ANUSHA K. feasts on a variety of delicious dim sum.

DIM sum is usually an eight course meal in itself.

There are appetisers, chee cheong fun (rice noodle rolls) and porridge, for example. The meal usually ends with sweet treats such as egg tarts or sweet pastry puffs filled with red bean paste.

Meisan Szechuan Restaurant at Quality Hotel, Shah Alam specialises in Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine. Its lunch dim sum buffet, available from noon to 2.30pm daily, is at RM28 ++ per person.

Start the meal with warm broth and shark's fin dumpling soup. The delicious dumplings are mouth-watering and come in many varieties, from deep-fried and steamed to baked.

The sweet dumplings complement the flavourful broth.

One of my favourites is steamed prawn dumplings. Its simplicity speaks for itself. This delicate dumpling is filled with prawns and then covered with translucent wheat starch skin. The pinker the dumpling, the fresher the prawns. And yes, the prawns add just the right amount of sweetness to this dainty dumpling.

Steamed seaweed rolls Hong Kong-style add a unique touch to the range of treats. The seaweed gives a slight crunchiness and taste to the otherwise ordinary dumpling. Steamed bean curd rolls with oyster sauce is another must-try.

Salivate over their juiciness. The fermented beancurd imparts to it the bitter-sweet taste of vinegar.

From the fried varieties, do select the prawn triangle with salad. Crispy and crunchy, children will love this with mayonnaise on the side.

For those with a sweet tooth, I suggest fried springrolls with yams, bananas and lotus paste.

However, if you're cutting down on calories, go healthy with the almond beancurd. Similar to soya curd, this has a tinge of almond essence and is topped with a mix of fruit cocktails such as peaches and cherries.

Notes:

> Prawn dumplings are steamed so the flavours are retained. The sweetness of fresh prawns is evident in every bite.

> Steamed bean curd rolls with oyster sauce are a little sour because of the bean curd soaked in vinegar.