Yumcha in Phnom Penh - Dim Sum Emperor

Awesome dimsums are hard to find. Awesome dimsums in Phnom Penh are even harder to come by. Yum cha (饮茶) literally means 'tasting tea'. To have yum cha means to have dim sums (the small dishes) along with traditional chinese teas, usually for breakfast and brunch for the Cantonese people.

After living in Hong Kong for three years (prior to Phnom Penh), this traditional Cantonese way of having breakfast has come to rub off a little on me. There will be certain times when I'll crave for the dim sums when I wake up from my Sunday sleep-in.

We were greeted by this very familiar view of dim sum steamers stacked all the way to the top.

After having been to 5-6 different better yumcha places in Phnom Penh, and I can happily say I like Dim Sum Emperor (点心皇) the best. This place was actually recommended to me by Kenneth, and since he is from Hong Kong himself, I had to check this place out.

Dim Sum Emperor (sorry if anyone of you recognise yourself in the pic, I've tried my best blurring faces out!)

We ordered two cappuccino after we spotted a proper coffee machine behind the counter, can't help being observant lol. It was great coffee to be honest. I certainly did not expect such quality coffee in a Chinese Dim Sum place like this.

Cappuccino (the sad one with lots of foam - read below)

However, I would have to point out that when you order 2 cappuccini at the same time at this restaurant, more often than not they would give you 1 with lots of foam (~65% Coffee ~35% Foam), and the other 1 with more coffee (~95% Coffee 5% Foam), which is really, really annoying.

This is probably because there are usually 2 nozzles dispensing the coffee, and one of the nozzles most likely was generating more brew than the other nozzle. I'm guessing that they do not use a general collector, but instead put the cups directly below each nozzle respectively. And after the coffee has been dispensed, 1 cup will always have substantially more coffee than the other (and they never bothered to even that out apparently). The staff then fills the remaining space in the cups with frothed milk to the brim, and that is why you get such disparity in the coffee quality.

This happened twice in 2 separate occasions when I was there and I have given some feedback to the manager the second time it happened, but it seemed that he thinks he knows more about coffee machines than I do, and said there was nothing he could do about it, so we might just order 1 cappuccino at a time to stop it from happening. But otherwise, great cappuccino. =]

Steamed Fresh Shrimp Dumplings, 'Ha Gao' , 蒸虾饺 

Rating: 3.5/5

One of my all-time 'must order' dim sums is the shrimp dumplings. Translucent pastry skin with fresh succulent shrimp fillings, Dim Sum Emperor's shrimp dumplings did bring me back to Hong Kong for a second. Although it is not the best tasting shrimp dumplings I've ever tasted (best tasting one I had was in Hong Kong of course!), but it is not too far off from what I'd expect from a restaurant who has a hong kong chef monitoring the quality of the food.

Somebody couldn't wait to attack those little dim sums

Next up was the Shrimp with Vegetable Dumplings.

Shrimp and Vegetable Dumplings

Rating: 4.5/5

My personal favourite from the Dim Sum Emperor. I like it even more than the shrimp dumplings to be honest. The vegetable and shrimp goes very well together and the filling is very juicy and savoury, its really hot though, so just be careful not to burn your tongues lol.

2 types of chili condiments, perfect with all the dumplings!

I like to mix the two sauces above for the steamed dumplings. One of them (the darker one) is an aromatic concoction of fried chili, dried herbs in chili oil and not too spicy, the other one is a clear sweet and spicy chilli sauce.

Pork Rice Rolls 肠粉 (猪肉)

Rating: 3/5
Smooth and tasty, this rice flour roll has pork wrapped in it. I'm not a big fan of this since I am a shrimp lover lol. My personal favourite is the one with shrimps instead of pork of course.

BBQ Pork Bun a.k.a. Char Siew Bun 叉烧包

Rating: 4/5

Surprisingly good BBQ Pork Bun. I really really hate the BBQ pork buns which are too sweet. This one is just right. Bun itself is really fluffy and soft, so I definitely recommend this.

Glutinous Rice with Pork in Lotus Leaf

Rating: 3/5

This dish will take about 15-20 minutes for them to prepare. I'm actually not quite sure what the meat in it is, as on the menu it says 'Chicken', but the 2nd time I ordered it I think I saw pork instead of chicken. So for people who mind knowing what meat they are consuming, it will be good to ask the staff first before ordering this. Taste wise, very good. They are very generous with the fillings too, although I'd prefer more glutinous rice instead lol.

Just opposite Central Market at street 130

This photo is taken from the street level. You'd have to turn right into the alley and walk up the stairs on your left.

Bon appetite!

点心皇
Dim Sum Emperor
Street 53 Corner of Street 130,
Sangkat Phsar Thmey 1,
Khan Daun Penh,
Phnom Penh
Tel: 023 650 7452

Let me know about your experience in this restaurant!