Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum is a longstanding and popular non halal eatery in Ipoh.
It is often compared to its stately neighbor across. And while the price point is similar enough, what you get at both restaurants is different.
Here’s our take on this place!
About The Business
Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum has been running for more than 16 years. And this classic restaurant still sees crowds every day (except Thursdays when it is closed).
They open very early (at 6am) and they close at 2pm.
Unique dishes that you can get here are the black sesame soup, muah chee, and eggplant yong tau fu.
The variety of dim sum they offer is impressive. But they are equally known for serving small portions.
What We Have Tried Here
We ordered around 17 plates of dim sum. That might seem like a lot, but the portions are small.
Some of the dishes we ordered:
- Loh mai gai
- Har guen
- Har gao
- Siu mai
- Chee cheong fan (prawn)
- Wu kok
- Eggplant yong tau fu
- Char Siew Pau
- Black Sesame Dessert Soup
- Porridge
The taste of the dim sum in general is average. But the fried varieties (har guen and wu kok especially) are delicious.
Siu mai however, was a little disappointing in the size, color, and lack of taste. The porridge was not memorable, but decent.
We had several cups each of the delightful tea (cha wang or oolong) though.
Their signature black sesame soup is creamy and delicious. We highly recommend it.
Pricing
Everything came up to ~RM91. So, each plate cost us an average of RM5.20 which is cheaper than Foh San Restaurant. But more expensive than other dim sum restaurants further away from Ipoh Town.
Some may argue that the dim sum is overpriced because the ingredients they use are not premium (e.g., no large prawns) and the portions are small.
Ambiance
On the inside and outside, this eatery is not as grand as Foh San Restaurant. But there is a lot more seating inside than the exterior suggests.
Even if it’s not particularly photo-ready, the interior of the restaurant is fully air-conditioned.
The décor is classically Chinese, and they even have a large tank with a flowerhorn fish proudly displayed close the counter.
Because the tables are close to each other, it is loud during peak time. Waiters are constantly moving from table to table too.
Service
Despite arriving close to 9am on a Friday with a crowd in sight, we got a table for our group of 4 surprisingly quickly (around 5 minutes’ wait).
Tea was served almost immediately and so were the dishes:
The restaurant does away with menus (unlike Foh San Restaurant and Chooi Yue Dim Sum Restaurant).
Instead, dim sum is served traditionally. What we mean by that is that the waiters will bring trays of food directly to your table. They will tell you what each dish is so you can choose them for yourself.
When you have selected your dishes, they will make a mark on a chit. You bring this chit to make payment at the counter after your meal.
There is a very attentive head waitress overseeing all the other waiters and she keeps things running very efficiently. Tables get cleaned up in the blink of an eye.
We saw three staff immediately attend to a foreign group because they did not know how to order too.
Ease Of Parking
Because tourists will make a beeline for either of the two dim sum giants here (Foh San Restaurant and Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum), street parking is scarce in the morning.
The peak hours are between 8am to 10am.
If you can’t seem to find street parking close by, there are two paid parking lots close by (one is just beside the restaurant).
Conclusion
If we had to choose between Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum and Foh San Restaurant, we’d choose the former because the dim sum tastes better. And their service is one of the best we’ve seen in Ipoh.
Chooi Yue Dim Sum Restaurant
Chooi Yue Dim Sum Restaurant over at Ipoh Garden South may have tastier dim sum than Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum. But they have a slow-moving queue.
Zhen Hi Hao Dim Sum Restaurant
If you would like to avoid the crowds of the more popular restaurants altogether, then try Zhen Hi Hao Dim Sum Restaurant instead.
Other Dim Sum Restaurants
In our opinion though, there are still better dim sum restaurants in Ipoh even if they are very far away from the touristy part of town. You can find them in our list here.
