Feast to kick off Lunar New Year
Traditionally prized ingredients are enhanced with atypical, top-end elements for new flavour combinations
THE time before the Lunar New Year is exciting as it brings out the creativity of those helming Chinese restaurants.
Chefs will showcase ingredients considered auspicious, and innovatively pair them with different elements to excite diners’ palates.
Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel’s Lunar New Year menu offers a series of visually pleasing and mouthwatering dishes that incorporate ingredients not typically associated with Chinese cuisine.
At Yue, a pork-free restaurant serving Cantonese cuisine, the traditional yee sang is given a new twist with smoked salmon and fig.
The combination of ingredients such as grapefruit, crispbread, shredded carrots, chopped peanuts, lime juice, sesame seed and smoked salmon delivers rich flavours.
Allspice and plum sauce further intensify the taste.
The fig’s strong aroma and the pickled ginger’s mild spiciness add complexity to the slightly sour dish.
For main courses, Yue’s Crispy Almond Chicken with Shrimp Paste impresses visually with its dual tones.
Each rectangular piece sandwiches layers of deep-fried chicken, shrimp paste and almonds.
What the shrimp paste brings tothedishisan umami flavour that complements the crispy chicken.
Chinese chef Lim Huang Hock said the almonds provide extra fragrance to the dish.
“We use giant tiger prawns, which is associated with the Year of the Dragon, to make the paste,” he said.
Another star dish in the menu is Yue’s Braised Pumpkin Soup with Pan-fried Fish Maw and Nostoc Commune.
The creamy soup combines a mild sweetness from the pumpkin and the savoury tastes of its other elements.
After being pan-fried, the fish maw takes on a friable layer and the soft, chewy Nostoc commune enriches the dish’s texture.
The other main dish that stood out is the Steamed Cod with Black Truffle and Egg White, with its different elements giving a different mouthfeel.
The freshly steamed cod on salty egg white is topped with a pinch of caviar for bursts of flavour.
Other notable main courses include the Raised Five-head Abalone with Morel Mushroom and Roast Duck Roll.
Chu hou sauce and oyster flavours are prominent in the creamy gravy that surrounds the pleasantly chewy abalone and morel mushrooms, both of which are highly prized ingredients.
The flavour of the roast duck roll is enhanced with dried mushrooms, green onions and a touch of pickled mustard greens.
For dessert, there is Chilled Passion Fruit with White Fungus and Sea Bird (bird’s nest) that is very refreshing.
The Crispy New Year Cake has red bean paste added to the fried nian gao for texture and sweetness.
For the CNY period, Yue is offering two set menus for 10 people and two individual set menus.
The 10-person set menus have nine courses and are priced between RM2,388 and RM3,288.
Individual set menus have seven courses and are priced between RM268 and RM388 per person.
A minimum of two diners is required for these sets.
The set menus can also be ordered online for delivery.
YUE, Level 3A, Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel, Lorong Utara C, PJS 52, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. (Tel: 03-76228888) Business hours: noon to 2.30pm (lunch) and 6.30pm to 10.30pm (dinner). Closed on Mondays.