2011 kicks off pretty good, it was only mid January and I’ve already had my second yee sang session. Just like the previous session at Gu Yue Tien, this is yet another invited food tasting session from Meena in conjunction with Standard Chartered’s Extravagant 8 menu promotion (20th Jan till 17th Feb.)
For those who did not read about it on the previous post, this promotion basically allows Standard Chartered credit card holder to enjoy special menu priced at RM 888++ for 8 pax at 8 different locations by 8 award winning chefs. Li Yen at Ritz Carlton is the second place I sampled.
and we started off with yee sang, what else?
It was during the work week. I went back from work, had a few rounds of slow run at Taman Aman, showered, and then got stuck at traffic for a good 30 minutes to get passed a 300 meter stretch of road in PJ State, drove faster, found parking at Starhill, and arrived at Ritz-Carlton hotel.
The above paragraph was totally unnecessary, but I had to illustrate what a man would do to have his yee sang.
The yee sang served at Li Yen is the traditional type, shredded carrot, marinated vegetable, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, crackers, plum sauce, oil, and of course, fresh raw salmon. Always good.
double boiled assorted seafood soup with bamboo piths
Like pretty much all traditional Chinese course dinners, the second dish is a soup. The double boiled soup with assorted seafood and bamboo piths was subtle yet exquisite. I always love soup that doesn’t overpower and spoil the taste of subsequent dishes, nice.
I had actually first mistaken bamboo pith as some sort of fish maw, but apparently it is a type of fungus grown in bamboo forest. hey, learn something new everyday!
Oh, there’s no sharks fins with Standard Chartered promotional menu, thumbs up!
peking duck served with steamed sesame pancakes
Next up was a dish that I’ve been waiting for – peking duck in steamed sesame pancakes. The Peking duck roasted to perfection, with it’s skin gleaming with a thin layer of fat calling for me.. ahh.
Our server was an expert who made light work of the duck. *slice slice slice* and within seconds we have the duck skin all tidily wrapped within the soft and warm sesame pancakes. It was as good as any peking duck I had, took extra servings too. 😀
steamed patin fish with superior soya sauce,
braised dried scallops with dried oyster and sea moss
After the duck, we were served the steamed patin fish with superior soya sauce. This is a dish that isn’t uncommon but one that requires really good quality fish. The patin was certainly fresh, fat, and tender. Superior soya sauce isn’t your everyday Kikkomon either, it really adds to the flavor and isn’t overly salty even if you drink it on its own.
Another classic CNY dish, braised dried scallops with dried oyster and sea moss, followed. The sea moss actually looks almost like wet hair, but obviously taste very much different from the stuff that clogs your shower drain hole… (ok perhaps that’s not the best way to describe food). The dried shellfish gives the sauce a very sweet, savory taste, very nice.
stir-fried assorted mushroom and asparagus, hokkien fried rice
We had stir-fried mushroom and asparagus to start winding down the dinner. A light dish that is simple yet delicious, I like the contrasting textures of mushroom and the crunchier asparagus.
The last main dish was Hokkien fried rice, which looks and tastes almost like “lam” rice (with similar type of sauce from loh mee). I thought it was a mislabel, but apparently despite being a Hokkien, I didn’t know any better. Hokkien fried rice is actually steamed rice topped with gravy cooked with chunks of mushroom, vegetable, prawns, and other goodies. It was very yummy actually, I had a small bowl since my stomach was already like 98% full at the time.
deep fried yam with lunar cake, salted pork bones for soup
Deep fried yam with lunar cake (nian gau) served as the dessert that concludes the dinner. It was sweet, crunchy on the outside while sweet, soft, and comfortably warm on the inside.
See the picture of salted pork bones? That’s the not-so-secret ingredients in that seafood soup, imported from Hong Kong, as revealed by the good chef.
KY, Meena & Chef Leung,
Bangsarbabe, foodpoi, Lionel, Mei Yee, Chocoholic, Bald Eagle; Haze
Li Yen is manned by Chef Leung Kwai Hong from Hong Kong armed with 45 years of experience in kitchens at Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and now Malaysia.
The dishes we had at Li Yen were all positively traditional Chinese, perfect for someone looking for that old school experience, but with style and luxury, of course.
Address:
Li Yen @ Ritz-Carlton Hotel
168 Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.146960, 101.715406
Tel: 03-2141 8000
Hehe. Always great acting silly together. Oh wait, it’s just me, isn’t it? 😛
Meena: everyone! we all have our inner child still intact, a good thing 😀
It was definitely just you, Meena. 🙂
But wait, you’re younger than me, like always.
Urgh ….geram.
J2Kfm: stop talking about age laa. 😛
I’m going to pretend I didn’t read that part about the stuff that clogs the shower drain hole or it will give me all sorts of gross imagination! 😛 Lovely food at Li Yen, healthy but delicious! Definitely not an easy feat!
iamthewitch: hahaha, that description’s a bit weird but that’s what came to my mind :/
Doesn’t look so nice tbh, the previous one looks SO much better.
ShaolinTiger: yah, the younger generations like us would definitely like Gu Yue Tien more, Li Yen’s menu is a lot more old school and subtle.
I believe why she could nicely slice through the duck skin was because she had an expertly sharpened knife out there heh.
Tan Yee Hou: hehehe, that and very sturdy hands!
Hello hello *waves*
KY sir. Your link to my blog is faulty! (Thanks tho… Have linked your review onto my post)
J the chocoholic: that is fixed 😀
Thanks again. 🙂
J the chocoholic: you’re welcome. 😀
Haven’t tried Gu Yue Tien…but I think I’m quite old school, as I appreciate subtle flavours these days. I think it’s part of aging. 😆
Bangsar-bAbE: haha what’s this “aging” thing you’re talking about?
Hahaha…I’m starting to become more like my mum! That to me is aging.
Bangsar-bAbE: hahaha, act like u’re aging is ok, just don’t look like it. 😛
saw some shark-fin-like component in de sauce of hokkien fried rice, are those sahrk fins?
echo: nope, that’s not sharks fins.
reading all the post on the CNY menu really make me beh tahan 🙁
Leo: time to eat? hehehehe
Hokkien Fried Rice, that’s a first time seeing it.
JD: to be honest it was my first time too, and I’m hokkien. hahaha
i would love to comment on the food, but i can’t help noticing those cute pair of glasses on u & Hazey! 8)
Tey Cindy,
hahaha that’s my glasses, real one ok
seems like another place to head for CNY meals 😉
babe_kl: yeah, so many! 😀
wah sey, you’re on the roll man! eating so many extravagant menus! got gain weight?
eiling: trying not to! 😛
Bald Eagle….HAHAHAHAHA
Anyway, nice review on Li Yen @ Ritz Carlton.
Ford_GT: hahah I did not invent that nickname. 😛
Pingback:KY eats – Wasabi Mooncake at Ritz Carlton | KYspeaks
Pingback:Time Out KL Food Awards 2011 results | KYspeaks
Pingback:Time Out KL Food Awards 2011 results – KYspeaks