REFINED CHINESE CUISINE RULES AT YUN HOUSE

Egg Tarts with Bird’s Nest aren’t your average birthday cake but the lady being feted was more than happy to savour them. Delicate and feather-light, the buttery, flaky baked pastries filled with eggy-rich custard and blobs of bird’s nest were a heavenly sensuous treat.

Our recent lunch at Yun House, graciously hosted by Director of Community Relations Dato’ Rosemarie Wee, was much anticipated as the elegant restaurant is KL’s most sought-after Chinese cuisine outpost — the place to see and be seen at.

True to its namesake, Yun meaning "park" in Cantonese, the restaurant boasts dramatic views of the lush KLCC park. Currently hailed as Kuala Lumpur’s premier Chinese restaurant for lunch, dinner and drinks, Yun House is a refined haven where time-honoured Cantonese cuisine infused with a modern attitude rules. 

Anchored by the richness of local pewter craftsmanship and the thought-provoking spaces of the contemporary art world, Yun House's interior proffers a visual feast; teaming an eclectic mix of classic Chinese decorative elements with edgy Chinoiserie furnishings that push modern design boundary.

Just the main show-stopping feature wall alone will stop you in your tracks: a huge, painstakingly hand-assembled art piece that took the artist six months to assemble — a breath-taking masterpiece of 22,000 ceramic pieces. When viewed from different angles, the stupendously fluid, bespoke creation has been interpreted as a hidden dragon, a rising phoenix, foliage swirling in the wind or swathes of eddying clouds. 

 

Helmed by award-winning Hong Kong Executive Chinese Chef Jimmy Wong, the restaurant has also garnered favourable reviews for its remix of traditional ingredients and age-old recipes, impeccably prepared and presented in a re-imagined contemporary setting. Our "jaat dhai" (sweet-spicy vegan roll of compressed beancurd sheets) amuse bouche and Deep-fried Fish Skin with Salted Egg Sauce appetiser underscore that 'something old, something new' approach. 

Riding on the current crispy fish skin snack craze, Chef Jimmy proved his mean version can 'slay' the mass produced ones without batting an eyelid. Not only are the fish skin ‘crackers’ much bigger but also crunchier; each piece thoroughly coated in savoury salted egg sauce minus artificial additives and preservatives.

For lunch, there’s a choice of a la carte Dim Sum or Set Lunches featuring Chef Jimmy’s signature specialities. We had the best of both worlds, starting with a Dim Sum Platter from one of Yun House's Set Lunch menus.

Presented on an elongated slate flatware, the chef’s choice of savoury morsels: Wok-fried Carrot Cake with Spicy Scallop Sauce, Pan-fried Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimps, and Steamed Chicken & Seafood Dumpling with Abalone was a sight to behold. The composition of contrasting and cohesive flavours, tastes and textures was distinctly nuanced to stimulate our gustatory senses, and a worthy testament to the culinary team’s flair and finesse.

Soup is a requisite staple among the Cantonese. At Yun House, the soup du jour of Old Cucumber Soup with Fish Maw, Nam Hung (Chinese sweet almonds) and Chicken we savoured hit close to home, a heartwarming and salubrious broth we greedily lapped up without wasting a single precious drop.

The day's show-stealer was Chef Jimmy’s signature Eggplant with Cereal, Dried Chilli and Curry Leaves. Eggplant is tricky to cook but under the chef’s skillful expertise, the eggplant came sliced and sheathed in an impossibly light batter crisped up with crushed cereal. Enlivened with fried bird's eye chillies and curry leaves for punchy heat and aromatic fragrance, the texture was tender enough to pass off as fish.

We also sampled a homespun Braised Wagyu Beef with Radish in Claypot. Every mouthful of the meltingly tender beef and radish chunks left our tastebuds suffused with deep, rich meaty savouriness touched by the delicate sweetness of radish.

In pleasing contrast was a vegetarian dish of Stir-fried Wai San (Chinese wild yam), Carrot, Asparagus and Fresh Pak Hup (Lily Bulb). The clear, unadulterated nuances were typical characteristics of highly refined Cantonese fare. 

Meatless yet brimming with appetite-whetting "wok hei", the delicious Vegetarian Hokkien Style Fried Rice Vermicelli (RM48) was another ace speciality that scored highly with us. Chef Jimmy proves vegetarian dishes are anything but boring when cooked well.

