Elegant Inn, Menara Hap Seng – my Hong Kong Dim Sum lunch!

Hong Kong Waxmeat Rice (Lap Mei fun), touted as the best in town; – RM68.00.

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And I concur 😉 .
I lapped up my little bowl of carbs below; enjoying the cuts of decadent imported goose livers, waxed duck & chinese sausages.

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2 items that were particularly memorable for me were the slices of creamy & slightly bitter goose liver & the rice itself.
Loose firm grains scented with heady chinese wine and yet non-oily (that’s a very important criteria for me), the lap mei fun was delicious to eat especially with the crunchy bits we got from the bottom of the claypot.

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There are already quite a number of reviews on Elegant Inn. And mostly positive ones. I had to add my 2 cents worth of course.

Elegant Inn’s entrance, on the 2nd floor of Menara Hap Seng.

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The reason why it took me so long to visit was due to the impression I had that the food here are way too exorbitantly priced. However, when a close friend & fussy food connoisseur Paranoid Android gave his stamp of approval for the dim sum here, I readily set aside a budget & started seeking company to accompany me for a dim sum session.
I am admittedly a fuss- pot & a scrooge to a certain extent, but I will pay for good food.

The dim sum menu: Offering over 40+ choices of impeccably prepared dim sum.

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Surprisingly it wasn’t THAT overpriced. Slightly higher than the norm yes, but in all fairness, prime ingredients were used.

I believe everything on the table plays a role in an overall dining experience. For dim sum, the condiments is just as important. I mean, you would be flavouring your each morsel of dim sum with it right?
For a  restaurant of Elegant Inn’s level, I would be disappointed if I was served bottled sauces. Thankfully it didn’t taste that way. I reckon that their sauces are made in-house. Anyhow, there wasn’t much need for them, as all the dim sum were scrumptious on their  own.

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My litmus test of any self respecting dim sum outlet is the BBQ char siew pau – RM6.60 (3 pieces).

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Sadly, the ones here didn’t quite hit the spot for me as it was way too sweet!

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The Har Kau (Shrimp dumplings) is next. RM8.80 (4 pieces).

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This was better. I totally approved of the thin translucent skin & crunchy prawns.

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Another highly recommended item was the Australian Scallop Dumpling, RM14.00 (4 pieces).

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Each morsel consist of a sweet juicy scallop ontop of some crunchy prawns. Delicious.
If I had to be nit-picky, then my only grouse is the slightly thicker than necessary skin.

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Another personal bar I’ve set for dim sum outlets would be for the fishballs. I love mine firm yet with a slight resistance before giving way between my teeth. The balls has to taste strongly of fish & with a low ratio of flour to fish meat. Elegant Inn’s Homemade fishball – RM6.00 (3 pieces) ranks a fair 6/10. I thought it was a bit rubbery in texture.

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Watercress Meat Dumpling, RM7.00 (4 pieces).

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Juicy & absolutely luscious. The clear flavourful soup reminded me of the soup in ‘xiao long pau’.

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I love my tubers, oh yes I do.

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Beautiful “filigree” effect of the batter for the Taro Pouch – RM6.60 (3 pieces) bears testament of the deep frying skill of the Chef.
The fillings differs from the ones in the BBQ buns & I was thankful for that, as it is pretty common for dim sum outlets to maintain the same filling for both their yam pouch & char siew buns.

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Crispy Vegetable Rice Roll – RM14.70 (3 pieces).

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This is an innovative twist of the humble chee cheong fun, where the flour skin wraps crunchy vegetables with deep fried Vietnamese netting. Put one in your mouth & savour the contrasting textures.

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Avocado Fillo Pastry – RM12.00 (3 pieces). I ordered this but was way too stuffed to have any by the time it arrived at the table. Everyone loved it though, so it can’t be bad.

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Hasma Egg with Almond Cream – RM18.00.
Yay! I love almond cream. :yahoo:
The version here is a bit “toned” down from its usual pungency but that is understandable considering that almond cream is an acquired taste.

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Ginger Soup with Black Sesame Balls – RM6.00.

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Icy Longan with Sea Coconut – RM6.00.
Refreshing, just as expected.

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Fresh Australian Mango Pudding – RM10.00. This was one of Elegant Inn’s signature desserts.

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Elegant Inn is currently running a RM118.00++ set lunch for their Shanghainese Hairy Crabs promotion till the end of season. Seems to be a pretty good deal for crab-by fans!

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Elegant Inn – Dining area which excludes a very typically Oriental feel.

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For small groups, there is a cosy, “secluded” area for more privacy.

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Below: More comfortable chairs too 😉 .

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Al fresco dining? No problem. There is an outdoor dining area as well!

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As with all higher -end dining restaurants, it is always advisable to dine in a group which allows one to sample a greater variety & of course to share the cost! Our lunch for 6 totaled up almost to RM300 inclusive of taxes & other cost such as the below:

Titbits – Nuts RM6.00.
Towel – RM9.00. (seriously, I don’t think we should be charged for wet towels!)
Tea – Kuan Yin – RM15.00.

Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine
2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Block
Menara Hap Seng
Jalan P. Ramlee
50250 KL

Tel: 03 – 2070 9399
Fax: 03 – 2070 9398

This Post Has 17 Comments

  1. Baby Sumo

    Nice meeting u Rebecca!

    Your photos turned out real nice despite the poor lighting at our table 🙂

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hey it’s been good meeting u ovr “yum cha” too! Hehe.. you are certainly not how I expected! ;p

  2. lotsofcravings

    rm50 per pax is about right, i had the same impression about this place too, expensive! so looks like dim sum prices are alright but i probably still wouldnt dare step in for dinner!

    1. rebeccasaw

      Same here! For the chinese style fry, I’ll probably stick to the “normal” establishments, probably not fine dining places like this. Unless, of course, I can be convinced that the chinese fare here is worth the moolah!

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hey, we never dim-summed before hor???
      You knw that place that won the TimeOut KL award? A Little Dim Sum place? Good ar?
      I mean.. it won an award.. ahem… ;p

  3. Michelle chin

    I loved the scallop dumplings! They had to be the best I had. the char siu bun is rather disappointing though.

    1. rebeccasaw

      I know! so basic thing fr a dim sum house but they cant get it right???

  4. Sean

    ooh, i wonder if they serve the lap mei fun during non-dim sum hours (aka dinnertime, heheh). i haven’t had one with goose liver before 😀 and i know it’s not the best comparison, but whenever i think of lap mei fun, i can’t help thinking of bibimbap (my FAVORITE korean dish!) and paella (my favorite for spanish), heheh!

    1. rebeccasaw

      I knw wht u mean Sean! I like my ONE MEAL bowls too ;p
      Lap mei fun is served during dinner! Haha.. I asked cos I’m here now havin lunch!

  5. RunningAndrew

    the chee cheong fun looks unique!

    RM9 for wet towels….but only 6 of u o.O? mahal LOL

    1. rebeccasaw

      I know right! Then the RM6 for nuts that was just sitting on the table!

      But food was good.

  6. Jules

    I cant wait to try this place out – recommended by Cheng Yi and now yourself too 🙂

    Dinner is on the cards next weekend I think! Cheers.

    1. rebeccasaw

      Hi Jules! You’re coming back! 🙂
      I hope it’s as good as the previous times I went. Mine wasn’t a review so I guess it’s standardised for both reviews and “real-customer” dining. Let me know if it’s up to your expectations 🙂
      Also if you want to catch up for some burgers, let me know 🙂

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