The Han Room, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur

Last week, Hubby treated me to a very nice lunch at The Han Room. It's Hubby's first visit here, but he was impressed with the food. I have been before when the restaurant newly opened last year (read review here). 

We came after lunch peak hours, so no problems getting a table. We did notice that the restaurant was still very busy (and this, on a weekday - looks like it's very popular with the office crowd). Food service was very quick, we didn't have to wait very long for our appetizers to arrive. 

Braised nuts (RM3) and Jasmine tea

I loved this dish on my previous visit, so I did not hesitate in ordering this again. The tangy flavours of the "Paku" vegetables with spicy sauce (RM8) certainly did its job in whetting our appetite. Even Hubby loved this!

And look what we found.. a heart-shaped onion ring ;)

We have heard some good things about the char siew here (BBQ pork), so we ordered a portion to try. The  portion looks a little small, but it was sufficient for two of us to share. We felt it was pretty good too, but not as good as Toast & Roast. Quite juicy, nicely caramelised but a bit on the lean side. We wanted to try the siew yoke too, but changed our mind because I ordered too much. LOL.

BBQ Char Siew (RM16)

I ordered the Deep Fried Chicken Wing with Glutinous Rice (RM9) from the "Special Chef's Recommendation's menu section. A bit expensive for a single chicken wing, which is literally just a wing stuffed with glutinous rice. Crispy, but nothing special.

This very simple noodle dish which Hubby ordered turned out to be one of the best things we ate here. The braised egg noodle village style (RM24) had all the right ingredients needed for a great dish - good texture and good flavours. If I'm not mistaken, there wasn't even any meat in there but the stock, mushrooms, beancurd, greens and smooth noodles was enough to make this a winner. Would definitely reorder this again.

The garlic fried rice topped with foie gras (RM25) has been on my to-try list, am glad that I got to try it out this time. The fried rice is simple but fragrant, and the foie was nice and rich.

They have a really huge menu here, still loads that I would love to return and try.

Verdict: Very tasty Chinese food, and fast service. 

Full set of photos can be viewed on my Facebook page here.

Opening times: Mon - Fri 11.00am - 11.00pm; Sat, Sun and Public Hols 10.30am - 11.00pm.

Service: Efficient.

Price: Total bill RM104.

Location: The Han Room, Lot G243, G246 & G247, Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2284 8833

Website: http://www.orientalrestaurants.com.my

I cooked: Steamed Prawns with Shaoxing wine and Egg White

For us, one of the nicest ways to enjoy fresh prawns is to simply steam them with just a little Chinese Shaoxing wine. This way, we can enjoy the natural sweetness of the prawns.

This is a very light and healthy tasting dish, in Chinese we call it "清" (ching) since not much oil is used in the preparation of this dish. To prevent the prawns from curling during steaming, you can skewer each prawn on the underside with a bamboo stick or small toothpick. However, I skipped this step since I used a small heatproof dish which fitted the prawns nicely (compact so it didn't curl).

Usually most of the prawn dishes that I cook uses peeled prawns for ease of eating,but this is definitely one prawn dish worth getting your hands dirty for!

Sweet, fresh and juicy prawns

Chinese steamed prawns with Shaoxing wine and egg white
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Serves 3-4

Ingredients
12-13 prawns, trimmed, with shell on, and head and tail intact
1 inch old ginger, julienned
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg white
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2-3 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

1/2 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp cooking oil
Spring onion, to garnish


1. Wash prawns and pat dry. Using a sharp knife, score the back of the prawn to expose the flesh.

2. Pour egg white into a heatproof dish (I used a 23cm round dish). Arrange the prawns on top of the egg white, and sprinkle the julienned ginger and salt on top. Pour over the Shaoxing wine and sesame oil evenly and leave to marinate for 10-15 minutes.

3. In a frying pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the shallot and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Add shallot and garlic to the prawns (do not add the oil).

4. In a steamer over high heat, steam the prawns for 5 minutes or until cooked. Do not overcook the prawns or texture will become hard and rubbery. Garnish with spring onion and serve immediately.

*This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel's FB page on 1 October 2012.

Full set of photos can be viewed on my Facebook page here.