What are your favourite Chinese dishes? I know that’s such a difficult question to answer, right? I mean, how do you even define “Chinese dishes”? That description is so infinite as Chinese cuisine is utterly complex. And Chinese cuisine in the Malaysian context takes on a whole different slant… I don’t even know where to start!
OK… now, if your favourite Chinese dishes have anything to do with roast/BBQ meats (Chinese style, of course), then read on. Because this is what this post is mainly about. Right until 28 August 2014, the Oriental Viva restaurant is offering special prices for their BBQ meats and judging from the crowd we saw at dinner a couple of nights ago, this promotion is really heating up the scene there!
Topping the list are their BBQ Suckling Pigs offered at RM188 (NP RM330) each. There are 3 types on the menu:
* Whole Suckling Pig with Butterfly Buns & 2nd course of Deep-fried Piglet Meat with Salt & Pepper
* Curry Suckling Pig
* Suckling Pig with Special Sauce
We had the Suckling Pig with Special Sauce -with gorgeous golden skin so crispy it could crack at the lightest touch. The skin texture was a bit grainy which gave rise to the superb crackling. The underside meat was marinated with their “special sauce” which rendered it with the right balance of flavours and texture. The piglet was then chopped up into thick cuts, together with meat and bone. The idea is to eat these “cutlets” with fingers, savouring every morsel of skin, fat, meat and bone!
A plate of cold lettuce leaves doused in a tangy vinaigrette dressing accompanied the piglet. Shot glasses of refreshing chilled citrus juice were served, drunk after consuming the suckling pig, to aid in digestion after that rich sinful serving.
For porcine lovers, Oriental’s Roasted Pork at RM10 (NP RM16) per serving would please many. The tender layers of fat and lean meat under a crown of golden crunchy skin were to die for. Seriously good stuff.
We moved on to the fowls. Under this promotion, Roasted Pigeons are at RM38 each (NP RM55). The dark golden hue of the thin crispy skin was very inviting and it was well marinated too. However, the meat was a tad dry, having been over roasted, I guess.
The Peking Duck (2 courses) is now at RM68 (NP RM80) each and this was executed excellently. The shiny glossy duck made a grand appearance at our table and the skin was then carved out expertly into thin even slices. Smeared with a bit of sweet plum sauce, we wrapped each piece of precious skin in a thin crepe with a piece of cucumber and spring onion – oh, it was sublime.
The meat of the Peking Duck was then chopped up and fried with some nuts and vegetables, served on a bed of crispy fried rice noodles. Neatly trimmed iceberg lettuce leaves were given to wrap the duck meat and crispy noodles – a nice way to savour the dish… with crunchy textures and refreshing mouth feel.
To round off our dinner, we had other dishes, picked from their a la carte menu (these are at regular prices). We had a Steamed Dragon Garoupa with Superior Soya Sauce and Vegetables, Stir-fried Asparagus Beans with XO Sauce and a steaming claypot of Braised Egg Noodles with Sea Cucumber.
Known for their strict quality control under the helm of Executive Chef Justin Hor, the kitchens of the Oriental restaurants are known to provide top notch food. We could not fault the 3 a la carte dishes we had. The fish was steamed to just the right level of done-ness – the sweet flaky garoupa was smooth and silky in texture and delicately flavoured by the superb superior soya sauce.
At one glance, those asparagus beans actually looked like asparagus! Thos dark green beans are a variant of the regular French beans, with deeper colours and a lovely sweetness in them. The XO sauce was mildly spicy and it worked its magic well in the crunchy beans.
The Braised Egg Noodles with Sea Cucumber were really good. Whole shallots and garlic helped to perfume the tasty noodles and the thick cuts of sea cucumber were just divine.
Dinner ended with these refreshing Lemongrass Jellies
The Oriental Group of Restaurants is offering a variety of their popular and favourite dishes at special promotional prices until 28 August 2014. There are 63 dishes listed under the promotion, different dishes at different restaurants under the Group. For more details of this promotion, check out The Oriental Group’s website here.
ORIENTAL VIVA
3rd Floor, North Wing
Viva Home Shopping Mall
Jalan Loke Yew
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9283 8833
GPS: 3.122915,101.719617
Opens at:
11.00 am-3.00 pm
6.00 pm-11.00 pm
please send over some roast pork, duck, and those steamed garupa, thanks!
Yes sir! 😛