Dimsum at reasonable prices all day long in Pluit

Dimsum at reasonable prices all day long in Pluit

Kim Griffiths, Contributor, The Jakarta Post

In tearooms in China, dimsum is an inseparable part of yum cha
(tea drinking). Dimsum are little dough dumplings, filled with
vegetables, many different kinds of meat or shrimps, and there
are other small dishes, which can be salty or sweet. The dishes
are usually served in bamboo baskets the size of a dessert plate.

If you feel like dimsum early on Saturday morning, you may
like to take a leisurely drive up north to Muara Karang.

Location: Make your way towards Mega Mall Pluit, then instead
of turning into the parking lot, follow the road to Muara Karang.
The moment you cross the bridge into Muara Karang, turn left and
Eldoon Hong Kong Dimsum is somewhere in the middle of the first
block of shops.

You can't miss the restaurant because it stands out clearly,
with its wooden fittings and brown bricks.

Looks: As you enter, you are greeted by staff suitably attired
in white samfoos and black pants.

Red lanterns hang on the walls. The tables are square and made
from dark, heavy wood. Instead of chairs, there are squat wooden
stools. You feel you are stepping into a tearoom in ancient rural
China.

The restaurant is very spacious and seats about 50 people. The
huge freestanding air conditioners and generous number of wall
fans ventilate the restaurant well.

What's it got: The restaurant is casual, but cozy. While it
may look right out of ancient China, it is hygienic as far as the
eye can see, with modern conveniences. The kitchen is visible
through a glass partition so you can see how the food is handled.

Service is good and fast. When we told the waiter that one of
our orders was not hot enough, he took our half-eaten portion
away and replaced it with a fresh hot portion.

The dimsum menu at Eldoon is available from the time it opens
till the restaurant closes. It has about 15 items of dimsum and
another 15 of Chinese "fast-food" noodles and rice items.

For lunch and dinner, they serve a more elaborate Chinese menu
with stir-fried dishes.

Taste factor: Ha kau came steaming hot in a bamboo basket and
there were four pieces per serving. The translucent dough was
surprisingly thin and fine. There was "oomph" as you bite into
the tasty ha kau. The prawn was whole and fairly large, and there
were no fillers. Really worth the Rp 7,800.

We found the kue lobak goreng (fried radish cake, Rp7,000) a
bit too soft. The radish had been ground too finely. As a result,
it didn't hold up its shape very well. But it was tasty and
contained chopped char siu (red barbecued pork).

We decided to order both versions of chi cheong fan (thin
pieces of rolled-up steamed rice dough) - fried (Rp 7,800) and
steamed (Rp 7,800). The traditional way of preparing chi cheong
fan is to steam it again and then drizzle sesame oil and soy
sauce over it before serving. The glorified versions have
fillings such as prawns or char siu in them.

The steamed chi cheong fan was fine and smooth. However, we
found the pieces of char siu filling a wee bit too big and tough.

The fried chi cheong fan was quite interesting, albeit
unusual. The steamed dough was panfried till golden brown. It was
served smothered in a delicious peanut butter sauce.

The steamed kulit tahu (Rp 7,800) was excellent. It was made
from dried beancurd with a filling of a mixture of chopped prawns
and char siu, drenched in a thick dark sauce made from ginger,
soy sauce and flour.

We finished off our meal with tau sa pau. There are two pieces
of this sweet dumpling in one portion. The dough was fine and had
a generous filling of tau sa (red bean paste). The filling was
smooth and delicious although a little too sweet for us. We
thought it was a steal at Rp 3,500.

Price points: Dimsum prices are reasonable, averaging Rp 7,000
per dish. Two people can have a satisfying meal for under Rp
50,000.

Minus points: We found the nondimsum items disappointing. The
nasi tim ayam (steamed chicken rice, Rp 13,800), for example, was
too bland and the chicken was gamey. The mie pok rebus (Rp
10,000), a noodle that looked like tagliatelle, was a second-rate
version of the mie pok you can find in Singapore or Hong Kong.
Moreover, it was served on an oval plate that was so tiny we
couldn't handle the blob of noodles without it spilling over.

Verdict: Eldoon is a charming little tearoom for hot dimsum at
reasonable prices. However, we recommend that you stick with the
dimsum, as our experience with the other dishes was
disappointing.