Usher in the Dragon in style at Toh Yuen, Hilton Petaling Jaya

In the Chinese zodiac, with its 12-year cycle with each year attributed to an animal, the Dragon is considered a symbol of glory and mightiness. That’s a valid perception as I can’t think of a more splendid and awesome animal, among the 12. That’s why a Dragon Year is a much-anticipated one and there are many who would be trying very hard to conceive dragon babies this year!

Toh Yuen at the Hilton Petaling Jaya will be serving some special prosperity set menus for the Chinese New Year celebration. To usher in the Year of the Dragon, several variety of Yee Sang will be offered and among the selections, none is more splendid than their Dragon Yee Sang – a masterpiece which truly showcases the talented skills of their Master Chef Lee.

Occupying a huge square platter draped with an auspiciously-red cloth, the Dragon Yee Sang is a sight to behold. The intricate carvings, using pumpkin, from the mighty golden head to the tail and claws, the detailing is impressive. Just look at the meticulous etchings of the dragon’s scales on the claws – amazing! Slices of fresh fruits and vegetables are painstakingly arranged to form the body of the dragon – care is taken to ensure the colours are even and blend well resulting in a beautifully vibrant dragon! Truly a magnificent piece of craftwork, we marvelled at it as our cameras clicked vigorously, snapping at every angle.

The “pearl” of the dragon is a circular mound of abalone and salmon slices, placed at the head of the mighty mythical creature. It was almost painful to “destroy” the gorgeous dragon when we added in the crispies, limejuice, oil and dressing and mixed and tossed everything together!
Priced at RM888++ (with 3 days’ advance pre-order notice), the Dragon Yee Sang with Abalone & Salmon is a super-luxurious item for your festive celebration, I must say.

The Longevity Menu (RM1,388++ per table of 10 persons) is one of the 3 specially-tailored menus available in Toh Yuen.  The other 2 set menus are priced at RM988++ and RM1,188++ per table for 10 persons – please click here for details of the menus.  All set menus include a complimentary bottle of wine and are already available, from 9 January till 6 February 2012.

Apart from the Yee Sang (which is not the Dragon Yee Sang), the feast continues with “Hu Die” Sharksfin with Crab Meat Soup… a very rich thick superior broth with chunks of fresh crab meat and sharksfin. You can opt for a Herbal Chicken Soup if sharksfin is not your cup of tea.

Braised Chinese Herbs Chicken with Black Fungus is served piping-hot in a claypot. With steam wafting up from the aromatic herbal concoction, the chicken was soft and tender, falling off the bones.  Besides the variety of Chinese herbs, there were mushrooms, dried scallops, water chestnuts and sea cucumber stuffed into the chicken.  From marination to the slow braising, this pot of poultry goodness took almost 9 hours to prepare, I was told.  A very nutritious and comforting dish.

Steamed Sea Garoupa with Spicy Garlic Sauce came next. Of medium size, the fish was decently tender and flaky and was steamed atop a bed of glass noodles.  Despite the name, there was nothing spicy about the sauce but it was flavourful and the glass noodles had totally soaked in all the flavours.

Braised Sea Cucumbers with Mixed Mushrooms had florets of broccoli decorating the edge of the plate. While the sea cucumber was succulent and tender enough, I felt they were a bit bland.

Saute’ed Prawns in Black Pepper Sauce provides the good-feel factor as it signifies “hee hee hah hah” – laughter, of course… something that should be ringing in every household, especially during Chinese New Year!  The prawns were fresh and juicy and the chef has done a good job with the black pepper sauce which could not be faulted at all.

The Toh Yuen Seafood Fried Rice was served in a big round mound – more than enough carbs to go round, even for 10 people.  By this time, most of my dining companions were already pretty stuffed as the portions served were generous.

I love the Deep-fried Crispy Nian Ko – thin crispy batter enclosing warm melting nian ko inside and not overly sweet. However, the papaya, white fungus and red dates “tong sui” accompanying the nian ko was too generous in its sugar content and was mostly left aside.

So, if you need to impress your guests or simply wants an awesome showpiece dragon to breathe fire and prosperity into your Year of the Dragon, head on to Toh Yuen.

Toh Yuen Chinese Restaurant
Hilton Petaling Jaya
No.2 Jalan Barat
46200 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7955-9122