A Cantonese feast
Flavours ring clear and true on Li Yen’s Lunar New Year menus.
THE Lunar New Year feasting has commenced, and here’s one more stop for you to consider: Li Yen at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur, that has created various set menus to usher in the Year of the Rooster.
Li Yen is a Cantonese restaurant, so expect the concentrated, pure flavours which are the hallmarks of the cuisine. Cooking methods are generally those which are quick, and which preserve the focus on the main ingredients – methods like steaming, stir-frying and braising.
The ideals of Cantonese cooking lie in well-balanced, non-oily dishes, made with high-quality, fresh ingredients – spices are kept to a minimum, herbs (usually coriander) there as a garnish.
The meal sets, created by executive Chinese chef Leung Kwai Hong, are preceded by a variety of yee sang using fresh salmon, tuna or abalone, to be tossed at the table – a tasty ode to prosperity!
There are three lunch sets available – all of which include a few dim sum selections following the yee sang – and three eightcourse dinner sets (nine, if you count the yee sang).
We sat down to a preview of Dinner Set B – after first standing up to enjoy the Lunar New Year ritualistic tossing of the various condiments which make up the yee sang, with over-sized wooden chopsticks. Slices of fresh tuna added luscious appeal, with the various ingredients like shredded carrot, pomelo sacs, pickled red ginger, pickled onions, jellyfish and crisp crackers doused in house-made plum sauce, for a melange of flavours and textures.
The first course comprised steaming bowls of glorious double- boiled chicken soup with fish maw, dried scallops, and large, chewy pieces of conch, with their distinctive flavour of brine and iodine.
There is something very wholesome and comforting about doubleboiled soups – they are wonderful panaceas for body and soul, and the palate certainly approved of the intensely savoury flavours of this particular broth.
A large plate of simplysteamed sea grouper followed, the freshness of its flaky flesh perfectly showcased by the superior soy sauce with which it was steamed. Again, a serving of very pure, clear flavours.
The sea cucumber is an auspicious ingredient, especially for the Cantonese, since it phonetically denotes happiness.
Here, the slippery, jelly-like marine animal is cooked with a flavourful stock, with broccoli and shiitake mushrooms.
Next up, a dish of chicken simmered in a clear broth, its flesh
flavourful, and firm but tender, to be eaten with lots of minced ginger in oil.
Then came a large, meaty pork knuckle – the tender but robust flesh, with a large amount of fat, was served in a thick, sweet-savoury brown sauce. This dish is not a light one, but fans of full-bodied, meaty dishes will find it agreeable.
Wrapped in a lotus leaf, the fried rice released waves of lovely fragrance when the parcel was unfolded. Studded with prawn chunks and pieces of taro, the rice was cooked just right, with just a hint of bite.
Two desserts followed. One was a smooth, silky-textured almond tea that has just a hint of sweetness. Hiding under the surface: a glutinous rice ball with a centre of black sesame paste.
The other was large, chunky nuggets of nian gao pressed up against thin slices of taro, lightly battered and fried.
The glutinous rice cake was just barely sweetened, and was chewy, sticky and very likeable. The very light, crunchy coating didn’t overwhelm the nian gao, as it does in some versions that are less well-prepared.
The special Chinese New Year sets are available between Jan 27 and 30, with lunch sets going for between RM138 per person (for a minimum of six people) and dinner sets starting at RM1,888 per table of 10. Dinner Set B is RM2,388 for 10 people.
LI YEN
The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur 168, Jalan Imbi, Pudu
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2782 9033
Open weekdays, 12pm to 2.30pm and 6pm to 10.30pm, weekends and public holidays, 10.30am to 2.30pm and 6.30pm to 10.30pm.