To those celebrating, wishing you all a Happy Chinese New Year and to everyone else, enjoy the long break :)
Recently, we got the chance to sample some innovative (fusion?) Chinese cuisine from Gu Yue Tien. And if you asked me to describe it in one word.... it would be awesome-rrific!!! It was definitely one of the most memorable Chinese meals we've had this year (and I could possibly stretch as far as saying ever!).
We looked around the restaurant and noticed that there were photographs of Chef/Owner Frankie Woo with famous celebrities such as Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh. There are several private and semi-private rooms on top of the main dining area.
Dragon fish yee sang
We started off with the customary yee sang. But wait, it's not just any yee sang. Instead of the traditional yee sang, the chef has created a refreshing Western salad from coral lettuce, pomelo, golden raisin, pear, pok chui, sesame seeds, raw salmon and a special strawberry sauce (made from local Cameron Highlands strawberries). And to top the salad, he uses dragon fish which adds a wonderful crunch to the dish as well as being symbolic to the Year of the Dragon. It was quite a light tasting yee sang, hence we found ourselves going for seconds and thirds.
Dragon fish yee sang (RM98++ for 10 pax)
Colorful and delicious
Here's what a dragon fish looks like! As thin as an ikan bilis and very long...
For those who do not take shark's fin, Gu Yue Tien has this thick, delicious seafood soup with crab roe. It is laden with prawn, crabmeat, scallop, tofu and squid.
The winning dish of the evening was most definitely the salt baked Spanish Iberico spare ribs. Totally mouthwatering, absolutely scrumptious and finger-licking-good! Yes, we licked our fingers (and bones) clean after we finished each rib. Best of all, the ribs all come with the "yuen kuat" (the white bit) which is my absolute favorite when eating ribs. Hubby went as far as calling this the best dish he's eaten this year! Let's see if it can hold its position for the next 11 months. A short note though that this is a salt baked dish so you will find a fair amount of salt stuck to the ribs, so perhaps not for those who has low tolerance of salt. But it really works for us!
The last time I ate halibut must have been in a Western restaurant in UK, where it's been pan fried or grilled. It was definitely a first for us to see halibut being steamed and served in a Chinese Restaurant. Chef Frankie has steamed it Hunan style (ie topped with chopped chilli, garlic and deep fried garlic). We were told that the halibut is imported from Greenland. The fish flesh was very fresh, smooth with a very clean taste. At first, we expected the fish to be super spicy as it was topped with quite a fair bit of chilli, but the amount of chilli was just right and complimented the fish very well! We really loved this and would recommend it to anyone wanting a simple steamed fish (done very well of cos!).
Steamed halibut Hunan style
Getting the special treatment from chef Frankie
Check out the chilli!
It was nice to get noodles for a change, as we're usually served rice for the last dish before dessert. The smooth noodles was served with a Szechuan Mapo Tofu sauce..... did I mention Mapo Tofu was one of my fav tofu dishes and I had to order it everytime I visited the local Chinese restaurant in Swansea?
Szechuan Mapo Tofu Soft Noodles
For dessert, we had the Vanilla Ice Cream with Seasonal Fruit and Almond Cream. Almond cream is one of those things which are acquired tastes, I don't usually like them but I did have a very nice one once at Gokuraku Ramen (almond jelly) and I found myself scrapping the glass clean here too. Guess I liked this one too eh? ;)
We ended on an auspicious note with the steamed niao gao rolled with salted coconut shreds.
Reunion and Chinese New Year menu for 10 persons start from RM758++ up to RM3999++. For smaller dining groups, you can go for the RM328++ set for 4 persons or RM128++ per person (min 2 persons). You can visit their website for full details of menu.
Verdict: The food here is most impressive, and Hubby is already planning a return visit here. Yay from me!
For full set of photos, click here to view.
Location: Restoran Gu Yue Tien, Lot B5-A, Chulan Square, 92 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2148 0808
Website: http://www.chulansquare.com
GPS Coordinates: 3.148808, 101.715814
*This is an invited review, i.e. complimentary.
gu yue tien has my full respect! i remember when chulan square opened, maybe nearly five years ago, there was a whole row full of eateries here. japanese, thai, vietnamese, indian, western ... and gu yue tien too. the other outlets attracted pretty healthy business initially, except for gu yue tien, strangely ... and now, it's become the longest-lasting survivor, and it's still going strong :D
ReplyDeleteHappy for them, since food is good. Hope they will be here for many more years to come.
Deletethe Salt Baked Spanish Iberico Spare Ribs look so awesome. And being yuen guat, I would be happily sitting there nibbling (and chewing) on it.
ReplyDeletedishes look interesting. dragon fish...seen it before but can't remember what it was called except it wasn't called dragon fish. perhaps its a direct translation from its chinese name.
In Chinese, it is called "hoi long yu" which literally translates to dragon fish. Though if you google it, you should look for pipe fish.
Deleteah..literally a direct translation. thus dragon fish:D
DeleteHehe, you're like my mom! She hates chinese almonds too! She says it smells like dead cockroaches...
ReplyDeleteHaha is that what dead cockroaches smell like? ;P
DeleteThirtto! (3 x ditto?) I also kurang suka Chinese almonds... :P
ReplyDeleteThen you also no like marzipan, I guess?
DeleteI love mapo tofu. And this one with noodles looks like my kind of dish! :)
ReplyDelete