Dim Sum @ Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial KL

Dim sum... breakfast fit for kings...and princesses

My kids have grown accustomed to the ritual of having dim sum on a Sunday morning. Whenever the word "dim sum" is mentioned, their faces glow with joy.

Last weekend, we decided to try the dim sum at Celestial Court in Sheraton Imperial KL. Baby C got to tag along with us (it was close to Baby D's naptime so he had to stay home, but I bet he would have loved it too). We didn't have very high expectations since we had a poor experience at the afternoon tea buffet at Pavilions Lounge just recently, but I have to say the dim sum here really surpassed our expectations.. in fact I'll go as far as saying that it was one of the best dim sum experiences we've had in a while.

Although dim sum here is on the pricey side, each and every dim sum dish that we tried was prepared well using good quality ingredients. Plus service is also good here.

The word "scallops" immediately attracted me into ordering the scallop dumplings with prawn, asparagus and shimeji mushroom (RM15). The translucent skin was perfectly steamed and just the right thickness. The scallop and prawn was fresh and a reasonable size, plus the tobiko added a nice texture as well as color to this dish. Loved it!

Baby C gave this her approval!

Our obligatory orders during dim sum sessions are usually the har kao and siew mai, both given an interesting twist here. The har kao (prawn dumplings) is an unsual orange colour, as carrot puree is used. The prawn was big and juicy, and again nicely steamed (no overcooking here for sure!).

Har kao in crystal carrot puree with dried scallop and coriander (RM13)

I found the siew mai to be most interesting and one of the most visually appealing ones I've come across. It is topped with mini abalone, bonito flakes, crisps kailan leaf and ikura roe. At first, Baby C was taken aback with all these extras on the siew mai, but she ended up eating 2 mini abalones, and almost all the ikura roe on the siew mai. I'm really impressed that a non-halal dim sum can taste so good (yes, NO pork!).

Siew mai with mini abalone (RM13)

Pretty siew mai

The crispy dragon beard with cod fish and avocado (RM18) was nice - the cod was firm and the avocado gave it a creamy contrast. Surprisingly, Baby C enjoyed eating the shredded pastry. "Mummy... this one so crunchy and nice!"

During dim sum, Baby C always requests for her char siew pau. However, I spotted the charcoal soft bun with salted egg yolk custard (RM12). Salted egg yolk AND custard... I'm sold! Despite it's unappealing colour, the bun was soft and the filling was super delicious. I ended up having 2 of this LOL! You can also order this as part of your desserts since the filling is sweet-salty.

Glorious salted egg yolk custard filling

We're on a roll... and it seems that the good food keeps coming. The Shanghainese lion's head consisted of chicken meatballs (again no pork, but it doesn't matter as they seem to do well without!) topped with foie gras sauce. The foie sauce was slightly sweetish, but it went well with the juicy meatball.

Shanghainese lion head with foie gras sauce (RM15)

The pan seared mini soft bun with kimchi and minced meat (RM15) was also tasty, albeit being a little oily. The bun is slightly sweet, but I thought it went well with the spicy filling.

Feel the heat

Lastly, we had the pan seared dumpling with chive served with ginger and spring onion (RM13). The dumpling was juicy and again, they got the thin, translucent skin just right. I quite like the green ginger sauce that came with the dumplings.

Wait, there's more food? I meant lastly as in the last of dim sum delights. We also tried the signature roasted crispy duck Hong Kong style (RM55 for half duck) served with a plum sauce which was pretty delicious. The skin could have been a little more crispy, but the duck meat was definitely juicy and flavoursome so we had no problems fi! nishing the whole plate. This was definitely Baby C's favorite dish of the day, and she had quite a few helpings. (And mummy's always happy when the kids enjoy their food!)

Since Baby C had a slight cold, we couldn't order most of the desserts since they were chilled/cold except for the pandan paste sesame ball served with Teochew yam paste (RM11). I liked the way it was presented, very pretty. The sesame ball was good and had ample pandan paste filling. The shot glass was filled with mango and yam paste with some raisins, which Baby C liked very much. She kept persuading us to give her ours too... ;P

"Mummy, wanna swap? I give you my sesame ball if you give me your shot glass.."

The restaurant is quite big, and relaxed. I like ho! w it's v ery brightly lit in the daytime. The view from the restaurant is not too bad either (especially when it's a bright sunny day!).

Admiring the restaurant

"Mummy, can we come back here another time?"

Celestial Court

Verdict: We really enjoyed our dim sum session here at Celestial Court. With the Starwood card, I feel that the prices are acceptable. There are still many items that I wish to try, so we will definitely be back (maybe with Baby D in tow next time!)


Pork-free.

Opening times:Monday - Saturday, 12.00 pm - 2.30 pm; Sunday and Public Holidays, 10.00 am - 2.30 pm, Dinner (daily) 6.30 pm - 10.30 pm.

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill came to RM232. Tea was RM10 per person.

Location: Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03 -2717 9988

GPS Coordinates: 3.158813, 101.700203