Majestic Macau to KL Feast with Chef Yap Poh Weng & Chef Chung Kuy Fai
The much-anticipated Grand Dinner series by The Oriental Group is back this year with honorary Macau Master Chefs Yap Poh Weng & Chef Chung Kuy Fai. 4 hands, 9 exclusive evenings from 22 Aug to 8 Sept 2020, the Grand Dinner menu with the master chefs will be available across the Group’s various restaurants.
Chef Yap Poh Weng and Chef Chung Kuy Fai, both have over 30 years of culinary experience with international stints across the globe. Award winning Chef Yap, having named one of “China Top 50 Celebrity Chefs” by Food and Wine magazine as well as listed as diamond-rated chef by both Asian Diamond Chef Association and the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, is currently helming the legendary Yan Yu Chinese restaurant in Guangzhou along with the award-winning Grand Dragon Chinese Restaurant in Hangzhou and world-famous restaurant Whampoa Club in Beijing and Shanghai.
Chef Chung has also trotted across the globe with stints in Tokyo, Shanghai, California’s Napa Valley before settling in Macau as executive chef. Renowned for his bold culinary-scapes, he also has several accolades including an inclusion into the prestigious Black Pearl Restaurant Guide.
The first Grand Dinner series kicked off at Ruyi located at Bangsar Shopping Centre. Ruyi, a modern multi conceptual dining space that combines a beautiful bar with an award-winning pork-free kitchen serving eclectic Chinese menu, a mezzanine area and a Western bistro as well as private rooms.
Dinner commenced with five Signature Appetizers Combination. The Suzhou Style Crispy Eel, stacked high in a pretty noodle basket and crowned with crispy meat floss and sugary strands, tasted as good as it looks. The crispy eel pieces are glazed with a caramelized sweet honey glaze, making it deliciously enjoyable.
The Organic Cherry Tomato with Sour Plum & Pickled Radish in Traditional Shanghai Vinaigrette is a dish that whets the appetite with its refreshing and vibrant tangy notes along with a rich salty profile. From crunchy leaves of picked radish and the burst of the plump cherry tomatoes, it’s a dish that is relatively simple yet bold enough to make a mark in the culinary journey.
Another fresh note from the fruity Pineapple, Mango, Pomelo & Crab Meat Tartare with Spicy Dressing & Caviar added much delightful note of pleasure to the palate. From the burst of fruitiness to the sweet bites of crab meat and flavour globules, the dish is simply irresistible.
A brilliant pairing of Japanese Scallop with Sesame Dressing & Organic Baby Spinach Roll with Caviar won many brownie points that evening. Sheer simplicity of fresh sweetness from perfectly cooked scallops matched well with the delicate notes of spinach. The aromatic nutty sesame dressing and briny caviar pearls completed the scallop and spinach well.
An innovative touch of flaxseeds not only gave the dish its crispy textures but the nutty aroma in BBQ Flaxseed Crispy Chicken had us tucking into succulent chicken with a subtle smoky and nutty note. Add a tiny drizzle of citrus to the chook for that extra perkiness of flavour profile.
Soups are always curated with nutritious benefits in mind in Chinese cuisine. Highlighting the benefits of dried orchid root and black garlic in the Double-Boiled Roxburgh Anoectochilus & Black Garlic with Fresh Fish Maw Soup, both chefs’ ultimate goal is allowing diners to slowly savor that rich umami notes of the ingredients and draw in the nutritional values to the body . With each sip of the broth, the lips are tinged with a meaty and dried seafood essence of chicken, dried scallops and fish maw. A soup that deserves slow savoring, it was certainly a new one that leaves a lasting sense of warmness to the soul.
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A generous whole Poached Lobster with Chef’s Special Sauce made a grand entrance as the table was filled with so many crustaceans at sight. Medallions of chilled lobster meat are wondrously perfumed with Chinese wine, elevating the sweetness of the lobster meat well. The dish showcases the skills of the chefs in allowing the fresh and natural flavours of the lobster to steal the limelight with a boost of wine and superior broth. Presentation was excellent as well with pretty petals painted on the plate to accompany the king of crustaceans!
Tuck into the luscious freshness of Steamed Ocean Garoupa & Guangxi Style Stuffed Japanese Beancurd Puff, Luffa Melon with Supreme Soy Sauce. Beautiful pieces of sweet firm garoupa is cleverly enhanced by fine flavours of supreme soy sauce with accompaniments of crunchy baby wood ear with tender beancurd puff and sweet luffa. The brilliant additions gave the dish a touch of modernity to the classic dish.
A dish that rebels the cuisine and yet left a memorable and delicious mark on our palate, the Crispy Stuffed Sea Cucumber with Hot & Sour Sauce proved that some unconventional methods may turn out well. Braised till tender and tasty, the thick pieces of sea cucumber are lightly batter and fried to golden crisp perfection. The sauce is not overpowering but rather just enough to give the sea cucumber some delicious notes along with some Siew Pak Choy and baby carrots for textures.
More unusual pairing of Shark’s Fin & Braised Meat Noodle with Chicken Lard Crackerhad us slurping delicious noodles with the premium ingredient and bits of yummy cracklings. The noodles had a lovely al dente bite and we certainly had no qualms in polishing off all of it!
The Grand Dinner journey ended with a threesome dessert that consisted of a nutritious Double-Boiled Snow Lotus & Lotus Seed, Pearl Seaweed with Osmanthus Sweet Soup along with the King of Fruit of Black Thorn Durian Glutinous Dumpling and Shanxi Red Dates Sweet Cake.
The delicate sweet hot broth of Double-Boiled Snow Lotus & Lotus Seed, Pearl Seaweed with Osmanthus Sweet Soup was lovely with its various textural components. Its not overly sweet but had that soothing sweet ending for the lovely evening.
Gold dusted charcoal skin encasing that unctuous creamy flesh of much prized black thorn durian obviously was a hit as the Black Thorn Durian Glutinous Dumpling was gone in minutes. Kudos to the chefs for highlighting Malaysians’ favorite fruit. The Shanxi Red Dates Sweet Cake had a dense and chewy kuih texture with that earthy mellow sweetness of dates that we also enjoyed very much.
A evening to remember, The Oriental Group Grand Dinner series never fail to make its mark of elevating Chinese cuisine in the culinary world. Priced at RM288++ per person (min. 2 persons) or a table of RM2,288++ per table of 8 persons, the From Macau to KL Grand Dinner at Oriental Group of Restaurants is available on:
RUYI 22 August 2020 +603 2083 0288
NOBLE BANQUET 25 & 29 August 2020 +603 2145 8822
ORIENTAL PAVILION 26 Aug & 4 Sept 2020 +603 7956 9288
THE HAN ROOM 27 August 2020 +603 2284 8833
NOBLE MANSION 28 August 2020 +603 7932 3288
ORIENTAL STAR 3 September 2020 +603 9134 8488
ORIENTAL TREASURE 5 September 2020 +603 2242 2382
For more information, enquiries and reservation on this special set menu, please visit the Oriental Group of Restaurants website and Facebook or email: enquiry@orientalrestaurants.com.my
