Every year, restaurants vie with each other to come up with innovative ideas for Yee Sang. So far this year, I’ve tasted a gamut of ingredients in yee sang, from the common salmon to Australian lobster, soft shell crabs and even grilled lamb.
In Chynna at Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Chinese Executive Chef Lam Hock Hin decided to use a whole premium Kanzai pumpkin (organically grown locally) and Korean pear for his Yee Sang. The pumpkin, with the Chinese character “goat” etched on the skin, has been steamed till sufficiently tender before being placed as the centre-piece in the Yee Sang platter. Once the yee sang has been tossed, the pumpkin was cut into chunks and eaten together with the rest of the ingredients. The texture was smooth and velvety and even the rind was edible.
Premium Kanzai Pumpkin and Korean Pear Yee Sang
Chef Lam and his team have devised 5 Chinese New Year Set Menus starting from RM1,888++ to RM3,888++ per table of 10 people. I had a chance to preview one of these special menus recently. Besides the Premium Kanzai Pumpkin and Korean Pear Yee Sang, the rest of the dishes in Set Menu 2 made an impression.
Braised Abalones and Dried Scallops Soup with Fatt Choy
Who can resist abalones? When paired with dried scallops and braised, you can be sure the broth will be very tasty. Chef Lam has added “fatt choy” (black sea moss) into the wholesome brown broth for that extra token of prosperity.
Applewood Smoked Chicken
Although I found the marinade a tad over-salted, the smokey aroma from the applewood gave a robust touch to the chicken in terms of flavours.
Steamed Tiger Garouper Chunks
This was my favourite dish that evening. The thick cuts of this giant fish were steamed with pickled vegetables and enhanced with dried shrimps and chilli. The burst of flavours from the crunchy dried shrimps and saltish pickled vegetables was almost raunchy in their boldness. They do however complement the sweet bouncy flaky garouper perfectly.
Stewed Sea Cucumber with Dried Oysters, Goose Web and Fatt Choy
It’s been quite some time since I last munched on a goose web, so when I saw this dish, I was pretty excited. Stewed together with sea cucumber, dried oysters and fatt choy, the goose webs were plush and tender and fell off easily from the bones.
Prawns coated in Salted Eggyolk and Fried Savoury Lily Bulbs
The prawns were cooked sans shells so most people would find this easy to eat. The strands of lily bulbs were battered and fried to a crisp. These were scattered all round the prawns, boosting the crunch factor a few notches up.
Fragrant Fried Rice with Preserved Duck Meat
Instead of the usual steamed rice, Chynna’s version was fried rice with preserved duck and then served wrapped in a lotus leaf. The mixed aroma from the duck and lotus leaf didn’t quite work for me though. I guess rice lovers would lap this up.
Wild Hasma Jelly with Dates and Apricot
Deep Fried Vietnamese Crispy Rice Rolls with Lemon Nian Gao
I like the Wild Hasma Jelly which was perfumed lightly with lemongrass and the poached apricots were lovely. As for the Nian Gao fried wrapped in lacy Vietnamese rice sheets, I felt the lemon juice in it was rather odd. Nian gao and lemon aren’t exactly the best of partners.
For reservations, please call 03-2264-2596.
Chynna @ Hilton Kuala Lumpur
3 Jalan Stesen Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Website: www.life.hiltonkl.com