PASSAGES OF SPRING AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL KL

Passages of Spring, a gastronomic showcase celebrating the finesse of Chinese culinary artistry, brings together the talents of master chefs across the region. This year, Yun House at the Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur joins 13 other Four Seasons Chinese restaurants across Asia Pacific in this initiative, running from 15 March to 15 May.

From 23 to 25 April, Yun House elevates the experience with a refined four-hands collaboration featuring Chef Neal Zeng of the Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at Hangzhou Centre. Together with Chef Jimmy Wong, they present a multi-course menu rooted in the delicate, understated elegance of Ningbo cuisine.

 
Priced at RM668 per person, the dinner begins on an impressive note with Chilled South African Abalone with Premium Sturgeon Caviar and Fermented Grains. The abalone proffers a gentle chew, with the fermented grains lending a nuanced umami-laced depth. Each bite is lifted by the saline pop of caviar, its briny richness unfolding in fleeting, luxurious bursts.

 
A contrasting note arrives with the Chilled Bamboo Clams, where the cool, silky flesh is enlivened by a wasabi aioli. The condiment introduces a clean, grassy heat that blooms across our palate, accentuating the clam’s natural sweetness and slippery succulence.

 
The Aromatic Fish Broth with Fresh Crab Claw, Yellow Fungus and Herbal Essence follows, offering a moment of quiet refinement. Light yet deeply comforting, the pure, clean, and delicately sweet broth is the perfect foil to showcase the ethereal crab claw softness, while the yellow fungus adds a pleasing, gelatinous texture.

 
Equally memorable is the Steamed Coral Grouper with Pickled Vegetables. The fish arrives impeccably tender, its natural sweetness beautifully offset by the bright, tangy crunch of pickled vegetables that cuts through the richness and brings balance to the dish.

 
Indulgence takes centre stage with the Golden Butter Lobster with Salted Egg Yolk, Cereal and Egg Floss. Lightly cloaked in a savoury and irresistibly moreish salted egg yolk sauce, the lobster has a light crunch from the cereal flakes and a delicate, feathery finish thanks to the egg floss.

 
In contrast, the Hangzhou-Style Seafood Noodles with Pickled Radish offer a gentler expression of flavour. The noodles, springy and comforting, are subtly infused with seafood sweetness, while the pickled radish introduces a mild tang that quietly enhances rather than dominates.

 
Dessert arrives as a duo, thoughtfully composed to end the meal on a soothing note. The Double-Boiled Winter Melon served in Snow Pear is delicate and hydrating, its mellow sweetness clean and restorative.

Alongside it, the Snow Skin Dumpling with Bird’s Nest and Coconut Milk provides a soft, yielding texture with a delightfully rounded, creamy sweetness.

 
Beyond this collaboration, diners can explore the Passages of Spring seasonal menu by Chef Jimmy until 15 May. Showcasing the season’s finest produce such as fragrant chive blossoms, tender luffa melon, vibrant asparagus, and silky bamboo pith, the menu leans towards lighter, more nuanced creations.

Highlights include Wok-Fried Dried Shrimp, gently perfumed with chive blossoms and punctuated by the crunch of wood ear fungus, and Pan-Seared Scallops, where sweet, plump scallops are paired with crisp asparagus and a deeply savoury house-made scallop sauce.

 
For reservations or enquiries, please contact Yun House, Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, tel: 03-2382 8602.
 
 

MICHELIN-STARRED GUEST CHEF XABI AT SABAYON

 

Savour stellar Basque cuisine by Executive Chef Xabier Goikoetxea (Chef Xabi) of Barcelona’s Michelin-starred Oria Restaurant at EQ Kuala Lumpur’s Sabayon now until 9 August 2025.

A protégé of the legendary Martín Berasategui—Spain’s most Michelin-decorated chef—Chef Xabi brings with him over 15 years of refined expertise. His culinary signature at Oria lies in the seamless interplay between time-honoured Basque traditions and vivid, contemporary Catalan and Mediterranean flavours.

 
His distinctive tasting menu opens with a quartet of exquisitely crafted amuse-bouches:

 

• Leaf-shaped Comté crisps crowned with smoked eel and Cantabrian anchovy
  
  
  
  

• Salt-cured prawn on savoury seaweed tempura crisp
  
  
  
  

• A bright tomato emulsion macaron with trout tartare and calamansi-ginger gel

• Cured then sous vide scallop with smoked hollandaise, mussel broth, orange, and chervil.

