KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Once dominated solely by the Japanese, the culinary landscape in Mont Kiara and Desa Sri Hartamas is evolving with a tide of new faces.
One can walk down a street in the Solaris Mont Kiara enclave and dine at a Japanese izakaya or tuck into Korean fried chicken while enjoying bak kut teh and pick up steamed buns and dumplings handcrafted by a couple from Shanghai.
Taking over a Korean restaurant, this shop lot along Jalan Solaris 4 is two concepts under one roof.
In the day, from 10am to 9pm, A Liang’s Steamed Bun Shop offers handmade buns, jiaozi paired with homemade soybean milk and scallion noodles.
It seems the steamed buns venture is an extension of Upin China Mart, located along Jalan Solaris facing Mercato supermarket.
With just four red plastic tables inside, it’s a no-frills spot that allows you a view of their open kitchen.
Steamed buns are the highlight here, with a choice of four different fillings from fresh pork, meigan cai pork, chive eggs and vegetable mushroom.
The bun is a tad denser with a bit of chew compared to those found in dim sum shops,
Most importantly, it passes the all important test of not sticking to your teeth, signalling it’s properly made with the right ratio of flour to water.
Out of all the different fillings I sampled, my top pick is the vegetable mushroom with its touch of savouriness from the tiny chopped mushrooms.
Usually, the fresh pork would be my pick but this version lacks a juicier bite probably because of its ratio of more lean meat rather than fat.
As they use chives rather than the more garlicky Chinese chives, the chive egg filling is milder and probably more acceptable to many.
It’s RM4 for the meat buns and RM3 for the vegetarian buns.
Of course, the menu includes dumplings as what’s life without those nuggets of happiness with silky skin and juicy meat filling.
The steamed dumplings with a beautiful pleated design stand upright on the plate, inviting you to bite into them to reveal a soft meat filling oozing juices.
Their pan fried version is slightly harder since it gets a spin on a frying pan to achieve a crusty layer at the bottom.
Enjoy them with vinegar or chilli oil found on your table.
Accompany your steamed buns and dumplings meal with a bowl of Salty Soy (RM5) where ultra creamy soybean milk is heated up and served with sliced you tiao plus pickled mustard root.
You can enjoy it on its own but jazz it up with a touch of vinegar that curdles it slightly and a dollop of their chilli oil for a tingly touch of spiciness.
Be warned that this combination can be rather addictive so you will understand why it’s a breakfast staple in China.
For a more substantial choice, the Scallion Oil Noodles (RM10) will have you slurping up the smooth noodles dressed in soy sauce and topped with fried scallions
It may look simple without any meat but you won’t be able to stop eating the fragrant noodles once it touches the fried scallions.
Other goodies I have yet to try include a salad with beef or pork, their seaweed egg soup, wonton soup and their freshly made you tiao.
So far, two friends whom I introduced to this place have given the two thumbs up for the food.
If you’re in a rush, you can pack home the steamed buns or get the frozen ones to steam at home. Even the dumplings can be purchased frozen.
A work in progress is their pan fried buns that are still in the experimentation stage.
A Liang’s Steamed Bun Shop
6, Jalan Solaris 4,
Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.
Open daily: 10am to 9pm
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
You May Also Like