Fu Er Dai is an established and thriving dim sum restaurant in Penang. It has its own car park and plenty of space for families and large groups to dine in.
We had the opportunity to have brunch there on a Monday morning. And this post will cover the dining ambiance, food quality and selection based on our own experience there.
Read on to find out more!
Table Of Contents:
About Fu Er Dai
Fu Er Dai opened in 2015.
To date, Fu Er Dai has an extensive menu with more than 30 types of Hong Kong dim sum and creative innovations of their own (like scallop dumplings).
Besides dim sum, the menu also has side dishes, stir fried noodles and different variations of Chinese tea.
Other things you can order here are pastries like kaya puffs and egg tarts. Their signature steamed buns, the golden lava buns are a popular order.
The non halal eatery sits more than 100 customers easily. And it opens daily from 6:30am to 2pm. Last call for orders is at 1:30pm.
Ease Of Parking At Fu Er Dai
If you’re staying at Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang, it’s just a 3-minute walk to Fu Er Dai. Similarly, the Blue Mansion (or Cheong Fatt Tze) is also within walking distance (~7 minutes) from Fu Er Dai.
What anyone with a car can appreciate however, is the ample parking available at the compound of Fu Er Dai. Just drive in and pick a spot, no parking fees required.
Note: Might be a lot less parking available on weekends. We came on a Monday.
The open-air car park is only for customers of Fu Er Dai. This is obviously one of the main advantages of dining at Fu Er Dai.
Ambiance At Fu Er Dai
Fu Er Dai only has open-air seating. But the roof is expansive, and all tables are covered.
Moreover, they have numerous fans. These are sufficient to keep the place cool (we sat in the middle of the restaurant) without the need for air-conditioning.
A combination of ambient lights and natural light add to the comfortable dining environment. The interior styling keeps with their branding of black and gold.
The place is not fancy, but it is fine for casual outings with friends and family.
Service At Fu Er Dai
Fu Er Dai has many staff waiting on tables. As well as staff to take orders behind the dim sum counters – there are 3 counters in total. One for fried dim sum, one for steamed dim sum, and the payment counter.
Place orders directly at the counters. Remember your table number and bring the chit with you to the counter. Pick out the dim sum you want and put them on a try so that staff can mark the chit accordingly.
Once done, return to your table and wait for your order. The staff will mark the chit again when they serve the dim sum.
Tables are cleaned fairly quickly after customers leave.
The pace of serving orders is fast on a regular weekday. But we can’t comment on how the service would be on a weekend.
Payment is at the third counter, which is right by the entrance (same as the exit) to Fu Er Dai.
Food At Fu Er Dai
We got to try several dim sum at Fu Er Dai as well as two types of tea and one of their noodles.
Dim sum we tried included:
- Har guen
- Siew mai
- Char siew pao
- Red bean pao
- Har gow
- Deep Fried Yam Puff With BBQ Pork
- Golden lava buns
- Baked bacon rolls
- Steamed spareribs with black bean sauce
Almost all of the dim sum is tasty. They are neither too salty or sweet. And they have just enough filling. Our favorites, by far are the golden lava buns and har guen.
Har guen are large, crispy with big prawns. While the golden lava buns are soft and have a somewhat watery but delicious salted egg filling.
The noodles are well fried with a nice springy texture too. The baked bacon rolls are unique and worth trying.
Pu Er tea tastes standard but their king tea is memorable. The flavor in our opinion, is actually most obvious when the tea is still dilute.
Note: There is a self-serving water station if you want to get a refill for your teapot.
There are other drinks that you can order besides tea. Like iced coffee.
Pricing At Fu Er Dai
Coming from Ipoh, we think that the pricing at Fu Er Dai is higher than average. 4 dim sum dishes and a pot of Pu Er tea already came up to RM50.
That said, there is something to be said about the quality and portions at Fu Er Dai:
Noodle portions are generous and feature a lot of meat and other ingredients besides the noodles.
Portions for the dim sum are not small but generous. We have seen smaller portions in Ipoh. Additionally, they are not stingy with meat. Siew Mai have a meaty texture and we don’t mean fatty meat either.
The prawns they use (for both har gow and har guen) are big and fresh.
Dainty dim sum at Fu Er Dai are the lava buns and the baked bacon rolls.
Conclusion
While not budget-friendly, Fu Er Dai offers great value for money for the quality of dim sum they serve. The portions are fair as well.
Seeing that the food is good, and the dining environment is comfortable, we would not mind coming again with family. The fact that they have customer parking is an added and welcome bonus!
