Skip to content
Maxim Dim Sum 美食之家 logo Maxim Dim Sum · Pekaka
Sungai Dua · Gelugor · Pulau Pinang

Penang's neighbourhood dim sum house, steamed fresh from six-thirty.

Seventy varieties on the cart every morning, families queueing for the bamboo steamer that lands at table forty seconds after it's ordered. Maxim has been the Pekaka neighbourhood's morning ritual for years — and the reason 4,037 Google reviewers keep coming back at 4.3 stars.

Reserve a table — +60 16-713 6625 See the menu
Google
4.3★
Reviews
4,037
Varieties
70+
Open
6:30am
A spread of steamed dim sum baskets — har gao, siu mai, char siu bao, custard buns and lo mai gai — set out across a tea-stained table at Maxim
茶楼
Open daily
6:30 · 21:00
Since the nineties

Four branches. One boss. The same first basket since opening day.

What started in one Penang shop-lot has grown into four locations across the island, all run by the same family, all serving the same recipes. The Pekaka branch is the workhorse — six-thirty in the morning the steamers are stacked five deep, by seven the queue spills onto Lebuh Pekaka, and by noon the trolleys are circling for the second sitting.

Reviewers like YewWee Cheong tell the chain story: "Maxim has many branches in Penang, as far as I know four of them with different names but the same boss. They serve above-average dim sum." Lye Yoong Tan calls it a "go-to dim sum place for the last ten years." Repeat custom is the real KPI here — and it doesn't get to four thousand reviews by accident.

Read about our tea hours
Steamed chicken bowl with scallion, chilli and black bean, served in a bamboo steamer
Steamed chicken — bamboo bowl no. 60
The basket list

Twelve of the seventy. The ones we steam most before noon.

Prices in ringgit, fresh out of the bamboo. The full sheet has seventy more — come find the one with the secret minced pork.

  • 虾

    Har Gao

    Crystal-skin prawn dumpling

    RM 6.90

  • 烧

    Siu Mai

    Pork & prawn open-top

    RM 6.00

  • 叉

    Char Siu Bao

    Steamed BBQ pork bun

    RM 7.80

  • 糯

    Lo Mai Gai

    Lotus-leaf sticky rice

    RM 9.30

  • 奶

    Custard Bun

    Salted-yolk lava centre

    RM 9.30

  • 凤

    Chicken Feet

    Black-bean braise

    RM 6.90

  • 腐

    Beancurd Roll

    Crispy skin, pork filling

    RM 6.00

  • 饺

    Shrimp Dumpling

    Translucent skin

    RM 6.00

  • 糕

    Turnip Cake

    Pan-seared with XO

    RM 7.80

  • 猪

    Spareribs

    Black-bean, chilli

    RM 6.90

  • 蛋

    Egg Tart

    Flaky butter shell

    RM 6.00

  • 榴

    Durian Puff

    Seasonal D24 cream

    RM 9.30

The full sheet has seventy more — ask any auntie pushing a trolley.

One steamer at a time

From a single shop-lot to four corners of the island.

The chain didn't franchise out — it grew by family. Same boss, four kitchens, the same dim sum playbook.

  1. 1990s

    First shop opens in Penang.

    A single shop-lot, a handful of trolleys, the recipes that would become the family canon.

  2. 2010s

    Pekaka becomes the workhorse branch.

    Lebuh Pekaka 1, Sungai Dua — the location that takes the morning surge. Reviewer Lye Yoong Tan: 'My go-to dim sum place for the last ten years.'

  3. 2024

    4,037 Google reviews. 4.3 stars.

    The Pekaka branch alone crosses 4,000 reviews — the kind of social proof that's only earned, never bought. Repeat custom is the underlying metric.

  4. Today

    A web presence that matches the food.

    The next basket on the steamer: a website that surfaces the menu, the reviews, the hours, the photos — all the things the kitchen already does brilliantly.

Tea hours

Three rhythms. Morning, lunchtime, evening.

Pekaka opens at six-thirty and runs until nine at night with a short break. Each rhythm has its own regulars.

06:30 — 10:30

Morning steam.

The serious dim sum hour. Trolleys circulate. Aunties shout orders. Order har gao first, then siu mai, then whatever lands on the next cart.

10:30 — 14:30

Lunch crossover.

Dim sum stays on. Hor fun, char kuey teow and clay-pot rice join. Office workers, single queue, table found in three minutes flat.

17:30 — 21:00

Evening family sitting.

Two and three generations share the round table. Banquet sets for festivals. The CNY mooncake months are different again.

Daily hours

Mon — Sun
06:30 — 14:30
Evening
17:30 — 21:00

Open seven days a week. Arrive before 8am for the full trolley.

Pekaka address

Bangunan Lip Sin 2
G-7 to G-12, Lebuh Pekaka 1
Sungai Dua, Taman Pekaka
11700 Gelugor
Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Open in Google Maps

Reservations

Walk-ins welcome. For groups of six and up, call ahead — especially on weekend mornings.

+60 16-713 6625 WhatsApp

Parking

Street parking on Lebuh Pekaka 1, and the open lot in front of the Bangunan Lip Sin block. Reviewer Edmund Ng: 'many parking, reasonable.'

Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant shopfront on Lebuh Pekaka 1 — red Maxim signage above 'Dim Sum' and 'Noodle' chops, sky and motorbikes parked outside
Pekaka shopfront — Bangunan Lip Sin 2
In their own words

Four thousand and thirty-seven Google reviews. Three of them, verbatim.

"Maxim has many branches in Penang, as far as I know four of them with different names but same boss. They served above-average dim sum in Penang."
YewWee Cheong · Google
"My go-to dim sum place for the last ten years. The seating system improved greatly during my recent trip. Single queue, shown to available seat."
Lye Yoong Tan · Google
"Came here for Dim Sum. All dim sums are up to standards. Clean and spacious. Service was good. Food up to standards. Quick service. Many parking. Reasonable."
Edmund Ng · Google

Pulled from the live Google Business profile. No edits, no curation pressure — these are real names attached to real visits.

Steamer's open

See you at the first cart of the morning.

Pekaka is open seven days a week from six-thirty. Bring family. Bring colleagues. Try the durian puff if it's in season.

Call +60 16-713 6625 WhatsApp Directions