Update: This business has ceased its operations.
Located along Macalister Road (Jalan Macalister) of George Town is a popular dim sum eatery called Dim Sum Food Restaurant (点心小厨). It uses the same premises as Town Steamboat Restaurant (火锅之家) where the latter operates in the evening.
Dim Sum Food Restaurant is quite popular especially on weekends. During certain hours, it may be difficult to find a vacant table. My advice is to arrive at 7:30am when the restaurant opens.
Our dim sum feast commences with a teapot of Tie Guan Yin Tea (铁观音茶, RM1.50). Hot water refills are available self-service style.
The first dish is the Crab Roe Siew Mai (蚧王蒸烧卖, RM2.50), one of the standard-issue dim sum delicacy. The crab roe serves as aesthetic appeal but does not really help in flavor. As for the minced pork, the taste is quite reasonable but not particularly special.
Next up is the Cai Koay (韭菜蒸菜粿, RM2.50). Under the translucent dough skin are chopped Chinese leek (韭菜). I find the dough skin too thick, which means the Chinese leek has less influence on taste. It is also not steamed long enough, resulting in slightly “raw” feeling.
The Spicy Fish Dumpling (辛辣蒸鱼饺, RM6.00) is a delicacy indeed. At first we were skeptical when the server introduced this dish, but it turns out a wonderful choice. The texture of steamed fish filling melds well with the spicy dough skin. I highly recommend this dumpling dish in particular.
I do not really like the Egg Tarts (酥皮鸡蛋挞, RM3.00) here as the crust is too dry and harder than ideally desired. In addition the egg custard is quite shallow, giving way to the pastry to overwhelm the taste.
There is a small selection of assorted Yong Tau Foo (酿豆腐, RM3.50) at the serving counter. Here you see fish dumpling (炸水饺), bitter gourd (酿苦瓜) and eggplant (brinjal, 酿茄子) yong tau foo. Drenched with sweet sauce and garnished with chopped scallions (spring onions), the food is quite fresh and delectable.
Moving on to the Hong Kong-Style Chee Cheong Fun (港式猪肠粉, RM2.50), the dish is a major disappointment. The rice noodle rolls have been left cold; ideally they should be taken fresh from the steamer. The shrimps inside are quite small and not particularly succulent. The minced shrimp paste and fried garlic are reasonable but unable to undo the damage caused by the rice noodle rolls.
Finally, the Century Egg Porridge (皮蛋粥, RM2.00) is quite satisfying despite the small serving. The bowl of congee is flavored with light soy sauce and garnished with crackers, chopped ginger, scallions and a sprinkle of pepper. The texture of congee is soft and smooth, just perfect for me.
Contrary to what several bloggers reported, I don’t think Dim Sum Food Restaurant is one of the cheapest dim sum eatery in Penang (but not unreasonably expensive either). There are some blemishes in terms of taste, but some dishes (e.g. Spicy Fish Dumpling and Century Egg Porridge) stand out and are recommended.
