East Meets West Fusion Dim Sum

Who would've thought that a Cantonese culinary tradition can actually be tweaked with some Western touch and produce a range of interesting hybrid dim sum items? Mandarin Oriental Jakarta's new Dim Sum Chef, Lie Wing Ping apparently did. After more than 20 years experience around the region, Chef Lie created what I'd love to call 'fusion dim sum' to delight diners in Jakarta. Expect to see Western food terms such as black truffle, beef tenderloin, asparagus, foie gras terrine and many others in its new dim sum menu. And what's even more interesting is Chef Lie's play with colours of the dumplings skin (see photos below), makes eating all the more fun!

Like any serious no-nonsense Hong Kongers, we tucked in soon as I was satisfied with the pictures I got.

Steamed Scallop & Shrimp Dumplings with XO Sauce IDR 32,000 (3 pcs)

(clockwise from right foreground)
Crystal Dumplings with Assorted Fresh Mushrooms & Asparagus IDR 22,000 (3pcs)
Steamed Dumplings with Shrimp, Crab Meat, Black Truffle & Water Chestnut IDR 28,000 (3pcs)
(pink skin) Steamed Ginger with Drunken Organic Chicken Dumplings IDR 26,000 (3pcs)

Netted Rice Crispy Turnover, Stuffed with Prawn, Apple Slice & Mango IDR 22,000 (3pcs)

Steamed Shanghai Xiao Long Bao IDR 28,000 (3pcs)

Foreground: Steamed Onion & Ginger Beef Tenderloin Dumplings IDR 26,000 (3pcs)
Background: Oven Baked Fluffy Pastry with Black Pepper Fungus & Foie Gras Terrine IDR 28,000 (3pcs)

My favourites are the green skinned steamed onion & ginger beef tenderloin dumpling (above photo) as well as the fluffy pastry filled with foie gras terrine (above photo). The fluffy pastry was crispy outside and the semi sweet peppery brown filling was molten, but not watery, it was just the right texture.

Foreground: Deep Fried Minced Beef Tenderloin Pastry IDR 26,000 (3pcs)
Background: Deep Fried Prawn with Wasabi Mayo

Steamed Custard with Egg Yolk Buns IDR 28,000 (3pcs)

The new dim sum menu is still being developed, so it only has a few sweet dim sum items (bad news for me, as a sweet lover). At least this golden egg yolk custard bun did well to close our lunch with a sweet ending. The bun is just perfect, not too tough and the right thickness. Most recommended that you eat it right when it's served on the table, because the custard filling will set as it cools. When asked, Chef Lie confirmed his plans to add more sweet dim sum items soon. I'm curious if he'll create a fusion sweet dim sum, who knows  if he'll make fried sweet dumpling ball (onde) with dark chocolate ganache filling?

It was lunch time and after such a filling meal, a cup of joe was necessary to prevent us from going into sleep mode. I had one of the tastiest latte, it was silky smooth and not overwhelmingly rich. Perfect ending.

Top left: Cafe Latte  |  Right middle: Cappuccino  |  Left bottom: Chrysanthemum Tea

Fancy some out-of-the-ordinary dim sum this weekend?

Open Hours

Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm (Mon – Sat)

Dim Sum: 10am – 2:30pm (Sat – Sun)

Dinner: 6:30 – 10:30pm

Xin Hwa Restaurant

Mandarin Oriental Jakarta

JL. M.H. Thamrin

Ph: +6221 29938825

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