For the past one year since it opened back in Sep 2020, and despite the on-again-off-again COVID lockdowns subsequently, Bao Teck Tea House has managed to remain one of the hottest spots in Penang for yum cha, especially among the โladies who lunchโ crowd.
Weโd never bothered to try this place, as (1) it required at least a few daysโ advance booking, just to imbibe some Chinese tea and pick at its selection of dim sum which one can get almost anywhere in town; and (2) there are dozens of dim sum spots one can go to in George Town, without stressing oneself out in trying to snare a hard-to-get table in this place.
Anyhoo, a foodie friend did decide to make an advance booking one week ahead for a lunch spot here yesterday! So here we are.
First the tea: a special blend of Tieguanyin, one of the most expensive in the world. There are several different grades for this tea, and the highest one fetch upwards of US$3,000 per kg.
Ours was only MYR38 (US$9) for a pot. 
Our lunch spread:
๐ฆ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ - steamed pork-and-shrimp dumplings
๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ ๐ธ๐ผ๐ - pan-fried radish cakes
๐ฆ๐๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ผ - large pork-shrimp dumplings in soup - this was a deluxe version, as copious amounts of fish maw was also included in the consommรฉ , perhaps to justify its price tag.
Deep-fried pork balls filled with salted duckโs egg - this is an old favourite at wedding dinners in Malaysia and Singapore back in the 1950s-70s, a retro dish which Iโd almost forgotten about, but somehow resurrected here.
Steamed scallop dumplings - these are very delicate & juicy, and came in their own individual serving spoons.
Hanging pork-ball skewers - these were skewers of minced pork-balls slathered with a unctuous brown sauce (which didnโt really taste of anything) then covered with bonito shavings, and served suspended - more for the theatrics than anything. I didnโt quite like this blandish dish. A pity, since I love pork, and especially pork meatballs.
Steamed buns filled with grated coconut
Cantonese egg tarts - my fave item at this lunch, actually: buttery-flaky pastry shells, and wobbly eggy filling.
I felt the dim sum didnโt taste any better than those one can find elsewhere in George Town. In fact, some didnโt quite make the grade, as far as Iโm concerned. But the service here was exemplary, though the dรฉcor seemed, to me, quite kitsch and over-the-top.
Address
Bao Teck Tea House (ๅ
ๅพท้คจ)
25, Lebuh Melayu (Malay Street), 10100 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60 4-263 1100
Opening hours: 8am-8 pm daily, except Wed (closed).
