CNY 2013: Lai Ching Yuen, Grand Millennium Hotel KL

Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival is the most important festival on the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year cycle and each year relates to an animal in the Chinese Zodiac. Year 4711, the year beginning February 10, 2013, is the Year of the Black Water Snake. Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means your family will not starve.

Lai Ching Yuen in Grand Millennium Hotel KL have come up with several auspicious menus which include traditional favourite Cantonese dishes. Set menu at Lai Ching Yuen starts from RM 1,388.00++ for a table of ten persons. We were invited there last week to sample some of their CNY special dishes such as deep fried pork knuckle, roasted mini duck  and steamed squash with dried scallop .

We started off with the obligatory CNY toss, with the Yee Sang with Pearl Scallop and Mango (RM98 for half portion, RM188 for full portion). The scallop yee sang was very popular with the diners last year. This year, Master Chef Heng used smaller pearl scallops but still with the delicious strawberry sauce. He also topped it with sweet Thai mangoes.

Our first yee sang of 2013!

Pearl scallops

Final touches before we begin our toss

Tossing to good health, wealth and a good year :)

Next, we tried the roasted mini duck.. certainly a new dish to us. The chef explains that he uses ducklings, which are about 2 months old for this dish. The skin was very crisp and it tasted very similar to roasted suckling pig! This is a dish you wont mind getting your hands dirty for.

Cute wings

Prawns symbolise laughter for the new year, so you will often find this on CNY menus. The deep fried prawns was served with fresh grapes and mayonnaise sauce. We felt the grapes complemented the prawns pretty well, giving it a fresh zing.

Deep fried prawns with fresh grapes and mayonnaise sauce

Chef Heng explains that the steamed squash stuffed with pork/prawn paste and topped with dried scallops is a traditional Cantonese dish. Pretty similar to yong tau foo, this was served with spinach and a flavoursome gravy.

Steamed squash with dried scallops

The deep fried pork knuckle was delicious. The meat was tender and juicy, and I liked the appetizing Thai dipping sauce. This gets Hubby's vote for best dish of the night.

Sea cucumber is another popular ingredient during CNY as it translates to "happiness" (hoi sum). The braised sea cucumber was a tad overcooked for my liking, served with two types of mushrooms (mushroom means to strive for opportunities and longevity) and broccoli.

Braised sea cucumber with mushrooms and broccoli 

By now we were stuffed but the Chinese wax meat rice wrapped in lotus leaf was too good to say no to. It was fragrant, and the fact that the chef used normal rice grains instead of glutinous rice made it less starchy and filling.

The homemade nian gao was a beautiful hue, sandwiched between two pieces of taro. Nian Gao is a homonym for a higher and better year.

Pan fried homemade nian gao

Prices for CNY set menus from RM1388++ to RM2888++. For enquiries and reservations, please call Lai Ching Yuen at +60 3-2117 4180.


Non-halal.

Opening times: Lunch; Monday to Friday 12.00pm - 2.30pm, Sat & Sun 11.00am - 2.30pm. Dinner; 6.30pm - 10.30pm daily.

Location: Lai Ching Yuen, Grand Millennium Hotel, 160 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2117 4180

GPS Coordinates: 3.147694, 101.712338