Black Glutinous Rice Broth with Vanilla Ice Cream served in a whole coconut brought the curtains down on our luxe lunch. The lush, subtly sweet dessert broth was an apt testament to Executive Chef Jimmy Wong's philosophy of food being the ultimate connector  — to our family, our past, our future and different culture.

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

ORIENTAL STAR SHINES IN CHERAS

The largest banquet hall in Cheras. That is Oriental Star’s claim to fame; heralding the debut the newest restaurant under the Oriental Restaurants group, to open in one of KL’s most densely populated suburbs.

Personally, I’m overjoyed as Cheras has always been considered a backwater; more renowned for its notorious traffic jams (really? Which part of Klang Valley is not??) and often perceived as a ‘rough and tumble’ ‘hood. It is heartening to know savvy restaurateurs like the Oriental Group realise this huge area has untapped potential, with folks yearning for the latest lifestyle mod-cons.

 

Designed as a wedding and banquet venue, Oriental Star’s cavernous premise boasts an uncluttered setting, complete with a raised stage, mellow downlights and plush underfoot carpeting. Besides dim sum to pull in the lunch crowd, Oriental Star is enticing Cheras residents with a super value Gourmet Set Menu. Priced at RM 798++ per table of 10 pax, the multiple course menu should be the irresistible siren’s call to any food lover’s heart and stomach.

True to the Oriental Restaurants’ Group ethos, the opening volley is already designed to create an indelible impression. No detail is left to chance as the curtain-raising Teochew Style Platter is presented with aplomb, on a custom-made tiered stand to exude that wow factor.

Under the capable leadership of culinary supremo and Group Executive Chef Justin Hor, the kitchen team here proves they have the chops from the get-go. The quartet of appetisers comprising Fragrant Garlic Fish Fillet, Stewed Pork Neck, Intestines & Beancurd, Crispy Crab Meat Dumplings and Sea Clams with Wasabi Sesame Sauce is guaranteed to garner a few 'wow' around the table. Thumbs up to the clever melding of old-school, nostalgic taste and textural appeal with fleeting fusion influences.

My fave out of the lavish platter is the sliced clams complemented by crunchy jellyfish and okra pieces dressed in the nutty-zingy sauce. The other offerings are equally on-point and should bridge the familial generation gap easily.

The stodgy and somewhat fishy Braised Shark’s Fin with Crab Roe is underwhelming IMHO. And let's not wade into hot soup over the key ingredient (you know what I'm referring to) as one's man soup is another man's poison.

Fresh hope resurfaces once we sample the whole Steamed Ocean Dragon Garoupa with Fresh Abalone, Seng Kwa (luffa) & Squid Balls Taishan Style. Inspired by the ubiquitous hot pot of Taishan — a city-level county in Guangdong province — the clear, inherent sweet fish makes a raveworthy splash along with some toothsome abalone scattered with minced garlic, soft-tender luffa with slippery glass noodles and springy squid balls.

As expected, the house speciality of Roast Suckling Pig with Preserved Beancurd alone makes this menu worth every ringgit. Just savouring the impossibly thin, crackly crisp skin is utterly satisfying.

Although I enjoy the plump strands of Stir-fried Asparagus Beans with Olive and Soy Beans, I find the residual oily aftertaste leaves much to be desired. It could be our fault as we had left the dish sitting there too long. Remember, this dish is best eaten piping hot.

Eating Steamed Rice with Waxed Meat & Yam Shunde Style is almost evocative of the Lunar New Year season but such flavour-packed comfort food will undoubtedly hit the spot with the Cheras crowd.

Bringing the curtains down with a flourish are Three Angels, whimsically presented on another triple tiered stand resembling a tree with tiny birds perched on it. On closer inspection, each ‘branch’ bears a different dessert: lemon jelly and osmanthus jelly balls as well as dainty bricks of steamed sponge cakes with dessicated coconut. Ethereally light and subtly sweet, the delicate morsels ensure we leave Oriental Star in blissfully sweet mood.

The Gourmet Set is available for dine-in only until 31 December 2018.

For reservations, call Oriental Star, tel: 03-9134 8488. Address: M-S-01, Level 2, EkoCheras Mall, No. 693, Batu 5, Jalan Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.