I was at Chang Man 常满 Hong Kong Dim Sum at the invitation of the owner Adrian Ooi. Chang Man opened for business about two months ago and there was already a steady stream of customers at the restaurant on a Monday morning. I guess this is partly because Chang Man serves dim sum, chicken rice, char siew rice and hor fun which are familiar staples that are usually in demand, and more importantly, the food at Chang Man is good. We tasted some of the dim sum, chicken/ char siew rice and hor fun at Chang Man and it was obvious that a lot of effort had been put in to create good food for customers.
Manning Chang Man was a young dedicated team comprising Adrian, his business partner Kok Weng, Adrian's wife Ivy, and Adrian's younger brother.
Take a look at what we had.
Xiao Long Bao RM4.80 for 3 pieces
Many people like to dip their xiao long bao in the traditional vinegar and ginger dip.
Liu Sah Pau RM4.80 for 3 pieces
Seafood soup dumpling RM12.00
The seafood soup was delicious and there was this small piece of shark's fin in it.
Chang Man's crab roe siew mai is superb (RM3.80 for 3 pieces). Made with chopped pork and fresh shrimps topped with crab roe, it has excellent mouth feel and flavour. This is a Must Try.
Black roe scallop dumpling at RM4.80 for 3 pieces
Hand made fish balls at RM3.80 for 2 pieces.
I love Chang Man's fried carrot cake (RM5.00). It is made with lots of radish so it is tastier and softer than the ordinary version made mostly with flour.
Har Kao at RM4.50 for 3 pieces
Chang Man's shrimp dumpling soup hor fun at RM6.80. The soup made with bone stock was tasty and has umami taste. That dash of secret yellowish sauce on top was savoury and seemed to be made with salted egg.
Chang Man does their shrimp dumplings very well. Fresh, succulent and bouncy crunchy with nice prawny sweet flavour.
Very good char siew. Good blend of caramelised outer layer, juicy fat and tender lean meat.
Chang Man's chicken rice at RM6.00 a set. Chang Man's steamed chicken is made with ordinary farm chicken, yet it has the tender texture and flavour of good kampung chicken.
The rice that came with the chicken and char siew was very lightly coated with fragrant chicken oil. The grains were separate and very slightly nutty. The accompanying fresh chili was mildly spicy and tangy.
Recently, there were many restaurants opened in Johor Bahru by young entrepreneurs who had worked several years at big restaurants and in hotels overseas and beyond Johor. Adrian and his partner had worked in KL and in Singapore. These new dim sum shops serve premium quality dim sum in modern café style setting at slightly higher prices than at kopitiams.
This is an exciting time in the Johor Bahru food scene with contemporary concept eateries offering traditional cuisine with a touch of innovative flare and finesse. The energy and aspirations of these young entrepreneurs deserve our support for bringing buzz and class that will raise the Johor Bahru food scene to a higher level.
Rating: 3-Star out of 3 (I will plan a special trip just to eat this).
Restaurant name: Chang Man 常满 Hong Kong Dim Sum Chicken Rice Hor Fun
Address: 24G, Jalan Bestari 5/2, Taman Nusa Bestari, Skudai, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/DfrpV
GPS: 1.481122,103.665189
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm (Closed on alternate Fridays)
Non Halal
Date visited: 21 Jan 2013
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