Showing posts with label seamoss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seamoss. Show all posts

Friday, December 23, 2022

‘TUAN YUAN’ THIS CHINESE NEW YEAR AT LE MERIDIEN PUTRAJAYA

The savouriness of mentaiko (salted mullet roe) lends a distinctive dimension to the Yee Sang at Le Mei Restaurant this year. Together with sliced salmon, assorted crispy treasures and blackcurrant-plum dressing, this refreshing salad adds great cheer to our preview of
Le Meridien Putrajaya’s Tuan Yuan celebration menus with a bang.


Available from
8 January to 5 February 2023, Chef Lim Kian Meng and his team deftly tickle our tastebuds with the inventive Mentaiko and Salmon Yee Sang. Other variants will include Salmon and Crispy Noodle Yee Sang, Four Seasons Prosperity Yee Sang, and Whole Abalone Yee Sang during the celebratory period.

Warming up hearts and minds is a salubrious Double Boiled Silkie Fowl Soup with Abalone, Porcini Mushroom and Dried Scallops. 
Sweet and clear, the wholesome broth includes red dates and wai san (Chinese yam) in addition to the premium and nutritious ingredients mentioned.

Synonymous with laughter and happiness, prawns are much favoured during Chinese New Year. Lightly covered in a creamy sauce, the springy tenderness of the Poached River Prawns with Cheese and Roasted Garlic in Superior Broth will leave you smiling from ear to ear once you sample this delicious speciality.

Juicy, plump and succulent, the Hong Kong Style Poached Free-range Chicken with Sand Ginger looks set to rule the roost among CNY celebrants. 
The marble-smooth skin coupled with the juicy meat – enhanced with the warm spiciness of the coarsely chopped sand ginger topping – is something to crow about.

To ensure more prosperity and good fortune for the Year of the Rabbit, feast on the ubiquitous and much cherished Braised Sea Cucumber with Dried Oysters and Fatt Choy in Oyster Sauce. 
Blanched broccoli florets are perfect for soaking up the glossy sauce brimming with deep-seated musky, shellfish flavours. A myriad of textural contrasts converges amidst the tumult of key ingredients: the sea cucumber’s slippery sponginess, the soft crumbliness of dried oysters, and the slick fine threads of sea moss.

A wedge of sautéed foie gras lends a touch of luxury to the penultimate dish of Fried Organic Brown Rice with Sakura Shrimp, Seafood and Foie Gras. The richness of the liver melds nicely with the nutty brown rice and amplifies the delicate seafood sweetness.

Somehow you will find room to fit in the serving of Double Boiled Snow Fungus with Honey Locust Fruit and Peach Resin. As sweet dessert broths go, it’s mildly sweet with the different ingredients added to stimulate greater mouth feel. Crispy Sesame Balls and Pandan Glutinous Rice Cakes round off the celebratory dinner on a cheery note.

The Chinese New Year Dinner will be held on 21st and 22nd January 2022, at RM188nett (adult) and RM94nett (child), while the Chinese New Year Brunch will be held on 22nd and 23rd   January 2023, at RM168nett (adult) and RM84nett (child).

Set menus are priced from RM1,440 nett per table of 5 diners (inclusive of a bottle of wine) and RM2,588 nett per table of 10 (inclusive of a bottle of Martell).

For more information or to place your order, please call Le Mei Restaurant, tel: 03-8689 6888 ext. 6868 or email:  dining.lmputrajaya@lemeridien.com

 

 

Sunday, January 23, 2022

ROAR-SOME CELEBRATION AT DORSETT GRAND SUBANG


Patrons of The Emperor can look forward to a roar-some Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration at Dorsett Grand Subang thanks to the award-winning culinary prowess of Senior Sous Chef Liew Yin Wah (right) and Dim Sum Chef Chan Chee Loong (left).


With a plethora of Prosperity Yee Sang, CNY a la carte specialities, and 3 celebratory set menus to choose from, hotel guests will be spoiled for choice to welcome the Year of the Tiger from 1 – 15 February.

Chef Liew, whose accolades include 3rd placing in Battle of the Chefs at the 13th Penang International Sales Gastronomique in 2011, and part of the winning Malaysian team at the 2019 Salon International De L’alimentation (SIAL) Competition in Shanghai, proved adept at serving up treasured festive classics for the 8-course Wealthy Set Menu (RM899 nett for a table of 5-6 diners) we sampled.

Fervent wishes of good health, return to normalcy and reunion with our near and dear ones were uppermost in our minds as we tossed and enjoyed the customary platter of delicious Salmon and Shredded Young Mango Yee Sang. The mixture of shredded vegetables, pickles, and crisps hit the spot with a tantalising plum sauce that wasn’t too thick nor cloying.

Wholesome and nutritious yet light on the palate, the Double Boiled Sea Whelk, Bamboo Pith and Farm Village Chicken Soup proved on-point. A dish that’s likely to gain the approval of the fussiest matriarchs.

Reminiscent of grand banquets past, the timeless Roast Crispy Chicken with Prawn Crackers made it a show-stopper in this menu. Roasted to perfection, the paper-thin crispy skin and juicy meat would have tasted even better had it come accompanied with the classic ‘jiu yim’ (salt with ground Sichuan pepper and perhaps a smidgen of five spice powder) dip.


