Pork Free: I Love Hong Kong Promotion @ Zuan Yuan

I love Hong Kong for its shopping and its food. Now Hong Kong comes to us with its tantalising and exciting Cantonese cuisines at Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant in One World Resort.

Dinner review with a few of my makan kakis kicked off with Sea Conch with Cucumber in Wasabi Sauce. Do not expect smoking wasabi...the slightly sweet wasabi in this dish is mild and compliments the crunchy sea conch and cucumber well. A good appetizer to kick start the palates.

Next to arrive was Poached Bitter Cucumber Sze Chuan Style. Bitter and appetizer wouldn't be too right sounding for many. However, this bitter cucumber wasn't all that bitter. It was crunchy and soft at the same time. It had a fresh green flavour to it that went well with the spicy chilly granishing. A tad spicy for some but this reminds me of one of our Goon family favourites that my late Porpor used to make.

Cantonese soups are my all time favourite. Our Double Boiled Black Chicken Soup with Dried Scallop and "Chong Cao Hua" arrived in individual bowls. I opened the cover and was greeted by a clear soup. Being a soup person, I took this soup very quickly. Yummy like how my Porpor used to boil soups.

I love having prawns in my chinese sit down dinners. Its something that I learn from my chinese reunion dinners that prawn signify happiness (prawns in Cantonese have the sound "Har" i.e. in our laughter we go "hee hee har har"). The Wok Fried Tiger Prawn with Special Sauce had just that effect on me. I smiled when it arrived. Such a pretty dish in a bed of a special sauce that was creamy. The sauce is rather appetizing. Do ask for a bowl of rice and not put the sauce to waste.

Another brilliant dish with very yummy sauce was the Braised Cod Fish with Morel Mushroom. The cod was done just right and its sweetness went well with the sauce. I finished off my bowl of rice with the lovely sauce.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Braised Chicken with King Soya Sauce Served in Clay Pot. Its not easy to make this dish as very good soya sauce must be selected and the art of cooking this dish requires great attention to ensure that the chicken thoroughly soaks in the sauce yet the skin remains not overly soggy nor overly salty. Here at Zuan Yuan, this is a must have dish when you try their I Love Hong Kong promotion.

Braised Bean Curd with Egg and Tomato Sauce is a happy dish for me. This simple yet delectable dish is perfect especially when you have children with you. I love this dish quite a bit so perhaps I am also a child? Hehehe.

Assorted Diced Sea Food with Crispy Rice in Lobster Soup is not your regular soup. A rather eclectic dish that is not your regular soup. The crisp rice smelt awesome. I was quite filled from the earlier dishes but could not resist having this dish. It did look like baby food but certainly did not taste like baby food. Absolutely flavourful since it was lobster soup with assorted seafood and coupled with the fragrant crispy rice that remained crispy for quite some time, I resorted to having spoonful after spoonful. *Burp*

baby food?

its a super adult food filled with flavours and textures!

Chef Michael treated us to one of his signature dishes Honey Chicken with Deep Fried Ginger. I love ginger and took to this dish very well. Every chicken was evenly coated with a honey based sauce. The ginger which were crisp were delightful. Its like eating chips with the fresh zing of ginger. A must have dish!

Dessert time! I really don't have much room left for dessert. But the Mango and Avocado "Ying Yang" Style was quite irresistible. The creamy avocado went well with the sweet ripe mango. The way to eat it is to mix it all together. And when you take a mouthful of this refreshing dessert, you'll instantly feel refreshed.

The second dessert that we opted for was the Black and White Sesame Glutinous Rice Cake. It does look a bit like our local kuih lapis except this was only black and white. The sesame was aromatic and even though it was made of glutinous rice, this dessert is not too rich. And neither did it leave me feeling like a bloated fat whale - a feel that I often get after glutinous rice desserts.

