Chinese Barbeque with a Twist!
When one mentions Chinese barbeque or roast, one immediately thinks of Roast Chicken, Roast Dock, Roast Pork and Char Siew. Here at Eastin Hotel Petaling Jaya at their Ee Chinese Cuisine, barbeque is more than the norm. For the whole month of December, foodies are treated to Chef Yong Kam Wah’s barbeque signatures of roast meats and a little more!
I too had the same thinking, expecting the usual roast meats that night. So when the menu was presented, I was astonished and delighted to see lovely unique dishes that had me salivate even before the meal started. Yes, the usual roast meat is served but foodies should definitely check out Chef Yong’s twist on barbeque signatures.
Jumping right in, the barbeque escapade took off with a rendition of the infamous Peking Duck. Cleverly twisted, Chef Yong’s version was a Smoked Duck & Crispy Bean Curd Wrapped with Egg Pastry. It had all the similiarity of the original dish of duck, cucumber and scallion served with hoisin sauce but vamped up with smoked duck and crispy bean curd skin for different textures.
The classic dish is famous for its crispy duck skin but here it is substituted with the crispy bean curd while the smoked duck had a lovely heavy smoky edge to the appetizer. By using egg pastry, there is also a hint of egg flavors. A little drizzle of hoisin makes the appetizer even sweeter. I could easily down a few of these…
The next course of BBQ Rolls with Fresh Scallop and Prawn impressed me with its saucy flavors! A big piece of fresh sweet scallop, a succulent prawn, an earthy Shitake mushroom and crunchy bell pepper is held together on a lemongrass skewer. After being grilled till just cooked, the gorgeous seafood skewer is drenched in an unctuous creamy Mongolian sauce. Flavors are utterly divine with a little hint of peppery and creamy notes. I like the creamy sauce so much, I wanted to lap up the whole plate just to pay full tribute to the sauce!
This soup is no stranger to my taste. In fact, the several times we had it here, there is always a sense of being mollycoddle by its flavors and warmness. Double Boiled Shark Bone Soup with Fish Maw is a house signature and will always remain a top favorite of mine. Boiled and reduced for hours, the essence and collagen of the shark bone has literally tainted the broth in a very delicious manner. Pure thick and sticky sensation bonded to our lips in an opulence manner. It really didn’t matter what other ingredients it had in the soup because I was just happy to be savoring the milky broth alone.
This soup must be savored piping hot else the broth will congeal upon cool temperature due to its high content of collagen. Utterly good for my skin and my soul if you ask me…
When I saw Oven Baked Spare Rib in Tong Kwai Sauce, I snickered to myself in pleasure. The spare rib exuded a sight so pleasurable, I kept taking loads of photos to capture its glory. Well marinated, the ribs are baked for 20 minutes, rendering a deep amber color tainted with edges of caramelized bits. I can taste the aroma and flavor of Tong Kwai or Angelica Sinensis, a root renowned for its medicinal properties. Sweet, savory and a slight bitter note from the herb made the rib superbly mouthwatering in every bite.
The cut of the rib had awesome layers of fat and lean meat, making the ribs juicy and extremely flavorful. This cut resembled the belly cut but it had a rib bone which makes the rib succulent in flavors. The meat is tender but still had a good bite to it. I need a whole rack of these ribs please…
When this dish arrived, we literally drooled at the sinful aroma teasing our senses into frenzy! Taking inspiration from the West, we were treated to a Chinese twist on Oven Baked Lamb Cutlet with Chef’s Special Sauce.
Simply baked to medium well, the lamb is so tender and moist. The rough blacken edges are just glorious on my taste bud. Dressed with ‘Mak Chap’ of Chef Yong’s secret sauce and a spicy green chili sauce, it was just an orchestra of flavors. That little mount of spicy green chili sauce packed quite a punch. With or without it, the lamb cutlet is still scrumptious with a sweet and savory note. The dish takes barbeque to new heights for Chinese cuisine.
Chef Yong really outdoes himself in Stewed Noodles with Roasted Sausage! Extraordinarily unique in terms of creativity and pairing of ingredients, the Japanese thin Somen noodles sit on a bed of lightly steamed soft egg custard and crowned with wine roasted sausages.
Soft noodles, soft wobbly egg custard and deep robust wine sausages meld beautifully like a perfect symphony. As I spooned into the custard, I was welcomed by a light and delicate clear consommé with an aromatic hint of fried shallot and spring onions. Slurping up the noodles, it was so comforting and welcoming. The pièce de résistance was the potent flavors of the wine sausages with soft nuances of the sweet meat filling. Some creations are just geniuses that turns classic and here is hoping this one will!
The night has to come to an end sooner or later and we finished it off gracefully with Doubled Boiled Snow Fungus with American Figs and Sweet Duet.
The sweet hot dessert was light and not overly sweet. I never tasted figs in a Chinese dessert so I really was surprised how lovely it was in flavors and textures. The bits of snow fungus were also really lovely as it had a similar texture to aloe vera. Never a fan of Chinese sweet dessert soups, I certainly don’t mind having another one of this!
Sweet Duet is actually a savory pastry encasing minced meat with scallions. Chef Yong wanted to show off a contrast of a savory and sweet dessert for the finale. The flaky pastry with the savory filling is pretty decent but to me, it tasted like it belongs to the appetizer rather than dessert.
As always, Ee Chinese Cuisine aimed to please and it always does! As mentioned earlier, the regular roast meats are also available in addition to the above signatures of Chef Yong. Do head over to Ee Chinese Cuisine for a taste as it is only available till end of December this year!
For reservations, please call Ee Chinese Cuisine at +603 7628 7338 for more details.
*My previous visits to Ee Chinese Cuisine here, here and here.
EE CHINESE CUISINE
Eastin Hotel Petaling Jaya
13, Jalan 16/11, Pusat Dagang Seksyen 16,
46350 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: +603 7665 1111; Fax: +603 7665 9999
