DI WEI CHINESE CUISINE RESTAURANT
Empire Hotel Subang,
Jalan SS16/1, Subang Jaya.
Tel: 03-5565 1388
Business hours: 11am-3pm and 6pm-10pm (Monday-Friday)
10.30am-10pm (Saturday, Sunday and public holidays).
Non-halal restaurant.
INDULGE in a potful of treasures with family and loved ones this Chinese New Year as you feast upon the Eighteen Treasure Poon Choy at Empire Hotel Subang’s Di Wei Chinese Cuisine Restaurant.
The Poon Choy (RM488++ for five pax, RM688++ for 10 pax) is cooked with 18 ingredients: abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber, dry scallop, mushroom, black moss, dry oyster, yam stick, radish, lotus root, steamed chicken, roast duck, fishball, Chinese cabbage, bamboo pith, beancurd skin, tiger prawn and pork tender.
Di Wei head chef Yong Thian Teik, who was trained by Hong Kong chefs, said the dish was a CNY staple among the people in the walled villages (wai tsuen) in Hong Kong.
“At some places, there may be more than 20 ingredients in the poon choy. The yam sticks, cabbages and radishes act as a sponge to soak up the essence of the other ingredients,” he said.
This luxurious dish is visually astounding, with prawns and abalone at the top layer.
Chinese cabbage lines the bottom layer of the pot, soaking up all the goodness of the ingredients, giving it a flavourful taste.
I was about to dismiss the fishballs but decided to give it a try and one could tell immediately they were different as I could taste more fish than flour, unlike some places where it is the other way around. Needless to say, I went for seconds.
According to Yong, the fishballs and most of the ingredients were made in-house.
We also tried the Six Happiness Platter (RM168.80++) and the “happiness” were jelly fish, roast pork belly, honey sauce char siew, soy sauce chicken, roast duck and Chinese sausages.
Happiness on a platter: The Six Happiness Platter has jelly fish, roasted pork belly, honey sauce char siew, soya sauce chicken, roast duck and Chinese sausages.
The honey sauce accentuated the barbecued pork.
While I am not a big fan of duck, the roast duck was a pleasant surprise as it did not have a gamey flavour and the meat was tender.
We were served the CNY set menu (RM688++ for six pax) which includes Salmon Fish Yee Sang, Braised Seafood Thick Soup with Bamboo Pith and Dry Scallop, Sauteed Scallop and Prawn with Celery, Steamed Marble Goby with Light Soy Sauce, Braised Black Moss and Dry Oyster with Beancurd and Seasonal Vegetable, Fried Glutinous Rice with Minced Waxed Meat, red bean cream and Steamed New Year Cake (nian gao or glutinous rice cakes) with Shredded Coconut.
I love scallops and the sauteed scallops did not disappoint.
The homemade beancurd served with black moss and dried oysters was also lovely.
The home made beancurd does not play second fiddle to the Braised Black Moss and Dry Oyster.
So what’s so special about the New Year cake?
“I won’t tell you yet, you need to try it first,” the chef said.
What differentiated it from other New Year cakes I had tried was the layer of black glutinous rice, which added texture to the cake.
“New Year cakes should not be too sweet or too sticky,” said Yong.
The New Year cake is available for takeaway at RM28.80.
Also available for takeaway are the Poon Choy, Yee Sang (RM68.80++ full portion, RM48.80++ half portion) and Six Happiness Platter.
The pot is included when customers order the Poon Choy for takeaway.
“We have many customers ordering takeaways as they do not cook but would still like to enjoy a meal with family at home,” Yong said.
The CNY items are available from now till March 5.
The restaurant seats 80 people and private rooms are available.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.