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Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Our Thai friend Mon brought us to Chef Man Chinese Restaurant, one of her favourite places in Bangkok for yum cha (drink tea) and dim sum.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Chef Man was busy this Sunday morning. The contemporary Chinese restaurant is well appointed but casual. Familiar light Canto pop provided background music for banter and chatter around the room, typical of cha lao (casual tea houses). There are quieter private rooms available.

Four of us, we picked an assortment of dim sum and some a la carte dishes for our Sunday brunch. (As Chef Man is popular, a reservation is best especially on weekends.) 


Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Crispy Shrimp Wrapped with Rice Roll or Zhaliong 炸兩.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

The shrimps were fresh, crunchy, sweet. The fried dough (yau cha kwai) was thin and crisp. The sweetish rice roll was slightly thick but still nice. Dousing the dish with light soy, hoisin sauce blend added a gentle savoury flavour. All the elements came together nicely. I would order this again.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

I love Chef Man's Fried Carrot Cake. In fact, I crave for it now.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Steamed cakes with chunks of fresh radish barely held together by rice flour seared to a browned crisp outside. It was a delicious blend of savoury caramelised soy sauce infused starch outside with melt in the mouth sweet juicy radish chunks inside. Bits of ham punctuate the savoury sweet cake with savoury highlights in each mouthful. This is a must order.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Shrimp Dumpling or Ha Kao is another must order at Chef Man. It's an excuse to eat succulent fresh shrimps which are simply wrapped in a rice purse and steamed to perfection. Sweet, crunchy, juicy shrimp (de-shelled) and tender chewy rice wrap.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Siew Mai or steamed pork dumpling held together with wanton skin.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Steamed pork ribs with fermented black bean paste.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Chef Man's Fried Yam Cake? (I didn't take down the actual name in the menu.)

It was fresh yam cut into short thin strips made into a cake with rice flour by steaming and then pan seared to a browned crisp outside. I can taste the savoury sweet yam with a bit of savoury seasoning. Personally, the texture was a bit dry and stiff, and flavour wise was slightly flat for my taste buds.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Yam balls filled with runny salted egg yolk custard and studded with croutons.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

The taste of yam paste was prominent, the runny salted egg yolk custard was just mildly savoury sweet. The croutons provided a bit of crispy crunch. Very well executed so it was not greasy at all. Salted egg yolk anything hits the spot with many people but not really my cup of tea 😜

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Baked Snow Bun with juicy BBQ Pork (char siew) which comes in a set of 3. Sweet bun on sweet char siew. The soft sweet bun had a nice subtle crisp on the golden brown outside.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

I was thrilled when I saw this dish as I have never seen poached chicken served topped with ice before. It's traditional poached chicken served chilled with Chinese wine and blanketed with sauce in crushed ice.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

They were quite liberal with the Chinese wine so it dominated the dish, drowning the tender juicy chicken's subtle natural sweetness.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Glass Chicken Feet (served chilled). It wasn't de-boned so it's not too elegant to eat but still ok for me lah. The crunch was nice but the taste was a little flat. Maybe not worth the trouble for ladies with nicely manicured nails.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Crunchy sweet cucumber in spicy ma la sauce.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Excellent fried rice with scallops and shrimps. The rice grains come loose and separated with each grain well greased and slightly caramelised. The grains were tenderly nutty to the bite with a few odd stiff bits here and there. Full of savoury sweet flavours and lingering "wok hei" caramelisation aroma that everyone around the table can smell. Must order.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

I like Chef Man's egg tarts. The shell was crumbling crisp but the best thing was the egg custard. The egg custard was softer than bean curd and tasted eggy sweet (maybe a bit too sweet). It had a pronounced egginess which was the same as when my grandmother made sweet egg desserts when I was a child. I can't find such egginess anywhere in Singapore or Malaysia now.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Maybe too crumbly or my fat hand too clumsy?

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Sesame paste filled rice dumpling (mochi) in spicy ginger and brown sugar soup.

Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Recommended for you 👍 Prices are around the level of average dim sum restaurants in Singapore but at this price point I have not seen this quality on our sunny island. I will be back to savour again those dim sum I like here (fried carrot cake, shrimp dumpling, zhaliong, egg tart, fried rice) and suss out more dishes that suit my taste buds. Chef Man's famous roast pork belly (siew yok), wagyu short ribs and Peking duck are on my target list. Service was the usual Thai standard i.e. friendly, attentive, responsive, accommodating and sincere.

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Bangkok Chef Man Yum Cha Dim Sum 文苑

Restaurant:Chef Man Chinese Restaurant 文苑  
Address: Royal Place 2, Ratchadamri, Bangkok - เชฟแมน @ โรยัลเพลส 2 ถนนราชดำริ กรุงเทพฯ 6/1 Soi Mahatlek Luang 2 Ratchadamri Road Lumphini, Pathum Wan Bangkok 10330 Thailand    
GPS: 13°44'24.1"N 100°32'29.1"E 🌐 13.740016, 100.541427  
Nearest BTS: Ratchadamri (Silom line)  
Tel: +66 (0) 2651 8611  
Hours: 11:00am - 2:15pm (dim sum)

Non Halal



 
Date visited: 20 Oct 2019

1 comment:

  1. Nice photos, especially the one at the end. yummy!

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