The chef’s winning streak continued with Wok Fried Tiger Prawns with Superior Soya Sauce. Rarely has any caramelised sauce coating sauteed crustaceans’ came on par with the finger-licking level but this one did. Coupled with the sweetness of stir-fried onions, we abandoned decorum to savour every morsel of the sweet, fresh crustaceans.


Hong Kong Style Steamed Red Snapper is featured in the actual festive menu. However, the chef’s recommended dish of Braised Housemade Beancurd with Fish Fillet (RM68 – small, RM118 – medium, RM168 – large) proved such a hearty hit, we made short work of it in no time.


It would be remiss if Braised Black Mushrooms with Dried Oysters and Sea Moss wasn’t included in a festive meal. Eating plump succulent black mushrooms, smoky dried oysters and fine threads of black seamoss during CNY is akin to internalising everything fortuitous, good luck, prosperity, etc for the rest of the year. Now, who is going to argue with that?


Chef Liew also gave the traditional waxed meat rice a healthier spin by serving Steamed Organic Brown Rice with Glutinous Rice and Smoked Duck. We are glad to report the recipe worked well as the inclusion of brown rice lent the dish a nutty slant whilst lightening the denseness of glutinous rice.


Refreshing dessert broth of Chilled Sea Coconut with Lemon Slices and Dim Sum Chef Chan’s handiwork: Deep-fried Nian Gao with Sweet Potato and Yam, and Crystal Skin Mango Puree with Pandan Lotus Paste wrapped up our lunch on a high note.


You can also order CNY Steamed Radish Cake (RM38 nett) for takeaway. Packed in a convenient gift box, the radish cake is ready-to-eat with toppings of fried shallot, spring onion and chilli. In Hong Kong, it's a festive treat enjoyed among family and friends throughout the Chinese New Year celebration.


For reservations at The Emperor, call tel: 03-5031 6060 or email: bookfnb.subang@dorsetthotels.com.

  

Sunday, January 31, 2016

FEASTS OF PROSPERITY AT TOH YUEN


Hou or monkey in Chinese sounds similar to good so naturally this Chinese astrology sign grabbed the limelight at the prosperity yee sang with fresh salmon presentation at Toh Yuen, Hilton PJ for our media review.
 

Us shutterbugs simply couldn’t stop snapping away at the Instagrammable creation before dinner! The yee sang tasted as good as it looked too. Chinese Executive Chef Ben Lim has stuck to tradition with loads of multi-colour, fried flour crisps, assorted pickles: ginger, leek and onion, shredded carrot and radish, fresh pomelo sacs, shredded kaffir lime leaves and pok chui (deep-fried flour crackers) and fresh slices of raw salmon.
  
Once the whole platter was tossed and stirred to boisterous shouts of lou sang, the mixed salad turned out to be delicious thanks to the bright, well-balanced melange of sweet, savoury, mildly spiced, briny, tangy and even faintly bitter accents. Augmented by thick fresh salmon slices, we made quick work of the salad.
 

Liquid intake in recent scorching weather is a must and the restorative double-boiled fish maw soup with black mushroom & dried scallop was most welcomed. With slippery smooth fish maw (fa kau), conpoy, black mushroom and wolfberries double-boiled for hours, the salubrious broth really hit the spot.
The biggest show-stealer of our preview was steamed imperial chicken with Chinese herbs and seamoss. Just a whiff of the pungent woody, herbal aroma sent our salivary glands into overdrive and we soon picked the bones clean of the chook. The sublime sauce would have gone superbly with some white rice but we resisted.


Abundance certainly came our way after we relished every bit of the Teochew style steamed pomfret. The fish’s inherent sweetness was discernible, the flesh soft and plump. Pickled mustard (ham choi), sliced black mushroom and custard-soft beancurd helped to boost the dish’s texture and taste profiles too.
You’d laugh with delight upon tasting the deep-fried prawns with lemon mayonnaise sauce. Topped with coarsely ground nuts, the springy shelled crustaceans in a light coating of lemon-infused mayo 'rocked' our palate. Underneath was some diced fruit tossed in mayo, lending unexpected creamy sweetness to the equation.
CNY is possibly one of the major occasions when pricey ingredients appear on the festive menu. Nothing screams luxury like stewed whole abalone with Australian sea cucumber & seamoss so I daresay we dined like a boss that night. Only good manners stopped most of us from licking the plate clean!
Instead of lap mei farn (rice with waxed meat), we raved over the packets of steamed glutinous rice with dried oyster wrapped in lotus leaf. Suffused with the distinctly rustic scent of the lotus leaf, the rice was a total win. Added with the subtly smoky dried oysters, the parcels of irresistible, soulful offering got the thumbs up.
Dessert was kept light yet sweet with osmanthus/sweet olive with lemongrass jelly accompanied by CNY cake (nin kou) with desiccated coconut. While the mildly sweet broth proved to be a nice palate-cleanser, we wished freshly grated coconut had been used in place of the dry, sawdust-like desiccated coconut. Such a pity that dismal, rancid overtone marred an otherwise perfect celebratory dinner.
Yee sang is available in regular (2-5 persons) and large (6-10 persons) servings, starting from RM98 onwards up to RM258. Toh Yuen’s set menus are priced at RM1,618 (Everlasting Happiness Set), RM1,968 (Luck & Joyfulness) or RM2,308 (Sea of Prosperity) per table of 10 persons; available for lunch and dinner until 28 February.
For reservations, call Toh Yuen, tel: 03-7955 9122 x 4073. Hilton Petaling Jaya, Jalan Barat, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

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