THE truffled dumpling, or xiao long bao, set the luxurious tone of our dim sum lunch at Le Sense Modern Chinese Cuisine recently. 

The finely pleated black dumpling brushed with gold flakes was easily scooped up with a spoon without its fine skin breaking, thanks to a thin yuba, or dried tofu skin, underneath. The xiao long bao trembled before bursting at a delicate bite. The tastiest broth flowed from it, together with minced kurobuta pork with mushroom and truffle. It was truly a masterpiece, an apt beginning to sumptuous eight-course dim sum lunch (RM138++).

Next came the Kagoshima pork with fish with fish maw bouillon, a luscious dumpling filled with chopped kurobuta pork, kabocha pumpkin and mushroom. It sat on soft, cushiony braised fish maw (from the kingfish), glazed with collagen broth. I loved the velvety broth, the thick fish maw and the delectable bites of kurobuta that had the texture of springy prawn. Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan’s Kyushu Island is one of the largest producers of kurobuta, or pork from the black hog.

Equally pleasing was the yuba skin roulade with collagen demi-glace, stuffed with kurobuta and amaebi, or sweet shrimp. The roulade was presented on a collagen broth that offered crispy bites through the yuba, descending to chunky kurobuta and flavourful amaebi.

It was sticky, sweet and smoky Spanish iberico pork jowl with seasonal organic vegetables in the next course. The melt-in-the-mouth meat with a sake shoyu glaze had taken three hours to prepare, being first slow-cooked in the oven before was finished on a charcoal grill. There was a good mix of mustard greens, wood ear fungus, mushroom, lotus root, carrot, ginkgo and pak hup (dried lily buds) to accompany the meat.

A dim sum meal is not complete without radish cake. At Le Sense, the Daikon radish XO was superb. It was crispy on the top and bottom, with creamy radish cake in between. It was packed with flavours from the topping of sakura ebi, jamon and dried scallop in XO sauce. I could taste bits of Chinese sausage. A salted vegetable pickle at the side wasn’t really needed.

Crystal prawn wonton and egg noodles in broth steeped from chicken, dover sole and anchovies was soul satisfying. The wonton of smoothly wrapped chunky local prawns and amaebi was perfection. The prawns were for texture, the amaebi for sweetness. The egg noodles, made in-house, tasted so good in the flavourful broth.

I was bowled over by the yam croquette with its crackly, crispy skin covering creamy Japanese mountain yam and an almost liquid and sweet iberico char siu filling. It was scrumptious.

It was no ordinary egg tart that was served at the last. It showcased a super light and layered pastry filled with a lightly sweet, smooth egg custard.

You are encouraged to bring your own wine or champagne to pair with the meal. No corkage is charged.

The lunch dim sum menu is available on reservation at Le Sense Modern Chinese Cuisine.  The restaurant also offers a nine-course dim sum dinner menu at RM228++.

The restaurant is at 8, Jalan SS20/10, Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya. For enquiries, call Anann at 012-289 6055.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.