Thursday, January 10, 2013

LET THE FEASTING BEGIN!



Wok stars Chew Chee Kuong and Wang Yong Hai from Si Chuan Dou Hua, ParkRoyal KL will be cooking up a storm throughout the Chinese New Year (CNY) when all of us welcome the Year of the Snake come February 10.

Being the pragmatists that we are, CNY is an occasion to wish for abundant wealth, personal progress, eternal happiness, good health and every good tiding under the sun that you can think of. And we like to eat our way to prosperity too with family, friends, business associates and acquaintances.

No Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese will dream of starting their CNY meal without a platter of Yee Sang - raw fish salad (more salad than raw fish really) that consists of assorted finely shredded vegetable, fruits, deep-fried root vegetable and pickles topped with crushed peanut, sesame seeds and pok chui (deep-fried cracker strips). Seasoning of five spice powder and pepper powder as well as a thick, viscous dressing concocted from plum or fruit sauce and some oil lend the finishing touches.

Most chefs have their own recipes for the salad mixture and dressing so I daresay no two Yee Sang is ever the same. Several years ago Si Chuan Dou Hua was the first to create Fruity Yee Sang and the trend has caught on like a wild fire since then.

  
Strawberries, kiwifruit, dragon fruit, mango, honey melon, water apple and pomelo are some of the fruits that go into the rainbow-hued dish. It's definitely love at first bite for those who sample it.


Crabstick and diced seafood lend depth and multi-layered textures to shark's fin soup (yes, very politically incorrect but let's not wade into those murky, dangerous waters).

I have always enjoyed the deep-fried prawns with spicy Sichuan peppercorns at this fine Sichuanese restaurant and was again reminded why once I savoured the crusty, fiery hot and mildly briny crustaceans. But let it be known that the bouncy butter prawns with oats which are in another class of their own - equally scrumptious in their slick, sweet and crunchy splendour.
Who won't be hoi sum (happy) when treated to the ubiquitous but much cherished dish of braised dried oyster with sea cucumber, broccoli, seamoss and mushroom? Time and tide have failed to taint this superbly appealing dish judging from the great gusto everyone tackled the various goodies.

Whether you're a spice girl or guy, the dulcet smooth pieces of cod fillet with puffy rice bubble crackers and lashings of tart, tongue-numbing sauce will prove to be a real sizzler. Guaranteed you won't stop at just one serving!

 
Though I barely had tummy room left from the fab feast, I really couldn't turn down the fried rice with salted egg yolk. Speckled with orangey bits of salted egg yolk that I mistook for pumpkin, the fluffy grains hit the spot well. Alas I can only managed a smallish bowl but it was immensely satisfying.

The ‘Chinese New Year’ set for 4 persons is priced at RM798 nett and for 6 persons at RM1030 nett. ‘Prosperity’, ‘Fortune’ or ‘Wealth’ set priced at RM1158 nett, RM1390 nett and RM1622 nett respectively caters for a table of 10. 

Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant, PARKROYAL Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Sultan Ismail,
Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2147 0088

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