Imperial Rama (MIGF Festival Menu) @ Genting Highlands Resort

For MIGF 2012, Imperial Rama of Highlands Hotel invites you for a scrumptious feast of sea and land in a festival menu designed by Chef Eric Lee. His culinary creations are a harmonic confluence of Thai and Chinese cuisines, using the best of both worlds to deliver top notch dishes that keep guests returning time after time.

The meal starts with the Lobster Combination Salad (龙虾柚子沙拉伴宝柠焗龙原), an appetizer fit for a king as a whole Boston Lobster is used to prepare this masterpiece. When designing the festival menu, Chef Eric stayed true to his cooking philosophy by letting the diners experience different styles and flavors in a single dish, giving them the bang for the buck.

Sweet, delicate meat from the lobster claw is used for the lobster salad, a light and refreshing treat with interesting textures from the crunchy fish roe and diced fruits.

What is left of the lobster is the succulent flesh of the tail, which is sautéed until firm then served on a bed of asparagus and wild mushroom slice. A mixture of soya, Teriyaki, lemon juice and Thai chili sauce make up for the Chef’s special sauce, providing a savory flavor with a hint of spiciness that tastes nothing short of delicious.

The soothing Double-boiled Guinea Fowl with Chinese Herbs Soup (石斛珍珠鸡生津养颜汤) has an impressive list of ingredients such as guinea fowl (珍珠鸡) Dendrobium (石斛), scallop, deer tendon (鹿筋) and wild bamboo fungus (竹笙), just to name a few. Locally known as ‘Pearl Chicken’, guinea fowl has a fine flavor similar to chicken but slightly gamey. It is well known for its rich vitamin, high protein and low cholesterol which makes its meat highly sought-after.

Among all herbs used in this soup, Dendrobium (at the center of the soup, resembles dried flowers) is the most expensive of all and it could fetch a price as high as RM2k a kg. This excellent herb, which has a subtle sweetness, is actually a variety of Chinese orchid widely used to detox the body and relieve fever symptoms. And even though this soup is intended to be healthy, flavor is not sacrificed one bit.

The Baked Sturgeon Fish with Crispy Duck Roll (惠式焗鲟鱼伴大良脆鸭卷) is another testament to Chef Eric’s ability to conjure dishes with distinctively different styles, textures and flavors, yet they complement each other in a perfect unity.

Sturgeons are highly coveted in the West for their roe which is processed into caviar. Here, the filleted flesh is marinated in a thick Teriyaki sauce to perk up its mild and delicate flavor and baked to perfection. Then it is placed on a bed of steamed rice rolls topped with spicy shrimp paste. Next to the fish are three pieces of crispy rolls containing smoked duck and vegetables, lightly drizzled with appetizing Thai chili sauce at the side.

After a strong flavored main course, the light and creamy Avocado and Cold Bird’s Nest in Pear (金露宴贡梨) serves as a refreshing end to the satisfying meal. The silky smooth pumpkin puree has an inviting pandan aroma, rich tasting but not overly sweet.

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