A STELLAR CNY FEAST AT YUN HOUSE

 

Hong Kong-born Chef Jimmy Wong beguiles with a stellar array of exquisite specialities, merging cherished traditions with Four Seasons flair to welcome the Snake Year at the Michelin-selected Yun House.

At an exclusive preview hosted by the indefatigable Dato’ Rosemarie Wee (left), Chef Jimmy Wong’s epicurean Lunar New Year delights befittingly took front and centre that day.

 

A simple yet tantalising amuse bouche of Marinated Wood Ear Fungus with Onion, Coriander and Chilli Oil proffered a promising hint of other goodies to come.

 

Yee Sang, one of the most anticipated yearly offerings at Yun House, captivated us from the get-go. Once the concerted lou hei session was dispensed with, we relished the Locally Sourced Mantis Prawns with Lily Bulb Yee Sang with gusto.

 

With natural and specially selected ingredients such as deep-fried salmon skin, fresh lily bulbs, candied walnuts, pickled shallots, crispy strands of fried rice vermicelli and house-made plum sauce among others, the overall consensus was the Yee Sang is second to none. You can even luxe it up further with freshly shaved black truffle before the salad tossing.

IMO, there isn’t adequate superlatives to describe the show-stopping Imperial Fish Maw Broth with Royal Orchid and Sun-dried Scallops. Imagine it took 8 hours alone just to prep the base stock.

Soulfully rich and slightly sticky with a gelatinous finish, the precious soup laden with little yellow orchids, top shell, mini cabbage, fish maw, bamboo pith and goji berries knocked our socks off.

Chopped Sichuan chilli, garlic and spring onion atop Steamed Giant Soon Hock then left a trailblazing impression on our palate. We enjoy how the mildly briny and piquant chilli and garlic accentuated the fish’s natural sweetness. Also included was a disc of soft tofu, augmenting this fish’s delicate texture.

 

Crowned with a seared whole Hokkaido scallop, the fluffy Wok-fried Glutinous Rice studded with chopped mushrooms, dried scallops and roasted peanuts also knocked this speciality out of the park.

The finale was no less dazzling with a sumptuous serving of Bird’s Nest with Coral Seaweed Jelly, Pear and Ginseng taking the limelight. It made a sublime pairing with Deep-fried Rice Cake with Yam and Sweet Potato.

These classical delicacies reimagined with luxurious ingredients and bold touches by Chef Wong and his team are featured in five signature menus priced between RM328 and RM1,288 person (min 4 persons per menu), available from 6 January to 12 February.

Reservations are highly recommended at Yun House. Kindly contact Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, tel: 03 2382 8602 or email: diningreservations.kualalumpur@fourseasons.com

 

JOYOUS MID-AUTUMN FEST WITH FOUR SEASONS HOTEL KL

 

Covered in gold brocade on top and crimson print on the lower tiers, the limited edition mooncake gift box from Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur can be used as a beautiful jewellery box after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Meticulously crafted by award-winning dim sum maestro Chef Ng Meng Loong who has over two decades of culinary expertise, the Four Seasons’ mooncakes mirror a full moon – symbolising unity and completeness – come in a sumptuous array of baked and snowskin variants.

This year’s most outstanding snowskin creation has to be the Black Truffle Lotus Seed Paste with Pine Nuts and Kelulut Honey (RM68 each) mooncake. The chef has ensured a harmonious blend of flavours especially with the bold inclusion of black truffle into the snowskin mooncakes. We love the distinct pine nut and kelulut honey combo with lotus seed paste.

Returning snowskin favourites include luscious Musang King Durian (RM80 each), exquisite Bird's Nest with Black Sesame and Almond (RM58 each) and White Lotus Seed Paste with Seaweed, Black Sugar and Macadamia (RM50 each).

For those partial to classic baked mooncakes, satisfy your cravings with delectable Red Bean Paste with Almond Flakes (RM44), Traditional Mixed Nuts (RM44), Pandan Lotus Seed Paste with Yolk (RM44), and White Lotus Seed Paste (RM44).

Ideal as gifts for family, friends and business associates, this year’s elegant Mid-Autumn Fest gift boxes are available from MYR288+ up to MYR388+ per set.

To place orders for Yun House mooncakes, please call Four Seasons Hotel KL, tel: 03 2382 8602 or drop an email to: yunhouse.kualalumpur@fourseasons.com.

 

 

DECADENT CHINESE NEW YEAR DINING AT YUN HOUSE

Get the Lunar New Year celebration off to a decadent, impactful start with super-fresh Salmon Belly Yee Sang at Yun House this coming Year of the Rat.

Chef Jimmy Wong keeps his salad creation simple and fresh. The platter features 18 ingredients such as fresh magnolia petals, pomelo sacs, finely shredded carrot and radish. For colour, flavour and textural interest, dried yam strips, pickled radish, pickled onion, pickled ginger, walnuts, fried flour crisps and fried Norwegian salmon skin are included.

Topping the platter off with a distinctive flourish is a portion of crunchy deep-fried sang meen (wheat noodles). We like the novelty of breaking the crunchy noodles into smaller chunks during the lou hei (tossing) ritual as the gesture represents auspicious breakthrough for brand-new beginnings. To tantalise the palate further, Chef Jimmy proffers a tangy-sweet dressing concocted from plum sauce, white vinegar, apple jam and salt for the yee sang.

