CELESTIAL COURT,
Sheraton Imperial Kuali Lumpur,
Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2717 9900 ext 6988
Business hours: noon to 2.30pm (Mon to Sat),
10.00am to 2.30pm on Sundays and public holidays,
6.30pm to 10.30pm (Mon to Sun).
IT is customary to pick up your chopstick and toss up high ingredients that make-up the yee sang when partaking in a Chinese New Year meal with friends or family.
French twist:Chef Ho Boon with his yee sang presentation.What’s fascinating about joining in a Lunar New Year meal is the opportunity to savour a variety of yee sang concocted by our many creative Chinese chefs.
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur executive Chinese chef Ho Boon is one example.
His Signature Yee Sang with Norwegian Salmon and Five-Spiced Foie Gras grabbed our attention when it arrived with an image of a white rabbit shaped out of long strands of shredded radish.
The real deal, however, was the main ingredients of salmon and five-spiced foie gras.
In tossing the yee sang, the soft and flavourful foie gras separates easily, lending its creamy essence to the other ingredients while giving an interesting twist to the dish’s overall taste.
Marketing director Cindy Yoong said Celestial Court recently refurbished its kitchen and was proud to present its redefined Imperial dining.
“We are still a Cantonese restaurant but now, guests will be welcomed into an elevated royal dining affair with personalised au fait services featuring Cantonese favourites with a modern twist,” she said.
The finer touches in presentation and eye to detail were a lot more obvious as the kitchen team brought out, course by course, our dinner for the night.
A Chinese dinner for me is incomplete without steaming hot soup and chef Ho surprised us with a delicious bowl of Shark’s Fin Soup with Bamboo Pith, Dried Scallops, Bean Sprouts and Wolfberries, a dish we did not order.
This aromatic thick savoury soup was much appreciated as it helped warm-up the body, after all it was chilly outside from the continuous rain and the restaurant’s air conditioner, we could tell, was working well.
The Combination of Deep-Fried and Sauteed Scallops featured soft sauteed scallops accompanied by crusty batter fried scallops to showcase the delicateness of scallops in two different preparations.
Chef Ho’s Simmered Cod with Fresh Mushroom and Chinese Herb in Superior Broth unveiled the silken smooth fresh fish in a luscious superior broth.
The broth, chef Ho said, was made from fried fish bones boiled with Chinese herbs for two hours over a slow fire.
Lovely treat: The Deep Fried ‘Nian Gao’ with Yam and Yellow Pumpkin Puree with Black Glutinous Rice and Coconut Gelato in individual portion sended our meal on a sweet note.
As the stock was sumptuously rich, there was no need to marinate the cod, instead it is only blanched in hot water, then the broth is added to it.
Fresh and plump prawns were our treat in the Stir-Fried Prawn with Australian Asparagus stuffed with Bamboo Piths.
Dressed in bamboo pith, the asparagus stalks were pretty to look at and even better in taste while the prawns seemed pretty cosy on a nest of noodles, garnished with julienne red chillies.
For a dose of carbohydrate, chef Ho prepared his popular Fried Mian Xian Noodle with Bean Sprout, Dried Scallop and Fish Fillet dish.
“The noodles are deep fried till crispy, then put into hot boiling water to soften the noodles and to remove the oil.
“Once softened, the noodles are strained, then cooked with scallops and fish fillet,” said chef Ho who was on hand at each course to explain the intricacies on how the dishes were cooked.
The Deep Fried Nian Gao with Yam and Yellow Pumpkin Puree with Black Glutinous Rice and Coconut Gelato in individual portions ended our meal on a sweet note.
The batter fried nian gao was quite filling but the rich and creamy pumpkin puree with coconut ice cream and black glutinous rice sealed it for us that night.
The Chinese New Year menus will be available for lunch and dinner until Feb 17, priced at RM1,288++ per table of 10 persons including a bottle of Brut Chandon N.V.
This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro
