Prosperity toss with the Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang with Snow Pear and Passion Fruit topped with Peanut.
The Chinese New Year reunion dinner is a much-anticipated event for families to gather and bond over a sumptuous meal.
Similarly, the sau gong dinner presents co-workers the opportunity to celebrate the end of the year and beginning of a new year.
For those who prefer leaving the cooking to the experts, there are many restaurants in Kuala Lumpur serving hearty festive meals for families and co-workers to enjoy.
One place to consider gathering for a set meal is Yue at Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel.
Chinese chef Ben Lim, who has 45 years of experience in the food-and-beverage industry, describes cooking as his passion.
“I am always thinking about creating new dishes, and I put my ideas to the test every few months at Yue.
“Some of these are being featured for the Lunar New Year,” said Lim, who is from Muar in Johor.
“I like exploring recipes using grouper and cod fish.
“These fishes are suitable as they do not have a strong aftertaste, hence we use them in various cooking styles,” he said.
Steamed Grouper with Mushroom at Yue in Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel. — Photos: CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
To welcome the Year of the Snake, Lim has included Steamed Grouper with Mushroom in his Chinese New Year lineup.
The freshness of the grouper is obvious in every bite as the chef has opted to use minimal seasoning to allow the fish’s natural flavours to shine through.
Crispy Chicken with Shrimp Paste and Almond is another delightful find at Yue.
This dish has gained popularity among Chinese food lovers in recent years, Lim said.
Several steps are involved in preparing it. First, the chicken is deboned and then minced.
Crispy Chicken with Shrimp Paste and Almond.
Lim then layers the minced chicken with shrimp paste before placing chicken skin on top. As a final touch, he adds almond slices.
The chicken skin helps protect the layers of chicken and shrimp from drying out during the baking and deep-frying stage.
This dish is a personal favourite for its tasty combination of flavours.
A wholesome dish that is symbolic of prosperity is the Braised Fresh Scallop with Sea Cucumber, Roasted Duck, Dried Oyster, Sea Moss and Broccoli.
“The sea cucumber is imported from the Philippines while the oysters are from Australia and sea moss is from China.
“This time, I’ve opted not to add prawns into the dish and to use duck instead,” the chef said.
Braised Fresh Scallop with Sea Cucumber and Roasted Duck, Dried Oyster, Sea Moss and Broccoli.
Braised Pumpkin Soup with Pan-fried Fish Maw, Tiger Prawn and Black Truffle is one of the warm, savoury soups created for the festive occasion.
The depth in flavour comes from the long hours of cooking.
“Chicken stock is cooked for 10 hours and only fresh ingredients are used to build up the layers of flavour in the soup,” said Lim.
Black truffle, which is famously used in French and Italian cuisines, gives the soup an earthy touch while fish roe adds texture and bite.
“Guests are open to the idea of fusion flavours in a Chinese New Year meal,” Lim said.
Other dishes to look out for include Steamed Glutinous Rice with Dried Shrimp and Chicken and, of course, yee sang.
There are various types of yee sang at Yue. The one I tried was the Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang with Snow Pear and Passion Fruit topped with Peanut.
For dessert, the chef recommends Chilled Fresh Mango Cream with Pomelo and Sago.
Crispy New Year Cake and Red Bean Paste.
The eight- and nine-course Lunar New Year menus are available until Feb 16.
The nine-course “Flavours of Reunion” for a table of 10 diners is priced at RM2,288++ while the “Hallmark of Achievement” menu for 10 is RM3,188++.
The eight-course “Seasons of Harmony” is priced at RM268++ per person with a minimum of two diners.
The “Lucky Eight Treasure” tagged at RM338++ per head also requires a minimum of two diners.
YUE, Level 3A, Sheraton Petaling Jaya Hotel, Lorong Utara C, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. (Tel: 03-7622 8888) Business hours: Noon to 2.30pm, 6.30pm to 10.30pm. Closed on Mondays.
This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
