Friday, October 10, 2008

Intro to Prawn Dumplings for Dim Sum

Loong Kee is a dim sum place along Lebuh Cintra which I frequent on weekends; early in the morning.
It is a a popular place with the golden club of senior citizens who are always so early; they beat us to the seats. Even when I reach there a quarter to 6am, I am still a few rounds of tea behind them.
I wonder whether they just make their way here the minute they open their eyes from the bed!

Anyway, their popularity among the local neighborhood is something which brings a sense of familiarity to even newbies when you are there. I am definitely no newbie either as I know almost all of the people there and I am sure that I am the youngest there to know the owner as well:p
In fact, they're just like their dim sum counterpart, Tai Thong around the other corner where even foreigners drop by for a local taste.
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On weekends, they serve the big plates of the assorted variety of prawn dumplings and remember, it's only available on weekends and public holidays.
Since I am a seafood type of person, I definitely look forward to these:)

Prawn Dumpling Version 1
(or should I say shrimp? The sizes vary sometimes:)
The one with the shrimp on top and the smooth Japanese beancurd on the bottom and in sweet sourish sauce
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This is one of the latest version of the prawn-filled dumplings introduced.
The combination is really nice with the juicy sauce seeping into the prawns when you bite into them.

Prawn Dumpling 2: Mushroom with napa cabbage
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The prawns are not wrapped with the normal thin wanton skin but instead they are made to stick together with a starchy batter with a light sauce.
Mushrooms were made to sit on top of the prawns and there were garnishing of shredded napa cabbage in the sauce.
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Prawn Dumpling 3: Carrot version - the one the rabbits would love:)
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I always call this the prawn version of the xiu long bao.
Don't you think this looks wrapped up like the little dragon dumplings?
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The fresh and succulent prawns are wrapped with a slightly thicker har kau wrapper and then tied with the cute little green pea on top of it.
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The prawns are slightly larger in this version and shredded pieces of carrots are included along with the prawns as well.
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Prawn Dumpling 4: Scallop prawn team
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This is almost similar to the one with the mushroom except that they replace it with the scallops in the same starchy gravy with shredded napa cabbage.
A few close-up shots
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Prawn Dumpling 5: Roll em' up!
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Using the same thin wanton wrapper, the prawns are placed in a line and rolled up to form this horizontal version of prawn dumplings.

Prawn Dumpling 6: The One with the Vege
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Finally one version which has Greens in it; and it's chives with the prawns.
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This is balled up like a mini version of finger fist and looks like little poppers.
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They use really juicy and succulent prawns for this dumpling and it never disappoint me whenever all fails.

Prawn Dumpling 7: Scallop version 2
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This is like a normal har kao except that it as slightly oval leaf-shaped with a slight opening for little peek into the prawns inside with a small piece of scallop to crown this.
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The Scallop was also decorated with some little orange and juicy beads (I kind of suspect that these are sago)
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If you are tired of prawn dumplings, you can opt for fishballs
It was the fried version and the fishballs were bouncy and this was made from fish paste. You can even get some really thin bones sometimes in the fishballs if you're lucky! (or unlucky)
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Another plate which is often underrated is definitely this simple looking fried beancurd or known as Tau Kua.
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It is just like a piece out of the Yong Tau Foo trolley where the tau kua is stuffed with the nice fish paste.

The outer side of the beancurd is slightly fried to a light brownish color but the inside is definitely not to be disguised by the appearance as you will be revealed to a really smooth bean curd inside which was complimented really well by the stuffed fish paste.
The slightly fishy and salty taste gave the bland bean curd a little more than the original taste
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Since it's a version of the Yong Tau Foo, you will have this sauce to accompany the bean curd.
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They will typically pour it over the bean curd, but for me, I always choose for the sauce to be placed separately.

What is a dim sum breakfast complete without a cup or a pot full of hot Chinese tea?
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Or several cups
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Have a happy weekend:)

13 comments:

  1. Whoa, the Chinese tea is very "black"! Must be so thick ;p

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  2. Hie celebrity tigerfish!~ *waves* *snaps camera*
    Yeah, this was almost to the last few cups:D

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  3. wow.. i think you covered every dimsum in that plc:D hava gr8 wkd

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  4. Anonymous12:58 AM

    knees went weak at the photos ... dim sum is my fave and now you make me crave for it!! All the different types of har geow looks extremely good :p

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  5. cumi&ciki, nolar...not all...YET:D

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  6. hey noobcook, double yeah yeah...hehe, I love prawn dumplings too:D

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  7. Yummy..I love Dim sum.

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  8. This used to be my favorite place for breakfast until they had changed their chefs. I found that their dim sum are getting smaller and smaller and price wise more expensive.

    To ascertain the quality of a dim sum shop, varieties and shapes are pointless as most of the ingredients inside are still almost the same except for a touch of this and that.

    Four main items are to be noted in every dim sum shop... Char Siew Pau, Siew Mai, Har Kau and Lo Mai Kai. If this four basic dim sum are not up to the standard, the rest would be irrelevant for an enjoyable breakfast.

    Again, it's also based on the taste buds of individuals. :)

    http://crizfood.blogspot.com/

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  9. Anonymous2:54 PM

    i tried the dim sum in loong kee before. i already forgot the taste. i have it quite late, around 9 something or 10. i happened to go that area and saw this dim sum shop.

    some of the photos are blurry. i think need to be more focus. :)

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  10. yummy back to retro:)

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  11. hie criz, yups...I've heard of the criteria to ascertain the quality of the dim sum:)
    You're right abt those touches to make them different dim sum, hahaha...but since I like seafood based dumplings and har kow, erm, I must take a bow and humbly admit that I only go for these unless there's a bunch of people who will order the meat-based items - coz I don't:)

    Thanks though, Criz:D

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  12. Hey allen, yeah, I am still improving on my photography skills...sorry about those blurry pics yea *smiles sheepishly*

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  13. I learnt from the boss that he mixed his own tea leaves. So far, i tasted the tea is very good for Dim Sum standard. I like the seafood, fish balls and Pei Tan Chok. They make their own fish paste over there. Am not sure of the decreased portion of their dim sums though. Next time i will measure it :-D

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