 

Thoughtfully curated, the festive menu integrates light and substantial fare, with a precursor of the Chef’s Special Dim Sum Platter. Delicately handcrafted, we enjoy every bite of the delicious Mushroom & Truffle Oil Dumpling. A dainty piece of Steamed Radish Cake with Dried Scallop whets the appetite before the delectable Spring Roll with Foie Gras & Seafood suffuses our tastebuds with its richer flavours.

 

Lush with hearty umami taste and differing textures, we feel richly rewarded when savouring the Braised Money Bag filled with Abalone. A befitting speciality to relish for the CNY celebration as both the dried oyster and abalone symbolise good things, abundant fortune and prosperity. 

 

The on-point selection continues with Braised Vermicelli with Fresh Crabmeat and Caviar. Pin-drop silence reigns around the table as we focus on slurping up the slippery smooth noodles imbued with the natural sweetness of hand-extracted crabmeat, interspersed with briny bursts of caviar.

 

My penchant for almond milk is fulfilled when the Dessert Duo of Doubled Boiled Superior Bird’s Nest with Almond Cream and Chef’s Special Fried Rice Cake is served. Every spoonful leaves me in gastronomic heaven, the creamy nuttiness melding nicely with generous amount of bird’s nest.

Even the simple nin koh or New Year rice cake comes up trumps, lightly sheathed in a crisp batter concocted from tempura flour, olive oil and water.

Chef Jimmy Wong’s specially curated Chinese New Year Set Menus (RM388-

688 per head) are available now until February 8. The repertoire of choice dishes is the chef’s personal favourites to pamper his loved ones; culled from his treasure trove of family recipes exclusively for this celebration.

Priced from RM148 nett onwards, Yee Sang variants at Yun House include Salmon Belly, Toro and Australian Lobster. Dim Sum is also served for lunch at RM10-45 nett per portion.

For reservations at Yun House, call Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, tel: 03-2382 8888. Address: Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Ampang, KL. Visit: https://www.fourseasons.com/kualalumpur/dining/restaurants/yun-house/

FIVE SHADES OF MOONCAKE AT TAO CHINESE CUISINE

See yellow, blue, black, green and brown this Mid-Autumn Festival at Tao Chinese Cuisine. Three seductive snowskin creations, an inventive Shanghai-style savoury version and six classic baked variants by Dim Sum Chef Lo Tian Sion will be the siren’s call for mooncake enthusiasts this year until 24 September.

 

 

Now making the festive confection is no pie in the sky as Chef Lo demonstrated at the media preview. In his quest to up the ante and to fend off competition, Taiwan’s famed scallion pancake — a popular street snack — arises as the ingenious inspiration behind Chef Lo’s latest showstopper of Shanghai-inspired Baked Black Pepper Smoked Duck Meat with Yam (RM43 per piece).

 

We reckon it’s a dome-shaped pie in disguise; a savoury temptation with a come hither filling of crushed black pepper, smoked duck and yam mash. Just a mere bite of that feisty black pepper flecked bombshell and you’d be turned on your head by the zingy hot accent and tastebud-teasing textures that veer between powdery-soft and buttery-flaky. Like any proverbial gem worth its salt (pardon the pun), this unconventional showstopper is only available for dine-in at Tao Chinese Cuisine to preserve its optimal taste and texture.

 

Enrobed in a sunny yellow, unbaked glutinous rice flour skin similar to marzipan, the sensuous sweetness of the durian and oats paste playfully piques the palate as winsome Snowskin Durian Paste & Oats Mooncake (RM43). For durian-loving devotees, the almost guilt-free, indulgent delicacy is bound to leave them moonstruck.

 

Chef Lo then uses bird’s nest and butterfly pea flower to compose a pretty snow white, Marble Snowskin with Butterfly Pea Flower & Bird’s Nest Mooncake (RM43). Rife with streaks of eye-catching blue, the lotus paste at the sweet treat core also flaunts a baby blue hue with bits of bird’s nest lending luxe taste appeal.

Meanwhile, discover a matcha mooncake made in Mid-Autumn heaven with the debut of Snowskin with Japanese Green Tea and Cherry Jelly (RM31). Imported cherries are lovingly transformed into the mooncake’s tantalising sour-sweet heart in the pleasant embrace of astringent bitter-sweet green tea paste studded with longans and green tea-nuanced skin.

 

 

True to the ‘once you go black, you’d never go back’ maxim, the bewitching Black Sesame Bamboo Charcoal with Single Yolk Mooncake (RM27) will leave you spellbound with its nutty, savoury sweetness.

Like true love, the endearing charm of time-tested variants such as White Lotus Paste with Single Yolk (RM27), Pure White Lotus Paste with Nuts (RM25), Red Bean Paste with Nuts (RM25), Pandan Lotus Paste with Single Yolk (RM27) and Traditional Mixed Nuts (RM31) can still hold their own and are unlikely to wane amidst the onslaught of omnipresent competition for the hearts and palates of Mid-Autumn Fest celebrants.

Tao also dresses the mooncakes up to the nines in elegant black and red gift boxes adorned with gold stamped peach blossom motifs at no extra cost, with a minimum purchase of four mooncakes.

For more information, please call Tao Chinese Cuisine, tel: 03-2782 6128 or email: tao@intercontinental-kl.com.my