Cheng Ho Court, Mines Wellness Hotel: Innovative and Healthy Cantonese Cuisine

When tradition and creativity combines, a modern gastronomic cuisine is born… Cheng Ho Court may not be known to many but here lies a hidden gem of a restaurant serving glorious innovative Cantonese cuisine!

Mines Wellness Hotel, a gorgeous resort with its own private beach located in the midst of Kuala Lumpur, was certainly a surprising find for me! Who would have known that here lays a bewitching resort set beside a shimmering 150-acre lake with a sand-bedded swimming lagoon of sky blue horizon and an azure lake? The hotel focused on a wellness approach with a wellness spa, health qigong, Ayurveda and even a recuperation centre all in the vicinity of the resort.

I have a fascination with chandeliers and this one certainly caught my attention. Creative and back-to-basic idea, the multiple lamp shades are designed to an impressive chandelier!

In here, Cheng Ho Court rules the Chinese cuisine featuring Chef Chin Hock Seng, the mastermind chef with more than 27 years of experience behind the healthy Cantonese cuisine in theme with the hotel. The restaurant uses produce fresh from the hotel’s organic garden which guarantees freshness and organic ingredients for better wellness for its customers!

First step into Cheng Ho brings me back to the Chinese era of tradition with its décor and ambience of red, gold and Chinese art motifs.

Even the menu signifies tradition and lives to tell the story of the 14 year old restaurant serving innovative Cantonese cuisine for many of its customers through out the years.

Soup is a crucial element in Cantonese cuisine and here at Cheng Ho, one can enjoy a sumptuous Double Boiled Baby Winter Melon Soup with Eight Treasures. These baby melons are adorable and I found the eight treasures of sea cucumber, dried scallop, fish maw, bamboo pith, ‘Lu Er’ (a type dried mushroom), red dates, wolfberries and lily bulb gently uniting the soup with bursting flavors. I also scooped out the soft winter melon flesh as it was so soothing and gentle. This is a must to savor here as it was perfectly executed with precise flavors and oh-so-good for the soul! (I could go on and on but you should try this for yourself to understand how I feel about this soup… J)

Chef’s signature Baked Cod Fish with Cheese and Coconut Cream represented the chef’s modern twist on the cuisine. Thick cut of cod was ultra smooth and coated with a luscious cheese and coconut cream sauce that was not too cloying. In fact, the sauce enhances the flaky cod fish very well… yum!

Fried Prawns with Butter Sauce and Egg Flossy was indeed a golden sight. Huge prawn balls with fluffy golden egg strands were divine and simply irresistible.

Can I have more of this please… like this mountain of golden crustaceans? (wink wink!)

The mix of textures in Deep Fried Golden Mushroom with Fresh Scallop and Shimaji in Broccoli was novel and refreshing. There was just something about the combination that I like and although the flavors were light, it was a true showcase of how refine Cantonese cuisine is.

Plump and fresh scallops were so succulent while the deep fried golden mushrooms were light and crisp with no trace of oil. Truly a skilled chef’s work of art.

Everyone loved the presentation of this dish of Stir Fried Kai Lan with Ham, Black Mushroom and Shredded Leaves. We also thought it would be bland but one taste proved us otherwise. The mixtures of vegetables were sensational! Crunch, lightness, flavorful and most of all, extremely healthy represented this dish.  

Stir Fried Venison ‘Hakka’ Style was another adorable dish served in a pretty crispy cup. Crisp iceberg lettuce curtained the juicy venison adored with bits of chopped vegetables and pine nuts.

Chef Chin definitely loves to play with textures in his dishes and this was no difference. The dish could use more of that delicious venison pieces but that’s just because I love my meats… J

What’s a meal without oodles of noodles! Black Pepper Udon Noodle with Venison hits the spot for me. Full of peppery aroma and slippery chewy udon noodles were indeed thumbs up as it has been a long time since I had this dish prepared that well. I could eat this alone and be happily satisfied!! (Did I also mention it was filled with that juicy venison meat?)

Our lovely meal was finished off with a simple Chiller Green Tea Pudding. Puddings are awesome especially ones that are perfectly smooth and creamy with a wobbly jello texture. One can taste the light hint of green tea beneath, ending our meal with lightness and satiation.

As we all raved about the pudding, we were then told that the chef does a mean Durian Pudding!! Out came the puddings and our dear foodies were vying for this king of fruit pudding with a layer of just pure durian flesh. I happily rejected this as by now, readers should know how much I abhor this fruit. :P

Although I had many courses in the meal, I did not feel overwhelmed or stuffed as all the dishes had lightness towards it with the chef’s focus on healthy eating. Freshness is obviously the star here and coupled with Chef Chin’s experience, one can enjoy a true wellness meal here at Cheng Ho Court . This is a great place to bring families with elders or even younger ones who love healthy eating in a classy old school ambience. I was told that the chef also has many vegetarian dishes under his repertoire!

Psst… Do you know that you can submit pictures of the hotel to win a night’s stay at Mines Wellness Hotel? Check out their facebook for this on-going year round photography competition each month for more details! I m submitting the first picture above!! (Thks to Yvonne for giving me pointers on how to take night scenes...wish me luck… J)

Cheng Ho Court

Mines Wellness Hotel
Jalan Dulang, MINES Resort City,
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
Tel: 03-8943 6688
Website: www.mineswellnesshotel.com.my

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/MinesWellnessHotel
 

* Thanks to Mines Wellness Hotel team and BBO for the gracious invite!