You know that when you step into the grand dining hall of Xin, it’s going to be a delicious trip of traditional Chinese gourmet dining. The splendid golden dragons wrapped on the pillars and the opulent oriental-themed decor have “tradition” stamped on them. And that is exactly what Xin will deliver for the coming Chinese New Year celebrations. Authentic traditional flavours take centre-stage in their special menus drawn up for the festive period.
The mandatory yee sang is represented in several flavours this year: Norwegian salmon, jellyfish, sliced abalones and even shredded duck meat. Yee sang is included in all the set menus but it can also be ordered a la carte at the following prices:
RM68++ to RM98++ (regular portion)
RM98++ to RM198++ (large portion)
It is customary for the Chinese to eat “prosperity-inducing” dishes during the lunar new year. That translates into traditional dishes like braised abalones, sea cucumber, dried oysters, “Buddha jumps over the wall”, steamed fish in superior soya sauce, BBQ suckling pig and prawns cooked in various ways. Waxed meats make their yearly appearance and these are usually cooked with rice in claypots for the popular “Lap Mei Fan”.
All these and more can be found in the set menus at Xin, with prices ranging from RM1,188++ to RM1,588++ per table of 10 pax.
For desserts, “nian gao” is the obvious choice and at Xin, the chefs have come up with a few options such as with sweet potato, macadamia nuts, pine seeds with osmanthus and even baked peanut nian gao.
I recently had a preview of some of the special dishes listed in the set menus.
Prosperity Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang with Traditional Condiments
Mini Buddha Jumps Over the Wall – one my favourite soups ever. Flavours are clear and sweet, not oily at all and must be take piping hot!
5 Happiness Assorted BBQ Meat – there’s crispy golden skinned suckling pig, roast pork, sweet sticky char siew, roast duck and cold crunchy pig ears. Actually, you can choose how many variety of BBQ meats you wish.
Steamed Dragon Grouper – the fish is so fresh that the best way to steam it is to just douse it with superior soya sauce. The other popular style is to steam it Teochew-style.
Assorted Preserved Meat Claypot Rice – the chefs have done a good job on this as once the cover was lifted, an incredibly appetizing aroma wafted through the air.
Braised Baby White Cabbage with Fresh Crabmeat
Chilled Bountiful Dessert: Jackfruit Puree with Sago Pearls and Red Beans. I’m not overly fond of creamy puree kind of dessert so I actually don’t have much to comment on this.
Nian Gao – yes I love this and both versions were very appealing to me and to my fellow diners as well!
Fried Nian Gao with Sweet Potato and Baked Peanut Nian Gao
The prosperity menus are available till 5 March 2015. For further enquiries/reservations, please call 03-2144-2200 ext.2338 or 03-2144-8750.