Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur,
Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
No pork served
Tel: 03-2161 8888 ext 127
Business hours: 11.30am to 3.00pm
and 6.30pm to 10.30pm daily.
ALTHOUGH executive Chinese chef Chun Siew Seng has concocted a line-up of delightful dishes for the coming Lunar New Year, a glutinous edible carp is stealing the show and making heads turn.
The handiwork of dim sum chef Ooi Eng Lam has amassed an admiring crowd, as this carp shaped delicacy, better known as the Corus Special Pan Fried Fish Shaped Prosperity ‘Lin Gou’ is the fairer cousin to the sticky brown version, a common delicacy during the season.
Chef Ooi learnt to make the white lin gou during a working stint in Hong Kong.
Lunar specialities:Executive Chinese chef Chun Siew Seng and dim sum chef Ooi Eng Lam posing with the various dishes that will be available for Chinese New Year at Ming Palace,Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur.And because fish is considered prosperous during Chinese New Year, he figured making a fish shaped lin gou (or ningko) resembling a carp would sit in well with celebrants.
The white lin gou is pan-fried, enabling diners to taste the originality of the dish without it being masked by other flavours.
“You can batter fry the white lin gou but I wanted our diners to appreciate the simplicity of its flavours so here we pan-fry it,” he said, adding that the white lin gou was the preferred version of the people in Hong Kong.
A bite into a sticky slice of lin gou gives the tastebuds a sweetish, creamy flavour which cannot be anything else but coconut milk.
Glutinous flour, tang min flour, cornflour, sugar and oil make up the other ingredients.
Once all these ingredients are all mixed up, the whitish liquid is poured into moulds and steamed.
The lin gou, priced at RM25++ can be kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and left out for five days.
Alright, so the lin gou was what I savoured at the end of the meal but let’s not forget the other delicious dishes that chef Chun whipped up.
In true Chinese New Year spirit, we tossed a lively and colourful yee sang rich with rolled salmon and butter fish, pepped up with plum sauce, pickles, crackers, peanuts, sesame, pomelo and other ingredients.
The Fried Australian Coral Fish with Asparagus and Pak Hup, though slightly cold upon arrival, did not disappoint as the soft fish slices pleased the palate.
The Fried Seafood with Pineapple and Sambal Sauce adds a difference to the celebration menu as the piquant and mouthwatering sambal, a concoction of galangal, lemongrass, belachan, plum sauce, onion and ginger, easily won us over with its flavours.
We also tried the Deep Fried Hong Kong Pigeons with Prawn Crackers, served with plum sauce and five spice salt.
I learnt that the pigeon is marinated with herbal stock containing sa keong, kwai pei, chor kor and star anise for two hours before it is deep-fried.
Steamed Estuary Grouper — Unicorn Style, Baked Salted Duck with Tong Kwai and Lettuce, Five Fortune ‘Sang Yi’ in Yam Basket are some of the newer prosperity ala carte dishes that chef Chun has created for the Year of the Rabbit.
The restaurant has two nine-course year-end ‘Sau Koong’ feast set menus at RM798++ and RM898++ (per table of 10) until Feb 2. This feast comes with a complimentary bottle of house wine.
Poon Choi or Big Bowl Feast is also available for dine in or take-away on Feb 2 as well as other reunion dinner set menus.
Other set menus are the Prosperity and Successful Set (RM798++), Prosperity New Year Set (RM898++), Gold Jade Family Set (RM1,098) and Instant Prosperity Set (RM1,498++) which is available from Feb 3 to 17. All set menus come with a complimentary bottle of house wine per table and Prosperity Fish Shaped Lin Gou.
Let’s eat, yam seng and usher in a year of luck and prosperity.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
