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

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.

Dumplings 粽子 time: Pork free 粽子 @ West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa

More pork free dumplings 粽子"zongzi" galore awaits one at West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. Its a clever play of ingredients and the art of cooking that ensures that pork free 粽子 taste just as smooth and flavourful as the pork ones.

Aptly named "Bundled Treasures", Chef Chan Choo Kean and his team roll out 5 awesome bundled treasures. This promotion starts 25th May till 6th June 2011.

Sharing is caring. And one certainly can't go wrong when one orders a 3kg Superior Giant Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Assorted Meat and Chef’s Special Savoury Sauce. Priced at RM188++ each, the 3kg rectangular dumpling looks like a block of rice wrapped in bamboo. It does look sort of the huge meal you'll need to feed an army:P

However what is actually in stored isn't just a block of bamboo and flavoured rice. Therein contains specially chosen ingredients for its flavour and texture including dried scallop, dried oyster, barbecued chicken, lotus seed, chestnut, salted egg yolk, mushroom, dried shrimp and yellow peas. To add to the whole awesome experience is a specially concocted savoury sauce.

I half expected that when it is steamed and sliced to be served, the ingredients will not evenly spread out. In the art of laying out the ingredients, the chefs have painstakingly ensured that every bit of ingredient is laid out evenly throughout each 3kg roll or block of dumpling. To put the chefs to the test, we actually dug out the 2 slices that we were served to check out the ingredients. Bravo, both slices of dumplings from the 3kg roll were evenly spread out. And yes if the 3kg which averagely feeds 10 very hungry people seems really too big for you, you can opt to order the sliced ones at RM28 each.

And may I add...the chinese pickled chili actually goes real well with the dumplings. Give it a try, you may well like it like I did. This condiment on the table looked really good with the very warm and traditional chinese decors of the West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant. Bring your older loved ones such as your grandparents to score brownie points from them this chinese festival. Or better still take advantage of the above mentioned 3kg Superior Giant Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Assorted Meat and Chef’s Special Savoury Sauce and have a family reunion!

How many of us have actually heard of lamb being used in dumplings? Here at West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant, they have introduced Steamed Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Yam and Lamb. Priced at RM23 each, this 粽子 is bursting with the flavours of the seasoned lamb meat coupled with the specially chosen ingredients of yam, dried shrimp, mushroom and chestnut. The taste is just amazing. The lamb was not strong neither was it subtle. It just tasted right. Neither did it leave the dumpling oily.

As it turned out, the lamb is carefully seasoned and cooked with precision to achieve such texture and flavour before it is being used as one the ingredients in this flavourful Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Yam and Lamb.

Hong Kong Style Steamed Glutinous Rice Dumpling priced at RM28 is a must try if you want something closer to the original old fashion dumplings. A bite into this all time favourite will reveal an assortment of hidden treasures including dried scallop, barbecued chicken, salted egg yolk, black mushroom, chestnut, dried shrimp and yellow pea all wrapped by a bed of fluffy glutinous rice which is lightly "tea-like" flavour because the lotus leaf is used to wrap this bundle of treasure.

Vegetarians fret not. Tantalise your tastebuds with the Steamed Vegetarian Glutinous Rice Dumpling priced at RM18 each. In every dumpling lays an array of mushrooms including enoki mushroom, abalone mushroom and black mushroom. And what makes this vegetarian dumpling different from many others out there is the usage of wild rice grains. These awesome power packed wild rice is not just nutritious but it has a slightly nutty taste which I admit compliments the chosen mushrooms well.

The fifth bundled treasure awaits us in the form of Steamed Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Sweet Red Bean priced at RM12 each. Frankly I was a bit disappointed with the idea of red bean. I felt it was normal. However, a bite into this Alkaline Dumplings "kee chang" filled with the red bean paste, I got hooked. The red bean paste was creamy and smooth. Nothing like the usual rather roughed ones that I had eaten most times. And when one adds a little of the honey on the side into the dumpling, it becomes even more flavourful. This I will have to admit, it is because I have always loved honey of any sort.

With all this glutinous rice, its best that one opts to wash it down with some Chinese tea to promote better digestion of the glutinous rice. Speak to your waitress or waiter on the wide assortment of exquisite chinese tea.

The dumplings 粽子 are served daily ala carte for lunch and dinner till 6th June 2011 and are also available

for take-away. Three days advance request is highly recommended for orders beyond 15 pieces per dine-in or take-away order. So hurry down to:

West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant,

Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa

Opening hours:

• 12.00 noon to 2.30 pm for lunch (Mondays to Saturdays)

• 10.00 am to 2.30 pm (Sundays and PublicHolidays)

• 6.30pm to 10.30 pm for dinner (Mondays to Sundays).

For reservations, call West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant at +603 7495 1888.