THAI-LICIOUS DINING EXPERIENCE AT TAVERN IN THE SKY

 

Cool, fresh air and a panoramic green vista are the icing on the top for diners patroning Tavern In The Sky, a rooftop Thai dining and BBQ bar up at Genting Highlands.

 

Tucked away at the Grand Ion Delemen Hotel and easily accesible to guests staying at the neighbouring premium apartment towers of Gloria Residences, this serene restaurant is worth a visit during lunch or dinner.

Best seats in the house are naturally outside by the spacious patio. It’s a memorable experience like no other when you sit down to a piping hot mookata (Thai barbecue cum hotpot) meal in the chilly highland weather.

The house speciality Mookata (RM120 per set) is ample enough to cater to 2-3 diners. Ingredients include 3 tiger prawns, 1 freshwater king prawn, chicken and fish slices, scallops, mussels, squid, beancurd, chicken sausage, crabstick, mixed vegetables and noodles.

Additional portions of sliced beef, seafood and other ingredients (we counted 27 in total) available a la carte (RM8-RM18 per serving). For those who rather not get their hands dirty, the helpful restaurant team will gladly step in to cook the food. Otherwise, it promises to be a fun DIY experience with family or friends.

Based on our first-hand experience, the various morsels are delicious when eaten hot off the grill and pot. The barbecue items, cooked with butter, are done just right while soup for the hot pot is clear and sweet.

Crowd-pleasing snacks and Thai fare to accompany beer, wine or your tipple of choice are also served at Tavern In The Sky. We recommend Ochagavia Espuela (RM100), a fresh, crisp Chilean white wine to complement crunchy Fried Chicken Skin (RM20) and Garlic Fried Popcorn Chicken (RM20). Both are understandably popular choices among the restaurant patrons thanks to the chockful of appetising flavours and crunchiness.

Need some soup to warm you up? The signature Red or White Tom Yum Soup with Seafood (RM35-regular, RM65-large) will do the trick nicely. Personally, I prefer the red version although the white, clear variant is no less punchy heat quotient-wise.

Hearty, one dish meals such as Pad Thai (RM20) — Thai fried flat rice noodles and Fried Rice are trusty options to fall back on for carb-loading. A serving of zingy Chicken Feet Salad (RM20) won’t be remiss as a supplementary speciality to add textural interest.

For reservations, call Tavern in the Sky, tel: 012-391 3223. Address: Grand Ion Delemen Hotel, Genting Highlands, Pahang.

FRESHWATER PRAWNS RULE AT PRAWN DYNASTY

Fresh waterprawns, udang galah or tai thau har in Chinese take centrestage at Prawn Dynasty, a simple, air-conditioned restaurant in Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Cheras.

Chef Kok Wah Bah or Ah Wah as he’s known to regular customers, whips up a plethora of raveworthy fresh waterprawn dishes that hit the spot for lunch and dinner. For now, the prawn dishes are priced at RM39.90 each — quite a steal as the crustaceans are sizeable and can be prepared in about 20 different enticing sauces.

Zingy hot, voluptuous buttery-rich flavours and aromatic curry leaves underscore the Kam Hiong Prawns with Buttermilk. Granted, the presentation is nothing to shout about but nobody is going to quibble as the natural prawny sweetness remains discernible amidst the onslaught on appetite-whetting flavours. 

The subsequent offering features salted egg sauce giving credence to its tongue-in-cheek name of Ham Sap Prawns. In Cantonese, ham sap means lascivious but there’s nothing lewd about this speciality. Just scrumptious prawn stars worth lusting after.

 

IMHO, the Black Pepper Prawns are rather ho-hum although Prawn Dynasty patrons may beg to differ as the crustaceans in sticky, peppery sauce will surely win them over. Go ahead and decide for yourself before bypassing this option.

There’s more to Prawn Dynasty than meets the eye as the menu includes numerous familiar go-to dishes of chicken, fish, clams and beancurd as well.

Mindful of the Chinese crowd who love fresh seafood and fish, Prawn Dynasty is bound to hit paydirt with its signature Ginger & Spring Onion Steamed Orange Roughy (RM8.80/100g).

A prized deep-sea catch from New Zealand, the highly nutritious fish is deftly prepared; its on-point doneness and delicate sweet flesh enhanced by the light, Shaoxing wine-laced soy sauce. A scattering of ginger strips and fresh coriander complete this splendid fish.

Another house speciality to get excited over is Excited Clams (RM25-small, RM40-large) — a claypot of la la clams doused in milky-buttery sauce spiked with chopped bird’s eye chilli and Chinese wine. The unexpected addition of belly pork slices lends extra appeal in terms of taste and texture.

 

Now, Saliva Chicken (RM40-S, RM78-L) may sound gross but the golden yellow skinned free-range chicken is eminently droolworthy. Smothered under fragrant fried minced garlic and shallot, the juicy, tender chicken is a gastronomic treat.

Ham Yue Fah Lam Pou

Popular palate-pleasing choices with mass appeal such as Ham Yue Fah Lam Pou (RM25-small, RM38-large) or sliced belly pork with salted fish in claypot and Three Cup Chicken (RM20-S, RM38-L) are up to scratch and best enjoyed with plain rice.

Despite their simplicity, both the Beancurd with Crabmeat & Enoki Mushroom (RM18-S, RM35-L) and Stir-fried French Beans with Seaweed (RM18-S, RM30-L) manage to hold their own in terms of textural and flavour context. Notable accompaniments to round up a decent, satisfying Chinese meal that won’t break the bank.

For reservations, please call Prawn Dynasty, tel: 03-2856 0765. Address: 26, Jalan  6/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Kuala Lumpur. Biz hours: Daily 10.30am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-10.30pm

TOSS UP PROSPERITY & SAVOUR ROMANCE AT NOBU KL

The king of shellfish rules at Nobu this Chinese New Year. Priced at RM288++, the HARHARHAR Prosperity Platter for two will leave you laughing with delight. A whole shelled lobster to symbolise happiness is complemented by batonettes of jicama, red and white dragonfruit, beets, carrot, tsuma (shredded radish), thin slices of Asian pear, green apple and rose apple, crispy strips of wanton skin, seaweed salad, pine nuts and sesame seeds.

What sets this salad apart is the distinctive mixture of wafu dressing (this itself is a concoction of mirin, soy sauce, rice vinegar and vegetable oil), honey and sour plum sauce that manages to raise the whole ensemble a toss above the ordinary.

Executive Chef Philip Leong and his team also offer a Salmon & White Fish Prosperity Platter (RM188++) using similar salad ingredients. The results is no less pleasing as the salmon and white fish proffer succulent texture that are quite different.

Getting into the Chinese New Year spirit, the Nobu team thoughtfully conjures up Steamed Plaiced with Iwashi Dashi, Goji Berries & Black Moss (RM158++) since fish is considered a symbol of abundance and surplus among the Chinese.

It is on-point dish that ticks all the right boxes for me. The main ingredient — plaice imported from Iceland takes centrestage; its natural sweetness shines through unhampered atop the pool of umami-rich iwashi dashi (Japanese sardine stock). All the attendant black seamoss, goji berries and edamame included are to lend hints of colour, nuance and texture.

Sweet prosperity comes with a touch of whimsy at Nobu in the form of its God of Wealth dessert (RM48++). The rotund white chocolate mousse figurine with pineapple yuzu curd, pineapple filling and cheese sable cookies tastes surprisingly light and refreshing on the palate despite its deceptively decadent appearance.

Gather family and friends to celebrate with these auspicious dishes at Nobu from until 25 February 2019.

When it comes to romancing the day of love, Executive Chef Philip Leong and his team are guided by Nobu’s Japanese-Peruvian culinary philsophy in creating the indulgent 7-course Valentine Omakase menu priced at RM500++ per person.

Available from 13 to 17 February, love birds can dive in with Cured Salmon with Caviar, Beetroot Gel & Nuts before segueing into Assorted Nobu Style Sushi. Then set your pulse racing with an exquisite dish of Seared Botan Ebi with Glazed Vegetable, Wasabi Salsa & Ponzu Sauce.

After sampling the seductive Fresh Water Prawn with Butterfly Pea Flower Dressing, Coral Crumble & Prawn Oil, we daresay it would be hard to resist its siren’s call. Again, the focus lies in allowing the key ingredient to shine — the inherent sweetness of the prawn meat, its flavourful oil and coral.

Another winsome main set to steal hearts is Grilled Wagyu Beef & Bottarga with Corn Cream, Dry Miso Popcorn & Roasted Romanesco. An artful composition, it’s a colourful palette of interesting textures and nuanced flavours that may prove too distracting to passionate foodies but then again, there’s no love sincerer than the love of food...

The evergreen maxim of ‘less is more’ resonates soundly in the speciality of Truffle Rice with Spinach Chazuke. Personally, I’d like to equate it to a simplified Japanese distillation of lap mei farn or rice cooked with waxed sausages and pork. A comforting dish packed with all the hearty, rich and soul-satisfying accents nobody ever tire of eating.

A litle tart with just a touch decadence, the Strawberry Pavlova with Vanilla Cream & Strawberry Jelly is slightly naughty without overdoing it in the dessert department. Piped into a lovely rose bloom, it gives the Valentine’s menu the pretty panache for the occasion.

Better hurry and nab a table now before it’s too late. Call Nobu KL for reservations, tel: 03-2164 5084 or Whatsapp: 019 389 5085.