Jom Yam Cha: A Hidden Dim Sum Spot in the Heart of Neighbourhood

Discover Authentic Handmade Delicious and Local Favourites at Sri Kembangan, Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine

By Chang Sin Yee — October 9, 2024 @ 11:30 am

Storefront of Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine. - CHANG SIN YEE.

ARE you looking for spots for “yam cha”? Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine, located in the bustling heart of Selangor, is a hidden dim sum restaurant that recognises food enthusiasts with the promise of tradition, fresh preparation, and authenticity that only locals know.

In a day of plenty and competitive dining options, discovering a restaurant where you can connect and bond with your relationship is a rare and valuable treasure to cherish.

In addition to offering outstanding cuisine, Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine also captures the excitement and welcoming atmosphere for its customers. Therefore, this restaurant is undoubtedly the perfect spot for gatherings and reunions.

The founder of Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine, Mr. Kent (right). - FONG MEI DIM SUM CUISINE Facebook.

Background

Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine is a restaurant specializing in dim sum founded by Mr. Kent, a returnee chef, on 11 March 2022 in Sri Kembangan, Selangor. He worked under the direction of his master chef for several years to hone his dim sum cooking abilities and skills in a posh hotel in India.

After honing his craft in dim sum abroad, Mr. Kent felt it was time to bring his skills and expertise in making dim sum back to Malaysia. His goal is to create a space that combines traditional dim sum culture with a warm, welcoming, and neighbourhood atmosphere.

Even though it has only been operating for two years since 2022, it has won the hearts and loyal following among the locals for its genuine and mouthwatering dim sum offerings due to Mr Kent’s unwavering commitment to the quality of dishes and the environment.

Restaurant Charms

The biggest attraction of Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine is the ambience it creates for its guests. Despite having only one shop-sized space, the restaurant offers many modest tables to reduce the relatively cramped feel. This characteristic encourages an atmosphere of comfort and familiarity, offering a perfect opportunity to connect with family and friends.

The waiters also tend to be more personalized and attentive in their service, learning each guest’s preferences and meeting their individual needs. This rule of conduct increases the feeling that the guests are in a place that is truly home.

Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine also improves the customer’s dining experience by featuring a semi-open kitchen enclosed with glass panels. This unique design allows customers to observe the complicated cooking process by the chefs in the kitchen. This feature will highlight the skills and care that go into each dish and undoubtedly create trust and connection with customers by providing a transparent view.

Besides the visibility of the kitchen, the restaurant focuses on guests' comfort. The air conditioning ensures a cool and relaxing dining environment, making it a perfect spot to escape from the heat.

First Recognition

The restaurant is gaining recognition from a time-limited special promotion, August Super Deal: RM5 All Dim Sum in 2023. Regardless of the initial pricing, if customers visit the restaurant between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., every dim sum only costs RM5. This special deal aims to allow customers to celebrate Malaysia’s Independence Day with the restaurant. This promotion has attracted the attention of all food lovers besides locals, including food bloggers and influencers.

The dim sums that are provided in Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine. -  CHANG SIN YEE.

Variety of food

Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine provides a wide variety of over 50 kinds of freshly handmade dim sum every day. Therefore, the restaurant could satisfy different customers' diverse tastes and preferences, whether they are familiar with or unexpectedly dim sum.

In addition, the restaurant sells frozen dim sum, allowing customers to prepare meals at home. Due to their affordable pricing and large quantity, frozen dim sum is a favourite among the youth.

The distinctive Ice Flame Durian Roll is a speciality dish at Fong Mei Dim Sum Cuisine and is unavailable elsewhere. This dessert roll is studded with creamy, flavourful durian and wrapped in a golden, crispy crust, which provides a contrast and layered taste.

The famous dish in the restaurant is Curry Cheong Fun, created by Mr. Kent’s favourite student and chef, Mr. Steven. The rich curry sauce and handmade rice rolls that perfectly soak up the curry are the standout features of this dish. Undoubtedly, it has captured the customer’s taste buds and has become a local favourite!

 Mr. Steven is learning how to cook fried turnip cake from the senior. -  CHANG SIN YEE.

Mr. Steven’s Thought

Besides the quality of the meals and environment, Mr. Steven also believes that the restaurant has a special, unique feature that makes it stand out.

“Our restaurant is characterized by the fact that all dishes are made to order, freshly prepared and sourced daily.”

“This is not only to maintain the quality and freshness of foods but more importantly, I want every bite that our customers eat to be full of flavour,” he said.

Dim sum comes in several forms. But among all the dim sums, pumpkin bun is his personal favourite dim sum dish.

“The pumpkin bun stands out with its vibrant colour, which makes it hard to miss it.”

“And the bright orange colour gives off a warm and sunny feeling, allowing me to feel anticipation during the preparation process,” he said.

Dim sum is known for its complex cooking. From Mr. Steven's point of view, shrimp dumplings and buns are the most difficult dim sum to make and prepare.

“The pleats on the shrimp dumplings and all kinds of buns must be particularly distinct, and each fold on it should be clearly defined.”

“When doing these dim sums, the hands need to be very flexible and dexterous, which can highlight the texture of the lines; this situation often makes me feel hopeless,” he said.

However, Mr. Steven found a solution by asking Mr. Kent, the restaurant owner, and his master chef to change the way he was preparing these dim sums.

“He would directly correct my mistakes and demonstrate the proper technique to me.”

“When it was my turn to warp, I would recall and imagine those moments and replay the image of him teaching me over and over as I practised until success,” he said.

Mr. Steven enjoys his time at Feng Mei Dim Sum Cuisine and takes great pleasure in his work as a dim sum chef.

“I watch all customers' facial expressions when they eat the food I’ve prepared. The moment they smile brings me confidence and makes me feel that my efforts were truly worthwhile.”

“It is also my pleasure to be Mr. Kent's student and work at Feng Mei Dim Sum Cuisine. I gained a great deal of information and experience,” he said.

The plan calls for Feng Mei Dim Sum Cuisine to open other locations in other cities soon. Looking forward to more treats to come!