The Grand Palace Restaurant, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur: Launch of Imbi Palace Group Rebranding

A New Milestone on the Imbi Palace Restaurant Journey!

It all started in 2003 by KMN Mr. Lum Tuck Loy, Yap Yook Wah, renowned HK chef Mr. Chin Hon Yin, a few other partners, their executive chef Jason Tong and their General Manager Annie Chang. The masters behind the Cantonese inspired group of restaurants took a risk and it paid off. Imbi Palace Restaurant was born and the Chinese restaurant took a long journey down the culinary route to serve guests with a wide range of 'live' seafood, HK dim sum and barbeque, Lanzhou 'la mien' and Cantonese porridge and noodles.

After almost a decade of humble servings, the Imbi Palace Restaurant is proud to launch a rebranding of their Chinese Palace restaurants under The Imbi Palace Group of Restaurant. The auspicious evening was held at The Grand Palace Restaurant at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. The Imbi Palace Group of restaurants played host to over 140 honorary guests, media and bloggers to share the new milestone. An evening to remember, guests were treated to a series of classic and new dishes with a lavish touch!

The Grand Palace Restaurant represented grandeur of the best among the Imbi Palace Group of Restaurants. In themed of sheer opulence, the restaurant exuded charm and class at first glance. Magnificent chandeliers graced the high ceiling while panels of art compliment the whole ambience. Pristine table settings shine among the mix of dark wood and cream furniture took the Palace name to its peak. As time continues to modernize the culinary scene, the restaurant has setup a whole room filled with wines from everywhere. Guests are able to pair Chinese cuisine with touches of Western wines and Chinese wines as well.

The stage was set to impress and impressed us was what it did! A huge luxurious mountain of South Africa Abalone was enough to make anyone drool at sight. It would seem that The Imbi Palace Group of Restaurant went all out and showcased their lavish menu in all its glory thus leading a truly exciting dinner to come as everyone set their sight on the precious molluscs…

Kicking off the evening was a speech by Mr. Lum TL. “Earlier this year, we closed down our outlet on Jalan Imbi to make way for the development projects in the city. This was our first outlet, the place where it all started, and we were leaving. Imbi Palace Restaurant would be gone forever. This is why, after some thought we decided to change our company name to the Imbi Palace Group.” said Mr. Lum during his speech.

Mr. Lum mentioned that the Imbi Palace Restaurant history and heritage will continue to live on in the company name. With the new name, a new logo now represents the restaurants. As with the previous logo, the corporate colour is Gold. Gold represents the gold standards adhere to in the food, in terms of taste and quality and service excellence. The Chinese calligraphy stroke in the new logo stands for culture, tradition and art.

Double Boiled Top Shell Soup with Cordycep Flowers and Fish Maw

The Chinese culinary journey was fired up with a traditional favorite in every Cantonese meal, soup. A glorious one with pure comfort and health benefit in mind, the double boiled soup opened up our appetites with much consolation. Cordycep flowers or Cordycep Militaris, a medicinal herb, is actually a cultured fungus with similar medicinal health benefits as the renowned Cordycep Sinensis. Although said to not be at par as the latter herb, it is easily more affordable and is highly prized these days for health benefits. Neutral in nature, this medicinal herb is said to relieve insomnia, strengthen lungs, aid kidney functions and even boost anti-aging properties.

The deep rich amber broth is pumped up with an abundance of ingredients from pork, chicken, a type of clam together with the Cordycep flowers and fresh fish maw. Surprisingly not overly heavy but a clean and light taste filled the palate with grace. What a satisfying way to start a meal!

A dish that has stand up to a testament of time and is always much welcome in any Chinese dinner is the sumptuous Peking Duck! Showing off the gorgeous lacquered duck was Chef Kent Lau, the sifu behind the roast kitchen.

Peking Duck

Looked at how evenly lacquered the whole duck skin was!

Cameras rolled while flashes went off wildly to capture this moment of culinary extraordinaire as Chef Kent proceeded to slice the duck skin in a gentle manner.

I was happy enough to have an affair with the crispy skin coupled with pancakes, scallion, cucumber and Hoisin sauce. Subtle floury pancake allowed the flavors of the crispy duck skin to shine beautifully. The combination was heavenly, almost too good to be real. Simply a Must-Order!

In every professional kitchen, chefs are always tasked in certain skills for certain dishes. Prior to our next course, we captured another chef busy working on some pan-searing action on our third course. Executing the dish to a tee, the chunks of seared scallops had our salivary glands overworking!

Pan Seared Stuffed Fresh Scallop

A masterpiece and much raved by everyone, the Canadian scallop was stuffed with Banana Prawns from the waters of Australia. This global seafood escapade was tingling sweet in flavors and slightly crunchy in textures. A word of advice in this dish, one piece is Certainly Not Enough!

