JB Eat: Lai Ji Pau & Dim Sum (来记包点心) @ Permas Jaya
- Rick
- Mar 31
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 3
Lai Ji Pau & Dim Sum (来记包点心) is located right next to — or in the same premise as — the new Yangtze Hotel in Permas Jaya, Masai. The locals-recommended restaurant is usually packed during peak hours (especially during weekends & public holidays) and no reservations accepted.
Lai Ji serves a wide range of dim sum items and steamed buns at relatively cheaper prices compared to big-name dim sum restaurants. All items are priced the same except for a couple of premium items, such as steamed meat dumplings (小笼包) and custard buns. All other buns are sold individually rather than in twos or threes based on a fixed price.
If the pictures on the menu cannot stimulate the appetites of would-be customers, a peek at the dishes laid out on a table behind the counter will quickly change their mind. Despite the cheap prices, Lai Ji's dim sum items are of reasonable portions.
We have a breakfast session at Lai Ji with quite a large number of items. The first wave consists of quick-to-serve items: big pork bun (大猪肉包), two char siew buns (叉烧包), glutinous rice chicken (糯米鸡) and fried radish cake (炸萝卜糕). Followed by custard buns (流沙包, 3 pcs), steamed meat dumplings (小笼包, 3 pcs) and shrimp dumplings (鲜虾饺). And also our orders of hot and cold beverages.
Surprisingly, the pork bun and char siew buns have very soft skins with nice and not-the-usual meat fillings. The lava-fillings of the custard buns flow out when the buns are broken apart. The steamed meat dumplings have nice flavours. All the items are nice-tasting with nothing to nitpick about.
The last wave comprises of items that require longer time to steam. We have two servings of chicken paws with spicy sour sauce (酸辣凤爪), spare ribs with spicy sour sauce (酸辣排骨), two servings of pork siew mai (烧卖) and eggplant with fish filling (茄子鱼肉).
Both the deep-fried-then-braised chicken feet and steamed spare ribs in spicy sour sauce are really unique — we have not tasted such flavours (simultaneously having sour, spicy, sweet and savoury flavours) at other dim sum places. The siew mai are meaty and the chunky fried-then-steamed eggplant has soft flesh but not soggy.
Looking for cheap and good dim sum and steamed buns in Johor Bahru? Don't miss Lai Ji Pau & Dim Sum in Permas Jaya, which is not very far from Mid Valley Southkey Mall.
Address:
70, Jalan Permas 10, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
7am to 4am | Daily
How to Get There:
From JB Sentral, take myBAS T21 to Permas Jaya and alight at the petrol kiosk or at AEON Mall Permas. Read JB Bus Guide: Getting to Mid Valley Southkey Mall / Permas Jaya (Masai).
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