The Starling Mall is fast becoming one of the more popular residential malls in Damansara Utama, thanks to its line-up of interesting tenants and eateries. To me, the draw is of course the Tang Room, the latest baby from the Oriental Group of Restaurants. With their sister restaurants – Ming Room and Han Room (and the Nobles and Orientals properties) firmly established in the F&B scene here, it’s not surprising that the Tang Room has now joined the stable.
Occupying several lots in a prime corner of the mall, the Tang Room has the same understated classy decor – warm earthy tones nicely offset by an eye-catching geometric-patterned carpet. I love the discreet oriental touches in the form of mystic knots being part of the theme.
Browsing through the menu, I could see some familiar dishes bearing the signature touches of Executive Chef Justin Hor and at the same time, there are also dishes created uniquely just for the Tang Room.
As we were very hungry, we munched on Crispy Okinawan Sweet Potatoes with White Truffle (RM18) while waiting for our first course.
Boy, were we glad the first item served had 3 delicious components! The Platter of Chilled Jelly Chicken, Abalone, Black Squid Ink Balls & Baked Crab Meat (RM88 for 3 pax) was like god-send. Savouring the chilled jelly chicken took me down memory lane… this dish was so old school! I remember eating and enjoying this during wedding dinners back in my childhood days!
Chilled Jelly Chicken
That lovely abalone!
Black Squid Ink Balls
Baked Crab Meat Pastry
We couldn’t resist the dim sum as the menu listed such a good variety. From steamed to pan-fried to double-boiled, we couldn’t fault any of the dim sum dishes we had. What stood out for us were the super-bouncy Prawn & Spinach Dumplings and the Har Kau served in nutritious Cordyceps Flowers Soup!
Prawn & Spinach Dumplings topped with Black Truffles (RM11.80)
Pan-fried Radish Cake (RM9.80) with French Beans and Teochew Spicy Sauce
Rainbow Siew Mai (RM9.80)
Pork & Preserved Veg Buns (RM9.00) pan-fried
Har Kau in Cordyceps Flowers Soup (RM14)
For the sweet stuff, we can’t recommend enough their duriany desserts – this is of course only for durian fans! The Durian Egg Tarts and Durian Pudding use D24 durians – thick and creamy with a gorgeous bitter hint in the durian goodness – these alone would make us go back to the Tang Room again and again!
Piglet Custard Buns (RM10)
Durian Egg Tarts (RM9.00)
Durian Pudding (RM12)
Deep-fried Sesame Balls with Azuki Red Beans (RM9)
To meet the expectations of the lunch crowd in the area, the Tang Room offers some really good value-for-money set lunches. At just RM38++ per person, the set lunches are offered in rotating weekly menus. While we were there, they were serving Week 4 Menu and we decided to give it a try.
First, there’s the Double-boiled Imperial Soup served in individual teapots which is really quite brilliant. The teapots kept the soup really hot and we got to enjoy every bit of the hot soup with great relish. The clear-looking soup, poured onto tiny cups, didn’t quite look like anything much but once we sipped our first spoonful, we were totally hooked.
Double-boiled Imperial Teapot Soup
Then came the generous portion of Pork Chop well-marinated with shrimp paste and perfectly fried to a golden crisp on the outside. The succulent meat remained juicy and tender beneath. I was so happy that this set had my favourite noodles – Fried Egg Noodles Village-style which I never fail to order whenever I dine in an Oriental restaurant. It’s a dish of simple comforting noodles, fried with just mushrooms and “fuchook” (beancurd sheets) and perfumed with pork lard. Personally, I’d think the double-boiled soup, pork chop and noodles would have been a very fulfilling lunch. However, there’s still one more dish in the set, which was the Braised Yam Balls with Century & Salted Eggs in a thick eggy broth.
Pork Chop with Shrimp Paste
Braised Yam Balls with Century & Salted Eggs
Fried Egg Noodles Village-style
There’s lots more to check out at the Tang Room. For lunch, there are 4 rotating weekly Set Lunch menus to try, dim sum (oh, the durian tarts and durian pudding are calling my name!) and of course, delectable stuff from the a la carte menu. For more info and updates, click on their Facebook Page or their website.
TANG ROOM
Lots S232-236, 2nd Floor
The Starling Mall
6 Jalan SS21/37
Damansara Uptown
47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7733-9866