Fit for emperors

Mandarin
Palace Chinese Restaurant,
2nd Floor, Federal Hotel,
35, Jalan Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2148 9166/8744
Business hours: Mon – Sat from 11.30am to 3.00pm,
Sun and public holidays from 9.30am to 3.00pm
and 6.30pm to 10.30pm daily
Non-halal.

FEAST like Chinese emperors of old as the Mandarin Palace in The Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur has prepared 35 dishes to choose from.

Delicacies: Diners can choose a combination of(clockwise from top right) Braised Dried Fish Stomach;Braised Sliced Abalone with Seasonal Vegetables; Braised Sea Cucumber and Dried Fish Stomach;Braised Sliced Abalone and Sea Cucumber; Braised Sea Cucumber and Goose Web as well as Braised Slice Abalone and Fish Maw.

Featuring a host of delicacies, one can choose a six-, seven- or eight-course meal throughtout the month of May.

“One pre-selected dish for the courses is the dessert of egg tart with bird’s nest. This is because the egg tart is the restaurant’s signature and we have made it more appealing with bird’s nest,” said Chinese chef Yip Boon Meng.

For each course, a customer will get an appetiser, a shark’s fin soup and another dessert.

There are four appetisers to choose from — Fresh Scallop with Wasabi Mayonnaise, Chilled Sliced Abalone with Fancy Dressing, Abalone Cubes Stuffed in Fresh Orange and Fresh Water Prawn with Mango.

Different birds: The three poultry dishesoffered are the (bottom to top) SteamedVillage Chicken with Ginseng, RoastedCrispy Pigeon and Roasted Baby Duck

As for shark’s fin soups, there are seven to choose from. Each is enhanced with a different ingredient such as crab meat, whole dried scallop, cordyceps, fish maw and ginseng.

Dessert choices are Bird’s Nest with Coconut Milk, Double Boiled Snow Jelly with Red Dates and Lotus Seeds as well as Double Boiled Sea Cucumber with Rock Sugar.

The remaining dishes are selected out of four other categories — dried seafood, poultry, rice or noodles as well as fish, prawn or crab with a limit of one dish per category.

Yip said most are traditional Chinese dishes while some are fusion efforts.

“Some traditional dishes may be too exotic to local tastebuds and we have to change it a bit. Sometimes, new taste combinations also enhance ordinary dishes and is worth putting into the promotion list,” he said.

He added examples of fusion dishes are the Abalone Cubes Stuffed in Fresh Orange and the Golden Fried Rice with Goose Liver.

Yip also highlighted the Goose Web with Braised Sea Cucumber which is a specialty of his.

“The web which is the feet of the goose, is imported from France. This is because local ones that are available are too skinny without much meat on them,” he said.

Other dried seafood delicacies are sea cucumber, abalone, fish maw, dried fish stomach; all served braised and available in different pre-selected combinations.

Under the fish, prawn or crab category, diners can select Steamed Cod Fish in Homely Style, Steamed Giant Garoupa with Chinese Herbs, Steamed Fresh Water Prawn with Egg Whites and Chinese Wine, Baked Fresh Water Prawn with Butter and Minced Garlic, Fried Fresh Water Prawn with Cheese, Crab with Glutinous Rice Wine as well as Fried Crab with Spring Onion and Ginger.

If seafood is not your thing, try a poulty dish instead that includes Roasted Baby Duck, Roasted Crispy Pigeon, and Steamed Village Chicken with Ginseng.

Meal staples such as rice or noodles are done in several styles — Golden Fried Rice with Goose Liver, Braised Rice with Abalone Cubes, Fried Beehoon and Prawns with Abalone Gravy as well as Braised Noodles and Fresh Scallop with Abalone Gravy.

The six-, seven- and eight-course meal costs RM78++, RM88++ and RM98++ per person respectively.

This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by Star Metro.