RUYI & LYN: Eat, Drink & Be Merry this Chinese New Year!

Continuing the quest for more delectable Yee Sang for the coming lunar new year celebrations, the most adorable presentation must surely be the “Wong Choy” Paws-perity Yee Sang at Ruyi & Lyn. As we will be ushering in the Year of the Dog very soon, the plating of the yee sang in the form of a fluffy dog is most appropriate, wouldn’t you say? I think the name itself is also most apt – after all “Wong Choy” is the traditionally old-fashioned nickname for a pet dog (it seemed every other pet dog in the village was called Wong Choy!). Furthermore, it translates directly to “good luck” and that’s even more apt for Chinese New Year!

Oh did I mention that the combination of ingredients in this yee sang is pretty unique too. Lots of finely shredded fresh and pickled vegetables, fruits, nuts, crispies, atlantic salmon and sinful salted eggyolk fish skin!

“Wong Choy” Paws-perity Yee Sang (RM168+)

Besides Wong Choy, there are several other selections of Yee Sang at Ruyi & Lyn, for example Boston Lobster Yee Sang (RM398+) and what must surely be the most deluxe Yee Sang in the country – Dom Perignon Champagne Yee Sang at RM938+! Well, that comes with a bottle of Dom Perignon Vintage Champagne, that’s why!

Ruyi & Lyn is not your typical traditional Chinese restaurant. Due to its immense size, it’s a combination of restaurant, bar and event space. Its versatility is its appeal: after dining hours, it morphs into a swanky party place! Read about my earlier Ruyi & Lyn posts here, here and here.

For the coming lunar new year celebrations, Chef James Ho and his team have been busy curating special festive dishes. There are Individual Set Menus starting from RM138+ per person and RM1,388+ for table of 10 pax. In between, there’s even a set menu for 6 pax at RM1,288+.

We tried several of Chef James’ creations recently, picked from the special dishes menu…

Super fresh Garoupa!

South Star Garoupa with pickled veg and leek in clear spicy soup (RM268). Very hearty and tummy warming as the soup is laced with some wild chillies!

Long Live the Lamb (RM138/portion) – pan-seared lamb rack with green salad and cauliflower cream… well-marinated and so tender!

Codfish of Destiny (RM148/portion) – oven-baked with arrowroot and lily bulbs. The sauce is charsiew-like and a bit sweet for me.

Drunken River Prawn (RM58/pax) steamed with champagne and eggwhite beer sauce… delicate flavours from the prawn spiked with a wee bit of alcohol!

Shanghainese Rice Cake braised with Smoked Duck and Snow Pickled Cabbage (RM43/portion). Contrasting flavours – smokey and tangy, somehow worked well with the rice cake.

“Hung Pao” Crispy Glutinous Rice Balls in Strawberry Sauce (RM18/serving of 6 pieces)

Chinese Caramel Nian Gao with Coconut (RM68/serving of 6 pieces)

Every dish is thought-out and executed well with great aplomb as the culinary team is mindful about tastes, textures and presentation.

After dinner, if you care to stay on, chill-out or party, do check-out some of Ruyi & Lyn’s signature cocktails, curated by their talented Head of Bar, Zeff…