A Culinary & Dining Experience with Chef Sam Leong @ Tao, InterContinental Kuala Lumpur

After an extensive and intensive 2-month refurbishment, the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur proudly unveiled its stunning and stylish Tao Chinese Cuisine recently.  The makeover of this Chinese restaurant included an overall change in concept and dining experience, a cohesive mix of traditional and contemporary elements.

It felt like dining in a peach blossom garden!

“Tao” is named after a peach tree originating in China, so it isn’t surprising that once you walk through the main entrance pass the panelled corridor, you will be greeted with glass wall panels depicting a glorious profusion of the pink peach blossoms – this is the overall concept design of the dining area.

Move over to the chic main dining area and you’ll feel like you are dining under the stars, thanks to the spectacular cloud-like ceiling and lights hanging from a thousand strand-like structures.  Barely have I caught my breath nor admired fully Tao’s amazing décor and I was ushered into one of the private rooms where Celebrity Chef Sam Leong was waiting for us.

Celebrity Chef Sam Leong

With a string of accolades filling up a whole page, Chef Sam Leong needs no introduction.  In conjunction with the opening of Tao Chinese Cuisine, diners got to taste some of Chef Leong’s signature dishes over several days a couple of weeks ago when the celebrity chef was invited over to the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur.  Some of us were invited to a culinary demonstration and lunch with the man himself.

Can you tell that Chef Sam Leong is incredibly active and animated?

You just gotta love Chef Sam Leong.  He’s so down-to-earth and totally cracked us up with his tips and anecdotes on cooking as he deftly demonstrated 3 dishes that afternoon:  Crispy Wasabi-Mayo Prawns with Mango Salsa, Double-boiled Chicken Consomme with Fresh Cordyceps Flowers & Dried Conpoy and Braised E-Fu Noodles with Mushrooms.  The good chef certainly has a gift of the gab – his demonstration was made lively and interesting as he related amusing stories on how he started his culinary career.  As I watched Chef Leong in action and listened to how he cautioned us “don’t try using a dash or a sprinkle of anything because your dash and your sprinkle are different from mine!”, I could totally understand why he’s so successful on Singapore TV with his “King of the Kitchens” program.  His easy charm and wise cracks work like magic to keep the audience captivated and entranced.

Braised E-Fu Noodles with Mushrooms cooked by Chef Sam Leong during the demonstration

Once the culinary demonstration was over, we were then ushered into the peach blossom dining area to enjoy those signature dishes.

Crispy Wasabi-Mayo Prawns with Mango Salsa

When I bit into the Crispy Wasabi-Mayo Prawns with Mango Salsa, it’s easy to relate how this 19 year-old dish, together with his famed Coffee Pork Ribs, launched Chef Leong into culinary superstardom.  As demonstrated earlier, this is a rather simple dish to prepare and therein lies its appeal – simplicity breeds superiority.  Prawns which are succulent inside but crispy outside, thanks to the cornflour batter, never tasted so good before, rolled in a creamy mayo sauce, enhanced by wasabi.  The mango salsa by the side deflected the richness of the sauce with their tangy nuances.

Double-boiled Chicken Consomme with Fresh Cordyceps Flowers & Dried Conpoy

The Double-boiled Chicken Consomme with Fresh Cordyceps Flowers & Dried Conpoy spells “comfort food” with every hot spoonful.  I had to tilt the bowl to drain the last drop of the sweet soup, mindful not to waste even a speck.

Braised E-Fu Noodles with Mushrooms

The soft slippery strands of Braised E-Fu Noodles with Mushrooms were delicious.  With only mushrooms and yellow chives used, the tasty umami-ness of the noodles came from the addition of dry sole powder, the secret ingredient!

Dessert was by courtesy of Chef Darrell O’Neill, because according to Chef Sam Leong, “the Chinese are not very good with pretty desserts!”  The Maraicbo Chocolate and Berry Sphere certainly was impressive… as you can see…

Tao Chinese Cuisine is helmed by Chef Wong Lian You, whose forte in blending traditional styles  with contemporary presentations making use of seasonal flavours has already sent ripples of interest among discerning food lovers around town.  We can’t wait to go back again to check out the many raved-about dishes that Tao Chinese Cuisine is dishing up!

For reservations, please call Tao Chinese Cuisine at 603-2161-111 or email

[email protected]

 

Tao Chinese Cuisine
InterContinental Kuala Lumpur
165 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur