I came to FT many years ago when it was still located on No. 3 Road and we had a very unpleasant experience so it was nice to go back and see if they've changed since they moved into Aberdeen Mall. The interior is definitely a lot of nicer that's for sure. Burro and Butterfly are joining us, which is a good thing because we can then order more dishes! YAY!
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow - sorry no picture! It mysteriously disappeared off the camera! Damn you Nikon!! DAMN YOU!!!) - $4.95
Always a hit at dim sum, the version here is quite good as the skin doesn't rip off when you pick it up with your chopsticks and the pieces are not stuck to the steamer. These har gow are actually a bit larger than the ones I've seen at other restaurants and packed full of shrimp. Yum!
Steamed BBQ Pork Buns - $4.55
Also another staple of dim sum and requested by Butterfly. This one is on par with other places - fluffy sweetish white bun stuffed to the brim with lucious BBQ Pork... 
Deep Fried Shrimp Spring Roll - $4.55
Picking these up with chopsticks is an adventure in itself! They're bouncing off of plates, landing on laps, ending up in the steamed buns, crumbs are in my hair... I finally stab one with my chopstick and it was worth the fight - crunchy and packed full of shrimp and chives. It's your typical dim sum spring roll and not something spectacular but still quite tasty.
Deep Fried Spicy Squid - $6.50
BEHOLD the greatness of the deep fried squid!! The favorite of our table and it's not just covered in salt but also deep fried garlic pieces, jalapenos and other peppers... The squid itself was crunchy, not greasy and covered in the delicious topping. You might need to drink three cups of tea afterwards from all of the sodium but it is SOOOO worth it.
BBQ Pork Pastry - $4.95
The glistening pastry was like a sign calling us home and we all couldn't wait to dig in when it arrived at our table. Butterfly was nice enough to put a piece on everyone's plate but as she digs into her piece.... A HAIR??? It's not just in the filling, it's baked right INTO the pastry. Yuck. We flag a manager down and she hurridly apologizes and orders another dish for us.... Hm, not impressed.
Dried Pork and Chinese Donut in Rice Roll - $4.95
A little big greasy but the donut was still crunchy and the rice roll is soft... It came with 3 dipping sauces and I recommend you try each one to see what you'll enjoy but I like the combination of all 3 - soy, sesame and hoisin. My only gripe with this dish was that the pork should have been sprinkled on top or rolled in rather than being served on the side and became a forgotten garnish.
Stir Fried Vegetables with Gingko Nuts - $6.95
The wild card of the meal and we all though it was... interesting. The mushrooms and peas were cooked well as they still had that nice crunch and the lotus was good with the sauce but the ginkgo beans had a chewy jelly bean like texture that we weren't used to. Most of the table didn't care for it and I thought it was ok. If you order this, eat it while it's still hot because as the meal progressed, the sauce coagulated and became unappetizing.
Crispy Tofu Bacon - $7.50
Reading the title, Burro and I thought it'd be amazing as it combined our two loves of tofu and bacon so we had to order it. It is was it is and it wasn't as exciting as we though it would be. The tofu wasn't as crispy as I would have liked and the bacon grease just made it all the more soft. The accompanying mayo based sauce also really didn't do anything overall for the dish. All in all, the Piglets would probably pass on this Chef's Special dish next time, especially when it was quite pricey in comparison to other items.
Egg Tarts - $3.65
A nice dessert to end the meal and these ones are smaller than the ones from your local bakery but they hit the spot. Light, flaky and full of sweet custard filling... Ahhh... My belly is full...Overall, the dim sum was very good, better than your average Chinese restaurant but man oh man, there was a hair baked right into our BBQ Pork Pastry! I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that! I'd love to recommend this place but I just cannot do it in good conscience - what if you found a hair in your food too!??! With great blogging power, comes great responsibility and we can't have that fall on our shoulders! (I felt badly for taking Burro and Butterfly here. Sorry guys!) And the restaurant's reaction was not what I wanted to see (a.k.a. typical response from a Chinese restaurant) - a hurried apology, another brought to our table and the whole issue just brushed under the table like finding hair in food is a regular occurrence. For a higher priced/higher end restaurant, this is not acceptable. If they can't bother to maintain basic sanitary practices, then we can't bother to go back either. Au revoir!
Pros:
- Original dim sum dishes
- Moderate prices
- Modern decor
- Reservations accepted
- Efficient service
- Free parking
Cons:
- Free parking - yup, another messed up parking lot where you can't even enter since someone's blocking off both lanes or someone almost runs you and your kid over when you try to get out of the car (not my story but a true story nonetheless!)
- Basic sanitary issues - HAIR BAKED INTO THE FOOD
- Indifferent attitude from servers
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