I was at Chang Man 常满 Hong Kong Dim Sum at the invitation of the owner Adrian Ooi. Chang Man opened for business about two months ago and there was already a steady stream of customers at the restaurant on a Monday morning. I guess this is partly because Chang Man serves dim sum, chicken rice, char siew rice and hor fun which are familiar staples that are usually in demand, and more importantly, the food at Chang Man is good. We tasted some of the dim sum, chicken/ char siew rice and hor fun at Chang Man and it was obvious that a lot of effort had been put in to create good food for customers.
Manning Chang Man was a young dedicated team comprising Adrian, his business partner Kok Weng, Adrian's wife Ivy, and Adrian's younger brother.
Take a look at what we had.
Xiao Long Bao RM4.80 for 3 pieces
Many people like to dip their xiao long bao in the traditional vinegar and ginger dip.
Liu Sah Pau RM4.80 for 3 pieces
Seafood soup dumpling RM12.00
The seafood soup was delicious and there was this small piece of shark's fin in it.
Chang Man's crab roe siew mai is superb (RM3.80 for 3 pieces). Made with chopped pork and fresh shrimps topped with crab roe, it has excellent mouth feel and flavour. This is a Must Try.
Black roe scallop dumpling at RM4.80 for 3 pieces
Hand made fish balls at RM3.80 for 2 pieces.
I love Chang Man's fried carrot cake (RM5.00). It is made with lots of radish so it is tastier and softer than the ordinary version made mostly with flour.
Har Kao at RM4.50 for 3 pieces
Chang Man's shrimp dumpling soup hor fun at RM6.80. The soup made with bone stock was tasty and has umami taste. That dash of secret yellowish sauce on top was savoury and seemed to be made with salted egg.
Chang Man does their shrimp dumplings very well. Fresh, succulent and bouncy crunchy with nice prawny sweet flavour.
Very good char siew. Good blend of caramelised outer layer, juicy fat and tender lean meat.
Chang Man's chicken rice at RM6.00 a set. Chang Man's steamed chicken is made with ordinary farm chicken, yet it has the tender texture and flavour of good kampung chicken.
The rice that came with the chicken and char siew was very lightly coated with fragrant chicken oil. The grains were separate and very slightly nutty. The accompanying fresh chili was mildly spicy and tangy.
Recently, there were many restaurants opened in Johor Bahru by young entrepreneurs who had worked several years at big restaurants and in hotels overseas and beyond Johor. Adrian and his partner had worked in KL and in Singapore. These new dim sum shops serve premium quality dim sum in modern café style setting at slightly higher prices than at kopitiams.
This is an exciting time in the Johor Bahru food scene with contemporary concept eateries offering traditional cuisine with a touch of innovative flare and finesse. The energy and aspirations of these young entrepreneurs deserve our support for bringing buzz and class that will raise the Johor Bahru food scene to a higher level.
Restaurant name: Chang Man 常满 Hong Kong Dim Sum Chicken Rice Hor Fun
Address: 24G, Jalan Bestari 5/2, Taman Nusa Bestari, Skudai, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/DfrpV
GPS: 1.481122,103.665189
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm (Closed on alternate Fridays)
Non Halal
Date visited: 21 Jan 2013
omg!!! the Liu Sah Pau look so awesome!!! mouthwatering....
ReplyDeleteCarrot cake! I want! :)
ReplyDeleteI love dim sum!!!
ReplyDeleteVisited the restaurant and it's undeniable that the liu sa pau is good, however service was really poor & other dim sum dishes tasted quite bland :(
ReplyDeleteHow far is this place fr sutra mall?tks
ReplyDeleteAbout 10 minutes drive. Best to look at the Google map and set your GPS before setting off.
DeleteI am a regular at this Dim Sum restaurant and I find that their dim sum is good and delicious compared to other dim sum restaurants around the area. They don't have much varities but their xiao long pau and fried dumplings is a "must try". For me there is no complaints about the service , as long as you don't go during peak hours taking into account that they have only 3 staff at the service area.Another plus point is that Ivy (a Beijing native), who is friendly and speaks relatively good English, having studied in Singapore for a few years where she met Adrian and she takes time off to chat with customers when there is less of a crowd. One of the best dim sum place to go or bring your friends when they drop by.
ReplyDeleteBeen there today, off-peak, easily get a seat and meet the friendly Ivy.
ReplyDeleteFood wise it is much better than Hao Yu which I visted recently. I would rate it a tad lower than Crystal Jade Dining-In and Imperial Treasure in SG. However it is definitely cheaper than the 2 restaurants in SG. I spent RM50.50 for 9 tim sum items and 2 drinks. There were some hit and miss; Shark Fin Soup Dumpling and Liu Sha Bun were good; Black Roe Scallop Dumpling and Beancurd Skin with Thai Sauce were forgetable (should never order it).
I did not try the chicken as I found it bloody. I like my chickent to be fully cooked.
Try your recommendation yesterday 22/05/13, either my mouth is too "yim chim" or you are not too particular about food. Tried siew mai ： you have to really chew to eat this siew mai. Chicken: ordinary. Char siew： quite ok , carrot cake: too soft and should be pan fried instead of deep fried. dumpling with scallop and black roe: nice.spring roll and yam puff : ordinary. really you can find most of the dim sum in jb.
ReplyDeleteDisappointed by both food and service. Have to hassle the waiter before my pot of tea is served despite completing my order for more than 10 minutes. Fried carrot cake and fried dumplings were overly cooked and burnt. Can't really recall anything nice. Definitely no next time.
ReplyDeleteDate of visit: 24/08/2013
For those who are not driving, you can take bus "221" at Wong Ak Foong. Or Causeway link bus from Boon Lay MRT station.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chunghong.
DeleteTried your recommendation on this morning 05/11/2013, its not tat delicious, the carrot cake is too soft as mentioned by shelltox and it is over cooked. Same goes to the chicken rice, over cooked and the chicken is dried. The service is very bad(not during peak hour)."Liu Sha Bao" and "Xiao Long Bao" also not delicious. Even the "Siu Mai" in normal coffee shop is better than this restaurant. Sorry for the bad comments, but this is what i experienced in this restaurant. I don't think it worth 3 stars. Honestly it affects the reliability of your blog.
ReplyDeleteNoted Koh. I shall revisit. Thank you.
DeleteMy first and last. Still cannot beat TaSiXi at Tmn Perling.
ReplyDeleteYour recommendation is so so only. Many better dim sum for that kind of price
ReplyDelete