Li Yen ushers the Year of the Rooster with 6 Chinese New Year set menus: 3 for lunch and 3 for dinner. Each set is specially curated to feature some of the best award-winning Cantonese cuisine skillfully prepared by Executive Chinese Chef Leung Kwai Hong.
Genial and ever smiling, Chef Leung hails from Hong Kong and has more than 40 years of culinary experience under his belt. So you can be assured of an excellent meal.
Like all Chinese New Year set menus, the feast begins with a Yee Sang toss. The Yee Sang platter that we had (part of Dinner Menu B, RM2388 per table of 10 pax) comes with Tuna instead of the usual salmon. And if you opt for the more extravagant Dinner Menu C, the Yee Sang is served with abalone!
The rose shaped tuna, so beautiful and picture perfect.
How the Yee Sang looks after all the toppings have arranged on top, it has to be one of the nicest I have seen. Taste wise, it’s definitely a notch better than what I used to have, mainly because the ingredients are made up of actual real food instead of articially colored stuff.
The course continues with a Double-Boiled Chicken Soup with Fish Maw, Dried Scallop and Conch. The soup is as delicious as it gets with a good depth of flavor.
Next, Steamed Sea Grouper with Superior Soy Sauce prepared with grouper air-flown all the way from Sabah. It’s incredibly fresh and that what really matters when it comes to seafood. The best part of the fish has got to be the cheeks, the texture is almost like crab.
A familiar dish in any reunion dinner, the Braised Sea Cucumber with Broccoli and Mushrooms is also part of the set menu. No surprises here though, everything tasted great just as expected.
The Simmered Chicken in Bouillon is my favorite dish of the night. It may look like a normal poached chicken but you’d be surprised to know that the chicken used is actually imported from Hong Kong.
The breed is called 清远鸡 (Qing Yuan Chicken) and it’s named after the Guangdong city where it originated. After being simmered in a fragrant broth of scallops, the chicken is extra flavorful and tender.
Another dish I truly enjoyed was the Braised Pork Knuckle with Brown Sauce. After being slow-cooked for 2.5 hours, the meat is melt in your mouth soft (not exaggerating a bit) and takes on a rich savoriness. If I were 10 years younger I would have gladly walloped all that succulent skin as well.
Lastly, Lotus Leaf-Wrapped Fried Rice with Fresh Prawns and two desserts: Double Boiled Almond Tea with Glutinous Rice Balls and Deep Fried ‘Nian Gao’ with Yam.
The ‘Nian Gao’ was simply awesome and borderline addictive with a satisfying crunch that you can hear when biting into it. Just the perfect thing to end the dinner with.
For reservations and enquiries, please contact +603 2782 9033 between 11am and 7pm daily or email liyen@ritzcarlton.com.my. The CNY lunch and dinner sets will be available at the following dates and times:
January 27, Friday
Lunch: 12pm – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6pm – 10.30pm
January 28 – 30, Saturday to Monday
Lunch: 10.30am – 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.30pm – 10.30pm
