Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow

A few years ago, we had Canning Dim Sum in Ipoh and remembered liking it enough that the new Bangi branch immediately went onto our KL breakfast list.

The setup here is different. Instead of servers walking around with trays, you get a clipboard, head to the dim sum counter and pick what you want yourself. It is quite fun when the restaurant is quiet, slightly less fun once the queue starts building.

We came early and got in easily. By the time we left, there was already a proper line outside, with chairs set up for people waiting. That probably tells you everything you need to know about when to come. Anyway, here’s a quick recap of what we ordered and what we would actually get again.

Fried Yong Tofu

Unfortunately, we started with one of our least favourite plates.

The Fried Yong Tofu came three pieces to a serving. Texture-wise, there was nothing seriously wrong with it. The outside had some bite and the filling held together well enough. The problem was flavour.

It was surprisingly plain, and the sauce underneath did very little to help. We kept waiting for something savoury, sweet or punchy to arrive, but the whole plate stayed fairly muted.

With this many dim sum choices in front of you, we would happily skip this one.

Stewed Chicken Feet

Chicken feet is one of those dishes where the table usually separates itself into two camps before the first bite.

Canning’s version was properly soft and chewy, coated in a dark, sweet-savoury sauce that clung to all the folds and joints. If you enjoy that gelatinous texture, there is plenty here to like.

Our table was divided. Some of us kept reaching for another piece; the rest were perfectly happy to let them.

This one feels less like a quality issue and more like a personality test.

Spring Roll and Cheese Prawn Ball

The Spring Roll was straightforward but competent: crisp wrapper, savoury filling and no unpleasant pool of oil underneath. Not something we would cross Selangor for, but easy to eat and easy to share.

We preferred the Cheese Prawn Ball. The fine strands around the outside fried into a brittle, crunchy shell, while the centre stayed soft with a creamy cheese-and-prawn filling.

The contrast in texture made this one much more interesting than the spring roll.

These fried items also survive the trip from counter to table rather well, which cannot be said for everything we ordered.

Shanghai Chicken Broth Dumpling, Seaweed Crabstick, Beancurd Skin Prawn and Siew Pau

The Shanghai Chicken Broth Dumpling was where the self-collection system worked against the food.

By the time we queued, collected our plates and sat down, the dumpling skin already looked slightly tired. There was some broth inside, but not that hot, juicy burst we hope for when biting into xiaolongbao. The soup itself also leaned a little salty for us.

Din Tai Fung remains our personal reference point here. You are fully entitled to disagree; this is simply where our taste buds have chosen to live.

The Seaweed Crabstick was more forgettable. The filling had a very uniform, springy texture, almost as though the seafood had been finely processed and bound into one smooth mixture. The result reminded us more of a fish ball wrapped in seaweed than something where crabstick was especially distinct.

Perfectly edible. Just not memorable.

Then came the Beancurd Skin Prawn, easily one of our favourites.

The prawn actually tasted like prawn, which sounds like a low bar until you eat enough dim sum where the filling could be almost anything. The prawns were plump and fresh-tasting, while the beancurd skin stayed flaky and crisp rather than becoming leathery.

This is the one we would order again without thinking too hard.

The Siew Pau was less successful. The sweet barbecue-style filling was pleasant, but the pastry felt dense and thick relative to what was inside. We wanted something flaky that broke away easily; instead, the pastry became the main event.

Unfortunately, we were there for the filling.

Fried Radish Cake

We usually have very little resistance to fried radish cake, so this one was disappointing.

Canning’s version came with egg, bean sprouts, spring onion and chilli, and looked perfectly promising on the plate. The radish cake itself was soft, while the bean sprouts gave it some crunch.

What it lacked was that deeper savoury hit we wanted from the wok.

We have had more flavourful versions at Hua Mui and Dolly Dim Sum, where the radish cake picked up more seasoning and char. Here, everything felt a little restrained.

Maybe we caught an under-seasoned batch. Either way, ours needed more punch.

So, Did Canning Dim Sum Bangi Live Up to Our Ipoh Memory?

Not quite.

That surprised us because we genuinely remembered enjoying the Ipoh outlet. At Bangi, there were still good dishes, especially the Beancurd Skin Prawn and the fried snacks were generally dependable. But enough plates landed in the “fine” category that breakfast never really gathered momentum.

The restaurant itself is a strong setup for families and groups. It is spacious, there are plenty of tables, and the selection makes ordering together quite fun. The main practical issue is parking. There is free on-site parking, but spaces are limited, and roadside parking becomes the backup plan. There is also a pickleball court next door, because apparently dim sum and pickleball now share a postcode.

Our biggest advice is still to come early. We arrived before the serious crowd and had a relatively painless breakfast. By the time we left, the queue outside had grown enough that those waiting chairs were no longer decorative.

Would we return? Probably, but next time we would order far more selectively.

Nostalgia got us through the door. The Beancurd Skin Prawn is what might bring us back.