MING PALACE,
CORUS HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR,
Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
Business hours : 11.30am to 2.30pm (lunch)
and 6.30pm to 10.30pm (dinner)
from Mondays till Fridays.
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays
9.00am to 2.45pm, 6.30pm to 10.30pm
Tel: 03-21618888 ext 127/188
DISHES from yesteryear are always hard to find these days with the rapid evolution in the culinary scene.
The Ming Palace at Corus Hotel is bringing back popular dishes from the 60s and 70s with its October promotion Goa Char Bee to remind guests of the good old days.
The promotion was introduced by Chinese executive chef Chun Siew Seng, who said the idea stemmed from the Malaysian favourite bak kut teh, another old dish that has survived time.
The man behind the delicious food: Chun with dishes in the Goa Char Bee promotion.
“The dishes in this promotion was once popular and we could always find it at weddings and special dinners,” he said.
Chun has come up with 18 dishes in the ala carte menu which he learnt as a young man with several “sifu’s” in the early days. The dishes are a mixture of Hokkien, Hakka and even Cantonese origins.
Members of the media were recently given a short preview of some of the notable dishes, much to their delight.
Experts at the table said the Chilled Jelly Glazed Chicken was an appetizer that was usually served at weddings. This cold plate was actually a sight to behold with ingredients like vegetarian ham, shreds of chicken meat, crab sticks and juicy prawns that was served with a side of specially made chilli sauce.
Next was a delectable dish that looked easy to make and tasted delicious — the Stir Fried Shark’s Fin with Scrambled Egg.
The dish was served with salad leaves and diners can wrap the scrambled eggs with shark’s fin and bite into the layer of flavours. The crunchy salad leaves combined with the fluffy eggs and sweet shark’s fin is an ideal way to start a meal.
Another must-try was the Braised “Soong Yu” Fish Head which was the most difficult dish to prepare but worth a taste simply because of the uncommon sauce.
“The dish has so many ingredients inside and there are so many methods to it. The sauce has oyster sauce, chicken stock and sugar with other ingredients,” said Chun.
Must-try: The Braised Soong Yu Fish Head.
Lamb lovers will enjoy the Stewed Lamb Brisket in claypot that is cooked to perfection for an hour and a half with a variety of Chinese herbs. The lamb was cooked over a small fire, infusing the taste of herbs into the tender meat giving it a delicate flavour that is ideal on the palate.
Next were two vegetables the Braised Mustard Plant, Beancurd and Crispy Sole and the Stewed Mixed Vegetables with Glass Noodle. The beancurd in the first dish, is handmade and firm and in chef’s words look like a bird’s nest with all the little empty pockets.
The second dish is another novelty that Chun has strived to prepare with great care.
All 18 ala carte ‘Goa Char Bee’ dishes are available for lunch and dinner.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