Crispy Boneless Chicken Stuffed with Truffle Oil and Mushrooms

This chook arrived proudly with its head held high… lol…

The ingredients are as complicated as its name. A whole bird is stuffed with earthy treasures of mushrooms and roasted to golden perfection. Tender, aromatic, juicy and moreish, the combination proved to be truly creative with hints of Western influence. As good as it was, I simply still prefer the fabulous Peking Duck.

In today’s culinary scene, chefs are borderless. Executive Chef Jason Tong has gone beyond the borders of Chinese cuisine with his next dish of whole ribs!

Grilled Spanish Pork Spare Ribs

Wait a minute… Spanish? Yes, the fifth dish of the night was inspired by flavors of Spain. Whole rack of spare ribs proved that we maybe once a caveman of the past but we could never relinquish the sensation of attacking the carnivorous dish with cavemen tactics! Unashamed, we chucked away the cutlery and dived right in.

Deep marinade of spices and lots of herbs enriched the ribs beautifully. It’s juicy and aromatic, totally pleasing the savory palate to its max. A simple side salad with sesame dressing was delightful with the ribs. A dish that crosses borders, it opened up a whole new level of flavors at a Palace restaurant!

Braised South Africa Dried Abalone

The moment everyone has been waiting for… the pièce de résistance!

It was not always highly prized but today it is. Chef Jason has painstakingly braised the precious molluscs for over 10 hours. The result is a tender and yet firm abalone drowned in a pool of rich luscious brown gravy. A side of braised Napa cabbage lent a sweet finish to the abalone. I felt truly pampered!

The 33g abalone is now available at a promotional price of RM88 instead of its RM168. T&C applies.

The Art of Dao Xiao Mian

Dao Xiao Mian, a noodle close to my heart ever since I discovered this during my college days in Chinatown, America. A peculiar shaped noodle, made by a specific cutting tool, may looked as easy as ABC but required much practice in the art of cutting Dao Xiao Mian. We were treated to a skillful outlook from the Dao Xiao Mian master, standing quite a small distance from the boiling pot of water, deftly cutting the noodles in its signature strands while gently flying into the pot.

Lan Zhou Style Dao Xiao Mian

This dish brought back memories when I first savor it. A home style dish at heart, the dish comprised of many ingredients. Fresh greens, pickled greens, cabbage, potato, tomato, Shimeji mushrooms, pork belly and more, the flavors are savory with a little sour, a little piquant and a hint of chili. I am ecstatic… as I now know where to get my Dao Xiao Mian fixed!

The noodles have a thicker center with both sides being thinner, allowing the noodles to look a little frilly. With a firm texture, it has a good bite when cooked perfectly.

The Art of Hand-Pulled Noodles

Another popular noodle art, this one also requires much skill and practice! More commonly available now, it is still a sight to behold as the chef worked at the art with much strength and pace. Although I have seen this many times, I am still intrigued by the magic of hand pulling the dough into thin strands of noodles!

Fried La Mian with Shredded Duck and Vegetables

Gloriously aromatic from the supreme soy sauce, the La Mian is truly delicious as one slurped it up. Good bite of firmness in the noodles coupled with the shredded duck and crunchy vegetables, the noodles had a good balance of savory and sweet flavors.

Coconut Pudding

What a refreshing dessert! Sweet coconut pudding was awesome with every spoonful…

Homemade Ping Pei Mooncakes

Ending authentically, we savored Ping Pei Mooncakes from the restaurant. Soft, sweet and creamy with a salty touch… we even got one to take home!

There are currently four outlets in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. A brand new fifth outlet would be joining the group in Setia City, Shah Alam soon. The fifth restaurant would be the largest one in the group, catering to over a staggering 250 tables for banquets.

Although the initial Imbi Palace restaurant is now gone, a brand new group arises like a phoenix! The new Imbi Palace Group of Restaurants is definitely here to stay and that night has proven it clearly. The new rebranding symbolized more exciting things to come. Dishes comprises of classics and modern influences, catering to the demands of today’s gastronomic connoisseurs.

The Grand Palace Restaurant @ Pavilion
Lot 6.39.00, Level 6, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2143 1128   

Fax: 03-2143 9393

Business Hours:

Mon - Sat: 11:30am - 10.30pm
Sunday & Public Holiday 10:00am - 10:30pm

Website: http://www.palacegroup.com.my/index.php

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImbiPalaceGroup

Other outlets are Mutiara Palace Restaurant (Mutiara Damansara), The Klang Palace Restaurant (Centro Mall, Klang) and The Jaya Palace Restaurant (Menara LYL, Petaling Jaya). More details available at website and Facebook.