Serving the weekend crowd

Happy faces enjoying the fantastic dim sum

Guest willing to wait for the dim sum as we cook to order fresh products.

位于USJ SUBANG的一间餐厅，主要销售食品是我们华人每一天早晨期望能够品尝的点心。Dim Sum（粤语），即标准汉语中的“点心”。其意思就是“触及心灵”
港试点心早已在世界美食殿堂中占一席位，点心份量少、造工细，它的哲学其实就是让人在一顿餐的时间内，品尝最多种类的食物和多种不同的味道。

在此，真之味餐馆提供的就是此类型的服务。所有的点心完全是依照每位消费者的需求所供应的。现今的消费者，除了时时要求快之外，食品的品质也必须要达到一定的水准与含盖营养成分在内。真之味的厨师的确符合这样的水准。两位师傅已拥有了数十年的经验，所有的点心都经由他们精心研究出来的。所以，品质绝对是至尚的。

此外，真之味点心之家的价钱绝对公道。外边的市价全依着市场的卖价，但真之味与众不同的却是这一点，并且现在的市场流行外卖点心再吹热的现象，所以价钱会来得更昂贵。相反地，真之味所采用的材料都是由师傅一一精心赛选的，所以点心的价钱往往会比外面的餐厅来得廉宜，而且色香味俱全。这也意味着，点心的营养成分也比外边的点心来得更有营养。

服务业最讲究的莫过于服务这一点。真之味的老板本身投入服务业已有十年的经验。服务业讲究的是态度，所以真之味的服务员也都是由老板一一精心挑选出来的。态度良好，孜孜不倦就是这间餐厅采取人员的一个原则。 “不管你是否有关行业的经验，只要你是态度良好，欣欣向荣的人都欢迎你前来应征。”这就是老板秉持的一个原则。可想而知，这间点心之家销售的服务并不输一般的职业餐厅。

Great Taste Hong Kong Dim Sum Restaurant, a traditional Dim Sum outlet has indeed carved a reputation for its consistency and quality of food. The founder and chefs originated from a 5 stars hotel’s Dim Sum restaurant in Putrajaya and Singapore. One day they decided to start their own business and vision to serve 5 stars Dim Sum at value price. The mission of Great Taste is “to give the best to the guests”. The Chef strongly believes that the freshness of the Dim Sum plays a major role in the taste of it. Dim Sum in Great Taste are cooked to order and served immediately without long hour storing in the kitchen. The foods are freshly cooked with stringent quality control. With proper presentation, emphasis on quality and locality, Great Taste leaves a lasting impact on your taste buds while you enjoys both local and international cuisine at reasonable price.

Great Taste offers Dim Sum lovers more than the usual common Har Gao, Siew Mai or Cheong Fan. The best selling items such as Stir-fried radish cake with homemade X.O Sauce, homemade buns in two preparation methods, glutinous rice with chicken wings-village style, baked Hong Kong Polo Buns, mini Egg Tart and homemade sesame balls with pandan paste will certainly impress one’s appetite. Gourmands will likely need to make several visits to savour all of the unique Dim Sum there is on the menu. The restaurant strategically located in USJ 21, making it a famous restaurant ideal for family dining as well as social dining with business associates.

2010年8月1日（星期日）

Sunday January 16, 2011

Feast for the eyes and tummy

By ABBY LU
mailto:sundaymetro@thestar.com.my

For a satisfying yum cha experience, a new dim sum joint in USJ 21 promises hotel-standard food at affordable prices. HYPOTHETICALLY, how many pieces of dim sum do you think a chef would be able dough out if he worked for 24 hours straight? According to the owner of Great Taste Hong Kong Dim Sum Owners, the answer is about 3,000.

And this number is not a mere conjecture. Prior to meeting up with us, Chef had gone without sleep for the past 30 odd hours. It wasn’t an act of masochistic will, however. The holiday (three Fridays ago) that was bestowed upon the Malaysian public for our football team’s victory in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 simply took them by surprise.

