CNY REUNION DINNER AT SUNWAY PUTRA HOTEL

Sometimes the mantra ‘old is gold’ holds true in this day and age. The Chinese New Year (CNY) menu we sampled at Sunway Putra Hotel exemplifies the philosophy thanks to Chef Chew Keng Chai and his team.

Two 8-course menus bear testament to the culinary team’s prowess, created to help you reconnect with family and loved ones for upcoming reunion and celebration dinners in conjunction with CNY.

Tradition demands the festive familial feast commences with yee sang – a colourful salad with slices of raw fish to symbolise abundance for the CNY. From our tasting session, the Salmon Yee Sang fits the bill perfectly. Red, green and golden brown hues of the assorted ingredients married with the tantalising accent of plum sauce delighted us with its nostalgic old-school taste. Honest, simple and quintessentially Chinese, we were left thoroughly smitten.

The cheery pace picked up with another on-point offering - Braised Crabmeat & Seaweed with Dried Scallops soup. We love the broth's right degree of viscosity; each savoury spoonful awash with a fine mélange of seaweed, mushroom, crabmeat, crabstick and dried scallop. I couldn’t help raving over it much to the surprise of my dining companions who know I eschew soup.

Retro reminiscence came to the fore yet again when we tucked into the delectable Roast Crispy Chicken with Cucumber Plum Sauce. Tender and juicy with a toothsome bite, the chicken was even more sublime when dipped into the side dish of coarsely chopped cucumber and plum sauce.

Fresh coriander, scallions and superior soya sauce formed the flavoursome trinity that sealed in the natural deliciousness of the Steamed Grouper Hong Kong Style. Although the fish was a tad overdone, we readily overlooked the minor hiccup.

Cheshire cat-sized grins were aplenty around the table once we got to grips with the irresistible Stir-fried Tiger Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk. We didn’t mind getting our hands dirty shelling the succulent prawns and the mildly gritty salted egg yolk sauce was finger-licking good.

Stir-fried Nai Pak (milk cabbage) with Superior Stock helped to fulfil our greens quota for the day whilst the Garlic & Mushroom Dumplings were relished with much satisfaction as the golf ball-sized dumplings were generously stuffed with fish and prawn paste.

Leave some tummy room to fit in the parcels of Steamed Rice with Chicken & Yam in Lotus Leaves. Hearty with a homespun touch to it, this rustic speciality should hit the spot for die-hard rice lovers and leave them replete.

Crowd-pleasing sweet broth of Chilled Honey Dew Sago with Rock Melon accompanied by Baked Spiral Lotus Puffs should leave everyone in a good mood when they walk away from the dining table.

The 8-course CNY Reunion Set Dinner is priced at RM1,188 nett per table of 10 persons and will be served at the hotel’s Coffee House.

For more information and reservations, call SUNWAY PUTRA HOTEL, tel: 03-4040 9888. Address: Level 9, Sunway Putra Hotel, 100 Jalan Putra, Kuala Lumpur.