Grand Launch of Five Sen5es, The Westin Kuala Lumpur

Last week, we were invited to the Grand Launch of Five Sen5es, the new Chinese restaurant in The Westin Kuala Lumpur.  We have previously dined here when it was still known as EEST. At that time, they served a variety of Pan-Asian cuisine, including Chinese, Japanese etc. 

Awaken your five senses..

The new Five Sen5es serves authentic Cantonese cuisine with a Szechuan influence, including signature dishes from the best known cuisines in China such as charcoal roasted whole suckling pig served on pancakes with barbecue sauce, Australian southern rock lobster steamed with XO Shao Xing wine, and authentic Peking duck. 

During the Grand Launch, five different rooms were set up to allow guests to immerse themselves in Five Sen5es' sensory signatures, using sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. It was fun and interactive, and we got to learn a little about what went into the preparation of the dishes and of course, taste them too.

A magnificent sight...

The Sense of Sight

The famous authentic traditional Peking duck in two series

Chefs slicing the Peking duck skin to make some pancake wraps for us. 

Sizzle sizzle.. 

The Sense of Hearing

Hear it sizzle as the chefs prepare them on a hot pan

Pan seared stuffed prawn with enoki mushrooms in honey maki jus 

A whiff of truffle scent..

The Sense of Smell

One of my favorite ones was the sense of smell, we walked into the room and was instantly greeted by the familiar smell of truffle oil.

Wok-fried seafood silken egg mousse, crispy creme brulee, truffle oil scent 

A cooling sensation..

The sense of touch

This was really cool - the crispy black fungus and pork layers, with "zi kong" chilli vinegar oil dressing was served in a teapot filled with dry ice. 

The pork layers itself was frozen... makes my tongue tingle!

Szechuan spiced hot pepper wanton

Close your eyes and taste..

The Sense of Taste

We were asked to put on blindfolds at this station, before being led into the room to taste the sensory dish. I thought it was chicken broth but turned out it was Imperial Double Boiled Morel Broth with Australian Scallop Dumpling. (I should have peeked at the sign outside the door before I went in ;P)

Crispy hand wrapped king crab roe dumpling

Signature cocktails

Koi fish

There was also a Chinese calligraphy demonstration. We got one each for our kids. 

Here's Baby D's name in Chinese :P

Lion dance to grace the launch of Five Sen5es

Live lobster

After a short speech by the Hotel GM, we were invited to sample a 6-course Chinese dinner. The most interesting dish was the "Dan dan" noodles - it was fascinating watching the chef prepare it in the open kitchen. I've even taken a video here to share with you all - oh the skills!

Custom wine glasses

Open kitchen

I also had the pleasure of meeting one of my readers at the launch. To Junnie, if you are reading this, thanks for coming up to me to say HI :)

Watch the making of "dan dan" noodles here..

Full set of photos available to view here. 


Opening times: Lunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm, Dinner: 5.30pm to 10.30pm

Click here to see a la carte menu and dim sum menu. Weekday dim sum buffet is priced at RM48++ and weekend dim buffet at RM68++. For Starwood Privilege, only 20% flat discount is applicable.

Non-halal.

Location: Five Sen5es, Level 1, The Westin Kuala Lumpur, 199 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03- 2731 8333

GPS Coordinates: 3.14779, 101.714569

Recipe: Igor Macchia's salmon roll with leek and tomato sauce

Here's another recipe from Chef Igor Macchia's cooking class at Mandarin Oriental KL. I think this is a great dish to make for dinner parties. You can make the salmon roll in advance, then freeze it and pop it in the oven when your guests arrive.

When I took my first bite of this dish, it reminded me a little of salmon en croute, except that this salmon roll is coated with mashed potato rather than puff pastry.

Salmon roll with spinach and potato, served with a leek and tomato sauce
Serves 4

For the salmon roll
320g fresh salmon fillet
100g instant mash potato
100g fresh spinach
50g eggs
20g flour
100g bread crumbs

Leek and tomato sauce
200g fish stock
100g tomato concasse
100g leeks, julienned
5g salt
2g pepper
10g olive oil

For the salmon roll:
1. Cut the salmon fillet into rectangular shape 8 x 3cm. Place cling film on work surface and then arrange boiled spinach (approx 8cm too) on the cling film, then place the salmon on top of the spinach. Roll and wrap the salmon with the spinach and keep it cool.

2. Prepare a thick mash potato to wrap the salmon fillet. Apply a layer of mash potato on the cling film  enough to cover the salmon roll (adjust the thickness of the mash depending on whether you wanna taste more salmon or mash in this dish). With the aid of the cling film, roll the mash potato so that it coats the spinach-salmon fillet.

3. Sprinkle some water on the work surface. This will help you roll it into a "sausage". Make sure it is tight and then freeze for at least 12 hours.

4. Pass the frozen salmon roll in flour, eggs and breadcrumb. Deep fry until golden brown, then finish the cooking process in the 160C oven (this will determine how cooked the salmon will be - my guess would be around 6-7 minutes)

For the leek tomato sauce:
1. Heat olive oil in pan, add leeks and cook until soft. Add tomato concasse, season with salt and pepper. Finish the sauce with a dash of extra virgin olive oil.

Plating:
1. Cut the cooked salmon roll into two (in an angle).
2. Place the tomato leek sauce on the plate (preferably a deep pasta or soup plate).
3. Arrange the salmon on top of the sauce.
4. Finish with olive oil and fresh garden cress or herbs.

Please click here to read more about the cooking class.