“We’re usually busier during the weekends and public holidays, and when we heard the announcement, we knew that sleep was no longer an option,” laughs his partner Kelvin Ooi. “Or else, we wouldn’t have enough food to serve to our customers!”

Passionate: (From left) Ooi, Lim and Cheah are the three young and enterprising owners of the restaurant who are willing to go without sleep to ensure that there’s dim sum to be served.

Not that they’re complaining, though. This is a testament to how well the restaurant, aptly named Great Taste Hong Kong Dim Sum, has been received. Within eight months of its April 2010 opening, they had moved to a bigger outlet that is about double the size of the original to accommodate an eager stream of patrons.
Ooi says they serve different crowds depending on the time of the day. “Every day, from 9am to 11am, we get a number of housewives who come here to yum cha after their morning jogs or exercises. At about 11am, factory managers from nearby industrial areas saunter in and following that would be the lunch crowd.”
For a restaurant that operates from 7am to 3pm daily, this means that their work is pretty much cut out for them.

What is it about this dim sum place that trumps others?
“I think the food quality is one of its biggest draws,” enthuses Patrick Wee, one of the restaurant’s regulars. “Many people would come here on their own, fall in love with the food and return with their family members in tow.”
Definitely, a stringent standard is something that owners Cheah, 32, Kelvin Ooi, 24 and their other partner, Chef Jack Lim, 28 are familiar with.

They met while working at the Chinese restaurant of a five-star hotel in Putrajaya.

All of our dim sum are hand-made and we ensure that they look nice because if people feel happy just looking at them, half the battle is already won!”

This is no tiny task. For example, the innocuous looking Har Gao (shrimp dumpling) requires at least 10 folds to give it its delicately dimpled appearance. Needless to say, this requires a nimble and trained hand.
Necessary training aside, Kelvin believes that the essential trait of a good dim sum chef is being responsible. “Dim sum is produced in big volumes on a daily basis. If the chef lacks initiative, he won’t be able to produce good and consistent results,” he elaborates.

Another of Great Taste’s policy is to serve dim sum that is made fresh daily, instead of resorting to steaming pre-made, frozen morsels. This is why things become a tad complicated when public holidays are announced unexpectedly.

So, what are the must-have items on the menu?

As an indication, three of its bestsellers, apart from Har Gao and Siew Mai, are Fried Radish Cake (RM4.50), Steamed Spicy Dumpling (RM3.80) and Xiao Long Bao (soup dumpling, available only on weekends).
Of the three, the Fried Radish Cake is the clear winner: it’s crisp on the outside with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture inside. The flavour is very robust, owing to the XO sauce (a concoction of anchovies, dried shrimp, scallion, garlic and dried chilli) that has gone into the wok with it.
The Steamed Spicy Dumpling – served with sweet and sour Szechuan sauce – is also yummy and satisfying.
The Custard and Salted Egg Bun (RM4) is also quite a sensation. Featuring a hot, melted filling of sweet and salty custard in a bun, this is a treat that most will love.

However, it does get a little messy eating this because the flowing custard tends to get everywhere once the bun is broken. The tip to eating this, according to Ooi, is to eat it as you would a Xiao Long Bao – just give it a chomp and allow custard to sit in your mouth. Beware: it can be very hot!
And, to cap your meal, the Mini Egg Tart (RM3) will satisfy your sweet tooth. Its pastry is flaky yet firm while the egg custard is soft and quivery.

Great Taste is at 1, Jalan USJ 21/11, Subang Jaya. From The Summit, drive along Persiaran Kewajipan (the main road) until you’re near the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong interchange. The road signs may be confusing, but the exit to USJ 21/11 is the last one on the left before the interchange.
The restaurant is also serving a host of Chinese New Year specials, including Fat Choy Siew Mai; Fat Choy and Oyster Porridge; and Rabbit-shaped Lotus Paste Bun.