Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur,
Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2717 9900 ext 6933
Business hours: Noon to 2.15pm,
6.30pm to 10.30pm
NOTHING completes a family gathering during the festive season quite like a hearty and healthy meal.
At Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, executive Chinese chef Ho Boon and dim sum chef Ken Liew have cooked up a storm to start the new Lunar Calendar.
One of the main features for this year’s menu is the use of herbs to enhance taste, complement flavours and provide diners with a healthy meal.
To celebrate the Year of the Snake, the duo has created specially crafted menus with mouth-watering dishes that tempt the eyes, appeal to the senses and tickle the taste buds.
To welcome good luck, prosperity, health and all things auspicious into the New Year, diners can start their gastronomic experience with a selection of yee sang.
Ho puts a delightful twist to this year’s yee sang with a combination of crispy soft shell crab, salmon slices and Japanese octopus served with mango plum sauce.
The soft shell crab and octopus give the yee sang a more solid flavour amidst the mixture of light vegetable and crackers, while the mango bits in the plum sauce lends the dish a slightly sweet taste.
The Japanese touch to the traditional yee sang is part of Ho’s innovation to ensure that the dish gets a fresh spin every year.
Ho’s new ideas also extend to the main courses available at Celestial Court during the Chinese New Year festive season.
The spicy flavoured Roasted Chicken with Ginger and Garlic is a burst of flavours and is surprisingly spicy for a regular Chinese dish. The sauce is a fresh taste from the rest of the dishes but it may be a little too spicy for some.
To the eyes, the roasted chicken looks like it is sitting in red molten lava similar to the satay sauce, but the flavourful sauce for the roasted chicken is a blend of condiment goodness such as fresh chillies, dried chillies, sambal, dried prawns, dried scallops and herbs.
Ho said the kitchen team has been testing the sauce since last year to produce a palatable dish while ensuring that the various ingredients do not overpower the taste of the chicken.
Welcoming the Year of the Snake: The traditional yee sang comes with Japanese octopus and crispy soft shell crab.
An unusual dish on the menu this year is the Braised Assorted Dried Seafood and Sea Moss served in Winter Melon.
The winter melon is not a common ingredient served at New Year as its name denotes something negative in Chinese. However, Ho said the name of dishes could be changed to symbolise prosperity instead.
The sea moss, an expensive herb, is a curious addition to the dish and Ho said the variety of things put together for this dish would satisfy everyone’s taste buds.
Another way that Celestial Court serves its assortment of seafood is the Wok Fried Assorted Seafood with Macadamia Nut served in nest.
Unlike the seafood served in winter melon that sits in the usual heavy gravy, the wok fried dish is lighter, almost snack-like.
Given that most diners do not eat the “nest”, which incidentally takes a long time to prepare, Ho said the taste of the dish is heavily dependent on the ingredients used. With the absence of a strong gravy, you can taste the freshness of the seafood and the simple flavours of the other ingredients.
Greens also feature heavily in the dishes served at Celestial Court to provide a balanced meal.
The braised Yu Fungus, Bamboo Pith with Australian Asparagus and Japanese Beancurd is served with gravy but the crunchiness of the asparagus remains intact. The bamboo pith, a white sheet that wraps the asparagus, is a pleasant surprise ? like sinking your teeth into a sheet of bubble wrap.
Ho has diligently explored new ideas to create an innovative presentation while maintaining the original taste of Chinese food.
He said the team continuously tries out and improves new recipes throughout the year to ensure that the dishes are perfected come the next Chinese New Year.
The Year of the Snake is a special one for Ho, too, as it is his Chinese zodiac sign. Given the uniqueness of the year, rest assured that Ho and his team would serve up only the best on the menu.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.