Ti Chen Chinese Restaurant, The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur: Two Chefs & A Feast!

When Two Chefs Collide, A Great Feast Awaits!

Ti Chen, the Chinese Restaurant at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur is proud to introduce its two new chefs at the newly refurbished restaurant. The restaurant went through a gorgeous and elegant facelift and the addition of new scrumptious menu by Chef Lai Chong Seng and Dim Sum Chef Yau Kim Yew.

The restaurant now exudes an Oriental charm of a bold and brassy red and black theme throughout with traditional huge red lamps adoring it above. When dining in the daylight, one gets to enjoy a sumptuous meal with a backdrop of the gorgeous green golf course and blue skies. At night time, the whole restaurant turns into an elegant and classy ambience that pays tribute to gourmet connoisseurs.

Helmed by Chef Lai Chong Seng who brings 19 years of experience in various kitchens of the world, Chef Lai specializes in Cantonese and Szechuan cuisines After almost 8 very successful years of building his career in the northern states of Penang and Pahang, Lai packed his bags and headed to the northwest coast of Mahe Island, the largest island in Seychelles surrounded by crystal clear waters and lush greeneries. There, Lai worked as Chinese Chef at the Le Canton, a niche Chinese restaurant in the middle of Seychelles before joining the UAE with the Jumeirah Group LLC at The Noodle House as Chef De Cuisine. After the long stint overseas, Chef Lai finally returns to the Malaysian shores and is currently the Chinese Chef for Ti Chen of The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

His repertoire of signatures is classic Chinese cuisine intertwined with his vast knowledge, lending a refine and modern list of flavors and ingredients. We started off the list with an appetizer of Deep Fried Seafood Roll with Mango. A medley of prawn paste, sweet ripe mango and wobbly century egg are snuggly wrapped in wafer paper and deep fried till golden. The sweet and crispy roll is delightful, playing coyly with its pairing of ingredients.

We moved on to exuberant flavors of Steamed Cod with Ginger and Scallion Sauce. Cod fish is normally steamed with simple superior sauce but Chef Lai has skillfully topped his version with a green sauce which had us initially thinking it was pesto. The sauce is a gorgeous blend of ginger and scallion sauce with a lovely aroma of onions and hints of light ginger. Well controlled, it actually compliments the sweet flaky cod fish very well, bringing up wondrous flavors of onions and supreme soy sauce. A must order in my books!

If there is a dish to seek solace in, it would have to be Beancurd with Crab, Shimeji, Edamame and Pumpkin Sauce. House made bean curd is fried till golden and dressed in a sweet and creamy pumpkin sauce. Fresh sweet crab meat, Shimeiji mushroom and edamame complimented the dish with textures. Simply but satisfying!

Ti Chen Fried Rice was sufficient as filler with a surprisingly hint of salted egg and cubes of sweet scallops!

Dessert was a healthy Double Boiled Pear with Red Dates. Light and soothing, it warmed the soul while provided a cooling health factor to our bodies.

Chef Yau Kim Yee, an award-winning dim sum chef, is no stranger to the oriental culinary art of dim sum! The young chef has won numerous awards such as The World Golden Chef Competition 2010 -

Outstanding Gold Medalist for the Individual Category, The World Golden Chef Competition 2010

- Gold Medalist for the Team Category and The World Golden Chef Competition 2010 – Gold

Medalist for the Food Presentation category. He brings with him 12 years of experience in the art of dim sum where he churns out creative and beautiful morsels that touch the heart of many dim sum foodies.

I love Dim Sums! Especially delicious and creative ones! Chef Yau not only focuses on flavors and textures of his dim sum but stressed that it must be attractive since one feast on any dish at sight before actual consumption. Pork free dim sums require skills as other poultry does not provide the much renown texture in delicious dim sum. However, Chef Yau has cleverly managed to replicate the bouncy and juicy texture of all his dim sums using poultry and seafood with his skills.

First up, a glorious pretty beetroot infused Ti Chen Prawn Dumplings or Har Gow tasted as dainty as it looks! A clever way to pretty up the dumpling, Chef Yau also ensures that he uses natural ingredients to color up his creations. Juicy sweet whole prawns are much received with pleasure at taste!

Steamed Ebico Siew Mai proved that classics are the best! Executed with great textures and flavors, the additional beads of flying fish roes provided bits of popping sensation. I still can’t believe that this is made from chicken and prawn… kudos to the chef!

A pocketful of brunoise pumpkins gave a new twist to Steamed Pumpkin Dumpings with Prawns! The pumpkins enhanced the sweet and creamy flavors of the dumplings while also glamouring it up with lovely colors.

Steamed Noodle Dumpling with Prawns is a first for me. A painstaking reproduction of using strands of thin noodles to wrap up the juicy prawn paste is much appreciated. A gentle egg white sauce coated the dumplings to a silky finish while tiny bubbles of ebiko added a savory finish.

Another first for me, a health inspired creation of Steamed Custard Bun with Charcoal is set to change our mind of the normal dim sums. Using Japan charcoal powder, Chef Yau creates a much talk about affair with this black beauty. Peeking from the inside is a ray of sunshine in the form of custard contrasting beautifully in appearance to the Bao.

Fluffy, creamy and sweet summed up the stylish Bao!

The timeless rendition of Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken got much praised from everyone that day. Flavors of savory sweetness were spot on. The glutinous rice was also nicely steamed with just the right softness while the accompaniments were tender and juicy. Be warn… one may not be enough.

Moving off to the fried department, we savored a very delectable Deep Fried Bean Curd Roll with Cheese. Crispy and savory, the roll is fairly light with a little dab of creamy salad dressing. Great snacks!

I like Chef Yau’s boldness in his creations. He thinks out-of-the-box and is gutsy enough to dare the culinary industry with his creative renditions of dim sums. Another daring version of Baked Charcoal Min Egg Tarts will allure your sight with its contrasting black and yellow combination! Creamy and smooth custard is always much welcome while the slight hint of charcoal pastry is quite unique in flavors. I would have preferred the pastry to be a little thinner to make this perfect.

There is certainly lots of creativity brewing in the kitchen of Ti Chen. Both chefs are bold and adventurous in their skills, marking that gourmet connoisseurs are in for a treat at Ti Chen. Mark your way to Ti Chen for sumptuous Chinese cuisine and fine dim sums to experience the flavors of Chef Lai and Chef Yau!

For dining reservations, email dine@thesaujana.com or phone (+60 3) 7843 1234 ext. 6122 /

4717

TI CHEN CHINESE RESTAURANT

The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Saujana Resort,

Jalan Lapangan Terbang SAAS,

40150 Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +603-7840 5502

Website: www.thesaujanahotel.com