And if you like the above, hop by to ‘I Love Hong Kong’ Promotion from the 1st to 30th October 2011:

Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant

One World Hotel

+603 7681 1159

Home Cooked Ramadhan Favourites at Cinnamon Coffee House, One World Hotel

Yearning home cooked food to break fast this Ramadhan? Head over to Cinnamon Coffee House on the Concourse Level of One World Hotel to satisfy your cravings! Expect yummy as good as ibu's (mummy) dishes including nasi minyak sari shawal, ayam masak rendang raya, ikan tenggiri goreng berlada, nangka muda cili padi dengan tulang ikan masin and many many more.

One of my very favourite is the roast lamb with beriani rice. Juicy succulent lamb with your choice of roast vegetables and fragrant rice. Do request for your choice cuts from the carver there. I opted for the thigh! And a huge lavish scoop of the dhal on my rice and lamb. *burp*

More local delights await including nasi kerabu. Choose from the assorted condiments. Salted egg and the salted fish is a must to go with the nasi kerabu. The simple salty pleasures of life:D

And if you love sambal, you must give the sambal tempoyak and sambal budu a try. The sambal tempoyak is one of the best I have had in quite some time. A little strange for folks and the idea of fermented durian sounds odd enough...but give it a try. Its a wonderful experience for the palate.

Nasi Beriani Gam Johor is quite good here. And I was at a lost of what dishes I wanted with my rice. I took a wee of everything. Thumbs up for their Kari Daging Seri Mersing. Not overly spicy and certainly did not overpower the taste of the beef or rice.

Do not miss out on the Udang Rendang Selat Tebrau. Every sweet juicy prawn is enveloped with the fragrant yummy kerisik and spices. I took 3 pieces and returned for a few more on my subsequent walk around the buffet line.

Its quite an extensive range of food for a Ramadhan break fast buffet. Very typical of Cinnamon Coffee House that is one of the better places to go for buffets in town if you want to be spoiled for choice.

There's a counter for Indian and Malaysian favourites. Choose from the different breads, rice and curries. Local Malaysian favourites such as satay, fried rice and char kueh teow is quite popular with some of the guests! You may also choose your own fish for some ikan bakar action!

Chinese food includes local favourites such as stir fried vegetables, steam fish with ginger, yong tau foo and even dim sum.

And if you love prawns, you must try the Wok Fried Prawn with Salt & Szechuan Pepper. Yes this is another addictive dish that I returned for a second helping.

And what is chinese without soup? Check out the soup for the day. On this day I had turnip chicken soup which was really soothing at the end of some heavy makan session. Quite a strange idea to have chinese soup with bread butter but yet, I did just that.

How to say no to the very delightful looking breads.?

I walked until the end of the buffet line to be rewarded with what I call a keropok and papadam "buffet". This are all addictive and if you're staying back for a chat with your pals, nibble on these yummy chips!

Its been ages since I had ketupat pulut hitam. Most places serve ketupat palas, lemang or the regular ketupats. Here they had ketupat pulut hitam. Look good eh? Taste real good and its a must if you've not tasted this! Have it on its own or eat it with the serunding (meat floss).

For those craving an International flavour, check out the Japanese counter. An assortment of sushi, sashimi and cold salads. What's amazing is the freshness of the oysters. It was a "hot" counter with people coming for plate full of oysters!

International also includes Italian that you can opt for pizzas or pastas. Do note that the pizza counter is not with the pasta station. A wee strange but its good to walk around if we're going to be eating from every station.

The dessert offering is fabulous! Choose from the wide variety of "everything"

Since its Ramadhan, check out their Raya cookies and snacks. Amazingly amazing. It was almost like sitting at my friend's home with home made Raya goodies.

Buffet dinner at Cinnamon Coffee House:

• 6:30p.m. to 10:30p.m.

• Adults RM108++

Children RM54++ (aged 4-12 years)

• For reservations, call +603 7681 1157

For your convenience, there is a Surau available for Muslims to pray after they break fast.

FREEBIES Time: Free passes for Liverpool and Chelsea Asia Tour 2011

Hear ye. Hear ye.

FREE Invitation Passes to Chelsea or Liverpool Training simply by dining at One World Hotel beginning 1st July 2011 (TODAY!!!):

• Cinnamon Coffee House - One (1) FREE Invitation Pass to Chelsea or Liverpool training when you purchase 3 buffet dinners.

