When it comes to hotpot, I’m always game. While some people think that hotpots are such a hassle – having to wait for the broth to boil and then having to cook the food yourself, I find hotpots to be relaxing and healthy. There’s something very comforting about eating food that’s blanched or boiled to the right doneness and eating it right away.
Love the understated elegance of the restaurant!
The latest outlet to join the Grand Imperial Group is located on the 9th Floor of Pavilion Elite. While it does serve the usual Chinese fares like dim sum, roast meats and oriental dishes, what’s very appealing to me is their Seafood Hotpot Hong Kong-style. Most of the seafood offered are live ones swimming in tanks in the restaurant.
Before anything else was served, we were offered a selection of condiments to mix and match our dipping sauce. Jars of sauces and paste like mustard, chilli, garlic, hoisin, salted beans, chopped coriander leaves and more were all there for our picking. However, if you are not bothered to mix your own sauce, just go for Chief Chef Chew Yow Chuen’s specially concocted sauce – a delightful mixture of sweet, tangy, saltish and spicy sace.
We chose the Lala (clams) Soup with Basil Leaves and Chicken Soup with Chinese Wine. The milky-looking lala soup was incredibly fragrant, thanks to the fresh basil leaves and chillies added in. We had a plate of Drunken Kampung Chicken on standby and once the Chicken Soup started boiling, we dunked the kampong chicken pieces into it. After a few minutes, once the chicken has been cooked through, helped ourselves to the tasty tender chicken and slurped up much of the nourishing soup.
Chicken Soup with Chinese Wine (RM41.80)
Drunken Kampung Chicken (RM41.80/half chicken)
While waiting for the soups to re-boil, we savoured a couple of appetizers – Century Eggs with Japanese Young Ginger and a plate of Chilled Cherry Tomatoes with Sea Salt to refresh the palate.
Century Eggs with Japanese Young Ginger (RM17.60)
Chilled Cherry Tomatoes with Sea Salt (RM14.80)
Chief Chef Chew then decided to spoil us all with some super fresh bouncy Hokkaido Scallops which had just been air-flown in that very morning. All he had to do was pan-sear them lightly and we found ourselves clamouring for more of those divine scallops!
Hokkaido Fresh Scallops (RM17.60/piece)
If scallops are not your scene (I’m just saying), why not have a whole platter of assorted seafood? Something like freshly-shucked oysters, freshly-poached tiger prawns and a whole Alaskan king crab – sounds good? Well, it was one of the best seafood platter I’ve had. Every bite was pure enjoyment as the natural sweetness of the fresh seafood was really incomparable!
Once the soups started bubbling, it was time to dunk in the various items. First to go in were the handmade balls – we had the 4-combination plate (RM41.80) of fish balls, prawn balls, cuttlefish balls and black cuttlefish balls. We couldn’t possibly go back to eating commercially-made balls after these splendid ones, made daily in the restaurant using only the freshest ingredients!
A must-have for me in any hotpot meal are the HK-style Beancurd Skin Rolls (RM11/5 pieces) and fresh vegetables. We had plenty of these, together with some Australian Wagyu Beef (RM63.80/100g) and Lamb slices (RM24.20/plate).
As Canadian geoducks were in season, we also had a serving of this. Just sliced off the tank, the geoduck was really sweet and tasty, whether eaten sashimi-style or dipped into the boiling broth for just 5 seconds. I couldn’t decide which method was better so I found myself doing both!
Canadian Geoduck (seasonal price)
We couldn’t really stomach any dessert after the indulgent hotpot meal but were gently tempted to try the Fried Ice Cream. It was light enough to give a delightful sweet finish to a memorable hotpot meal.
Grand Imperial also serves their herbal teas, nicely bottled – they’re really refreshing and good for digestion, so take your pick from the 3 selections of Figs Sour Plum, Red Dates with Black Fungus and Chuanbei Chicken Grass Herbal Tea.
Double-boiled Herbal Teas (RM5.90/bottle):
Figs Sour Plum
Red Dates with Black Fungus
Chuanbei Chicken Grass Herbal Tea
Now we know where to head to whenever we are in the mood for some great HK-style hotpot. Sure, prices are higher than the average hotpot but then the quality of seafood is premium and the location is Pavilion after all. Service is friendly and attentive and the ultra-pleasant ambience says it all.
GRAND IMPERIAL SEAFOOD HOTPOT & BBQ
Lot 9-105.00 Pavilion Elite
165 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2110-5557/5077
Open daily from 10.30am-10.30pm
*Pork-free