A luxurious San Sebastián seafood broth, enriched with prawns and cured egg yolk follows, reels us in with its soul-warming and deeply umami nuances. Spanish olive oil and crusty bread amp up the irresistible offering.

 
That sets the stage for an impeccably executed turbot, glazed in pil-pil sauce (a rich emulsion of gelatinous fish collagen, oil and garlic) resulting in buttery-tender fish, wrapped in a sheen of silky, flavourful sauce. Accentuated by celery cream and caper gel, fried quinoa and caviar levels up its textural interest.

 
Mains offer a choice between roasted sirloin and boneless lamb rack, cooked with precise finesse. The masterstroke comes from the inclusion of medjool date jus and delicate date chutney, bestowing the dish with an understated touch of sophisticated sweetness.

 
Desserts surprise and delight, beginning with a basil water and raw almond cream, whimsically augmented by lemon peel frozen pearls. This is a refreshing prelude to the finale of of chocolate and tonka bean textures; a subtly indulgent finish to the gastronomic affair.

 
Chef Xabi’s limited-time residency promises a culinary journey of finesse and discovery, available nightly from 6.30pm to 11pm. The exclusive dinner menu is priced at RM888+ per person.

Reservation for the Sabayon X Oria dinner at Sabayon, EQ Kuala Lumpur is recommended by calling tel: 03-2789 7839, email: dineateqkl@kul.equatorial.com or WhatsApp: +6 012 583 5319.
 

A TASTE OF MACAO AT YUN HOUSE

When Michelin-starred guest chef Anthony Ho of Zi Yat Heen, Four Seasons Macao joins forces with Chef Jimmy Wong of Yun House in Kuala Lumpur, the result is more than a collaborative menu—it’s a culinary dialogue, rich in technique, memory, and homage.

 
Held from 3 to 6 July to mark Yun House’s seventh anniversary, the four-hands menu (RM668 per person) is a study in refinement. A medley of traditional flavours refracted through a modern lens, each dish is carefully composed to honour the past with whispers of the future.

Chef Ho, a son of Hong Kong steeped in two decades of experience, begins with a poetic overture: Fresh Crab Meat with Japanese Pine Needles and Caviar. 

It’s a dish of startling clarity: the delicate sweetness of crab imbued by ephemeral herbaceousness of pine needles juxtaposed against the saline pop of caviar. An ode to the purity of good produce in the confident and deft hands of Ho.

Another masterful composition is his Teochew-style Marinated Mackerel and Chilled Razor Clams, a distillation of the restrained elegance of Teochew banquets. The mackerel, cured just so, sings with refined subtlety, accented by a tiny dollop of fermented bean sauce.

 
Partnering it are slivers of delicious razor clams, served chilled with scallion oil and a glimmer of ice plant. The succulent coolness a seductive textural contrast that delights.

Veteran chef Jimmy Wong, known for his contemporary finesse, responds with an enticingly comforting dish: Braised Fish Maw in Millet Broth with Black Truffle. Simmered for six hours, the broth is deeply nourishing—savoury, complexly flavourful and edged with the aroma of truffle. Each spoonful is a revelation; the gelatinous fish maw and tiny orbs of millet speak of the chef’s time-honoured and masterful techniques.

Ho’s unforgettable Wok-fried Lobster with Dried Shallots and Macanese Black Olives is a conversation-stopper. Here, the brininess of the olives—brought in specially from Macao—mingles with the sweetness of shellfish in a lush umami crescendo.

The Stuffed Chicken Wing with Foie Gras, Abalone and Glutinous Rice is at once nostalgic and daring. Channelling the spirit of classic banquet dishes, the stuffing of foie gras melded with sticky rice adds richness, depth and a touch of indulgence. The luxurious chew of abalone elevates the mosaic of texture.

 
Dessert arrives in two thoughtful creations. First, a Chilled Pumpkin Soup with Nostoc Pearls—a soothing, lightly sweet elixir, its texture lifted by the surprising presence of nostoc, a rare cyanobacteria prized in traditional Chinese medicine. Rich in protein and Vitamin C, this anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory element casts the dessert broth in new light.

 

The final flourish: a golden and delicate Baked Egg Tart with Bird’s Nest and Saffron highlights saffron-scented custard with a topping of bird’s nest. It’s a befitting dessert exuding a sense of luxury without excess, a final flourish paying homage to a splendid set menu composed with world-class skills and a wealth of experience.

For reservations, please call Yun House, Four Seasons Hotel KL, tel: 03 2382 8602 or email: diningreservations.kualalumpur@fourseasons.com