OR

• The Sphere - One (1) FREE Invitation Pass to Chelsea or Liverpool training when you purchase 2 bottles of Chateau de Potiron (red or white) wine.

OR

• The Sphere - Two (2) FREE Invitation Passes to Chelsea or Liverpool training when you purchase 1 bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne.

Passes are available on 1st come 1st serve while stocks last. Hurry and grab your passes!

Flavours of Shanghai @ Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant

A confession. The only Shanghai food that I know is Xiao Long Bao 小笼包.

However after last night's dinner invitation to Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant in One World Hotel, I gladly say I know a few more dishes. Pork free again (similar to the pork free dumplings that I had last month) I now have another reason to return to Zuan Yuan with my Muslim pals who love chinese food.

Three Shanghai Style Appetiser was the first to tease our taste buds. A prawn, beancurd and mushroom. 3 different flavours and textures.

I must admit that the mushroom did look a wee slimy but it was really not slimy nor was it oily. It was yummy!

I loved the prawns too. It tasted right with a blend of saltiness and sweet in every prawn.

The dried beancurd dish with mushrooms was the least favourite of the 3 dishes in the Three Shanghai Style Appetiser. Nothing against the dish but it was a tad sweet for my tastebuds. However, I understand that Shanghainese food is generally sweet and finding this dish a tad too sweet for my liking is merely my personal preference as many of the other guests were happily eating it.

Braised Fish Head Soup with Preserved Vegetable in Claypot! Sounded good. And it tasted awesome. This I think was my favourite dish of the night. Had 3 helpings of the soup and dug into the fish. I even ate the fish eye and it confirmed the freshness of the fish. Delightfully light and bursting with the flavours of fish head, this soup is a must have!

Sautéed Shrimp with Egg White is a cold dish. Crisp and not fishy despite it being a cold dish, this is another must have for lazy prawn eater who hate to peel off the shells:P

When I saw the next dish in orange arrive, I smiled. The colour was cheerful but the biggest reason for my smile was that this dish had pine nuts on it. I love pine nuts for its rich flavour. Deep-Fried Mandarin Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce is not too thickly battered. It is quite appetising and I was tempted to request for some rice. This dish would have been the perfect dish to get kids started on fish if not for the bones. The mandarin fish has some Y shaped bones but its worth braving those bones as adults as this is a very sweet juicy fish.

Sautéed Shredded Beef with Honey Bean is a dish that many others liked. I only enjoyed the honey beans which were nice and crisp. A refreshing flavour and texture to slightly peppered and gingered beef dish. The Sautéed Shredded Beef with Honey Bean is fine with me except that the beef was a wee too tender for my liking. I've also like beef with a little texture and bite in it.

Mushrooms should be big, juicy and not bitter. last night, the Sautéed Mushroom with Chicken and Shrimp was definitely another of my fave. Every mouth of the mushroom was bursting with the sweet earthly flavours of the mushroom. The stuffing of prawn and chicken went really well with the mushroom too. A very healthy dish!

Fried Noodles with Beef and Vegetable is a good end per se. Although I'll have it admit I did not eat much of it because I was quite full after the earlier dishes.

Dessert was unique. I've drank Osmanthus tea before and I love the taste. Sweet Scented Osmanthus Rice Cake sounds delightful. When it arrived, I couldn't quite make up what it reminded me of. But I ahd fun playing with it because the piece decided to stick itself onto the plate. A little sweet for my liking, you'll need a very sensitive tastebud to taste the Osmanthus. I'll have to say that hubby loved the Sweet Scented Osmanthus Rice Cake that he ate 4 pieces.

Overall experience of this pork free Flavours of Shanghai has been fun. It was authentic - no doubts about it as the 4 chefs were flown in from Shanghai Eton Hotel for this 10 day promotion beginning Thursday 23 June until Saturday 2nd July 2011. The Shanghainese set menus are priced from RM380++ per table of 4 as well as ala carte menu are available for lunch and dinner.

For reservations, please call Zuan Yuan at +603 7681 1159.