wish he would hand me that whole tray… J

Hot and smoky steaming baskets were seen constantly on the steamer to produce fresh-hot-off-the-stove dim sums.

One crucial testament to fabulous dim sum is “Xiu Mai” (or Siew Mai). Zing serves up a mean and superb Xiu Mai with Fish Roes! The fillings consist of pork and shrimp and one can even have a chicken version of this here at the restaurant. Chef Thye’s dumplings were so juicy and the fillings had a slight coarse and bouncy texture which I feel is a crucial criterion to a fabulous Xiu Mai. The added fish roes provided the popping sensation to the scrumptious dumpling. A masterpiece just by looking at the picture… don’t you think so? J

“Har Gow” or Crystal Shrimp Dumpling was plump and juicy. Fresh prawns were detected and the flavors were clean and delicious. The crystal skin was decent as it was thin and tender with a slight savory hint of sweet and salty taste.

We also had a Crystal Seafood Dumpling similar with the shrimp but had a mixture of seafood. Yum…

Poached Wanton with Spicy Sauce was decent and I love the spiciness of the sauce. The spicy sauce had a great aroma of heady chili and lends the wanton its distinctive flavors.

Steamed Fish Ball had a good fish flavor to it. I could taste the real McCoy of fish paste rather than the floury taste one gets from cheap dim sums. The texture was tender with a slight bounciness.

We also had a bowl of luxurious Shark’s Fin Dumpling Soup that was pretty huge. I love the broth as it I could taste the combination of seafood and poultry essence. Although the filling in the dumpling had loads of seafood and shark’s fin, the skin of the dumpling was a wee bit soft as it turn slight mushy when I spooned it. The fresh sweet scallop did make up for the skin though!

I thought the Crispy Prawn Roll wrapped in shredded phyllo dough was such an impressive and artistic sight! Crispy and golden with a juicy prawn mixture, what’s not to like?

Pan Fried Rice Roll or “Cheong Fun” was a pleasant combination of soft, crispy and slight chewy sensation. The added bits of ham and scallion boosted the savory flavors.

I could never resist fried snacks so it’s not surprising I adored the Deep Fried Beancurd Prawn Roll and Seafood Roll. This is surprisingly not oily at all too!

Pan Fried Dumpling was similar to the steamed dumpling except the texture was soft on one side and slight crisp on the other side.

Char Xiu Bao or BBQ Pork Bun had the essential fluffy dough encasing sweet BBQ pork filling. Enough said… it was as it should be!

Pan Fried Bun was lovely. I love the crispy texture of the skin encasing the sweet and savory filling.

“Wu Kok” or Yam Dumpling was also made well with its signature crisp bubbles of yam skin. The filling had a good sweet and savory balance to counter the fluffy yam and the burst of the sauce was delightful.

Pan Fried Radish Cake had a slightly firm texture with a crispy pan fried layer. The savory “kuih” was quite addictive for me.

Steamed Spare Ribs had juicy pieces of ribs marinated and steamed. Flavors were a bit light but the ribs were moist and had a good bite to it.

Loh Mai Kai was a debated favorite among us. The glutinous rice had a firm texture so some love this while others prefer a softer grain texture. Great flavors as it had a well balance of sweet against salty. I do like this and found myself having seconds.

Fried Radish Cake was a big favorite among us and everyone was full of praised for this heavenly aroma of radish cake fried in dark soy sauce with lots of egg, beansprouts and garlic chives. Make sure to order this!!

Mui Choi Chee Cheong Fun was a fun twist to the regular Hong Kong steamed rice rolls. Soft rice rolls wrapped with minced meat and topped with braised preserved vegetable in a soy sauce was easy to eat. I would order this again… J

Besides dim sums, we were all pleasantly surprised to find Vinegar Pork Trotter. Oh my goodness… this is simply outstanding! The sauce is simply to-die-for as it had a thick rich and creamy consistency. Flavors emerge as sweet and sour with a bold ginger taste and a hint of spiciness. The sauce has a tendency to be sticky on the lips which I enjoyed. This is my first time having this dish with a thick and rich sauce but I love it! Ode to the chef!!

Desserts came in golden trays of Egg Tarts and Durian Tarts. Wobbly and creamy, the egg filling was charming while the layers of pastry were crisp and buttery.

Durian Tarts are the house signature dessert and as I do not favor the king of fruits, I will take my friends’ bickering over who deserves the last tart as a gorgeous dessert.  The tart was filled with creamy custard durian fillings which I kept hearing the gang raved on its fabulosity!

Although most of the dim sums were classic, I have to admit that most of them were very well made and impeccable. Certain twist in some classic dim sums made this experience more memorable. Dine in grandeur with discreet but excellent service and impeccable dim sums for a five star experience. Chef Thye managed to churn out inspired versions of classics and modern dim sums and achieved an impressive selection of sumptuous morsels that should touch one’s heart!

At Zing, one can also savor La Mien or Hand-Pulled Noodles with various sauce and toppings like prawn wantan, sliced roasted duck breast, seafood and XO sauce, braised beef brisket, crabmeat and roe and fresh water prawn and more. Apart from hand-pulled noodles, the chefs also make an interesting hand-sliced noodle dish. Zing offers more than just noodles and dim sum, check out their delicious barbeque roast meats and Cantonese inspired dishes at my earlier post here.

Zing Chinese restaurant (non-halal) is located on level one of Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur, open seven days a week and serves lunch from 12 noon to 2.30 pm and dinner from 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm.  Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, Zing opens for dim sum brunch from 11.oo am to 2.30 pm.

Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur
160 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

T: +60 3 2117 4180
F: +60 3 2145 7876

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ZingKL

Hotel Website: http://www.grandmillenniumkl.com/

Global Website: http://www.millenniumhotels.com/

* Thanks to Amanda for the invite!