Halal Dim Sum and Chinese Cuisine In
The Heart of The City
Located
in one of the most populated area in our metropolitan city is Sogo KL, a mall where I often hangout
so much during my college years. Though I haven’t been back in a while, the
mall looks great today due to its well-maintained structure and interior.
Stepping into Sogo brought back quite a few memories, happy ones of course.
Sogo KL is filled with floors of food and
beverage but I was here to seek out Siang
Seafood Restaurant, located on level 6 of the mall. Siang Seafood Restaurant is wholly owned by Sogo (KL) Department
Store Sdn, Bhd. Siang is one of the few restaurants that offer prok free Chinese
cuisine in the city. The restaurant offers a luscious spread of pork free dim sum
and Chinese dishes in their menu set with affordable price to cater to the market
in that area.
The
restaurant is set with a modern and elegant interpretation of a Chinese
ambience. Boldly dressed in lots of red, gold and cream, the whole restaurant
is beautifully spacious and has a seating capacity of 250 with four private
rooms. Bamboo leave motifs are strategically painted all over the restaurant to
remind us of its Chinese heritage. Table settings are elegant, echoing the
elegance of Chinese banquet ambience. Splashes of red hues from flowers gave
the restaurant more vibrant notes and colors. The whole ambience is beautifully
bright and yet invitingly elegant.
Our
evening took off with a spread of Siang’s signature dim sum that is a sure
crowd pleaser. Steamed dumplings are the quintessential must-have at every dim
sum meal and they are usually the benchmark to how good a dim sum place is. We
had several that evening which includes Beijing
Dumpling, Crystal Dumpling, Siu Mai and Three Flavour Shanghai Dumpling.
The
Siu Mai and Crystal Dumplings will always be the most ordered dim sum. Both
dumplings here were plump, juicy, well-seasoned and has a good firm bouncy
texture. The Dim Sum Chef has cleverly used chicken and seafood to make up the
flavours and textures well that diners may not even realize that these are pork free. The Crystal Dumpling had a lovely thin translucent skin to show off it
shadow of its filling. Both dumplings are topped off with bright fish roes for
presentation and texture.
The
Three Flavour Shanghai Dumpling is
pretty unique, a special rendition of the famous Xiao Long Bao. This version has an Original Xiao Long Bao, a Angelica
Flavour with Charcoal Skin and a Si
Chuan Flavour with Pandan Skin all in an order. The dumplings all shared
the soupy trademark with a soft and delicious filling. Though the classic is
good, I must say that both the other flavours are also yummy. The gentle and
really subtle angelica bitter note enhanced the flavours of the chicken filling
while the lightly spicy Si Chuan peppery heat gives the dumpling another depth
of flavours. I like all 3 dumplings as they all have their own unique flavours.
Beijing Dumpling showcase dumplings served with a
spicy chili oil concoction that reminded me of Si Chuan cuisine. The sauce also
has dried shrimp so it’s very moreish and tasty. This one is a great kicker as the
spiciness whet the appetite.
We
also tried a fried dim sum of Cheese
Ball, crispy seafood paste coated with cubed bread and stuffed with cheese.
It’s crispy and has a lovely sweetness of seafood. The addition of cheese is a
brilliant idea to jazz this dim sum up.
After
our dim sum, we moved on to the regular Chinese dishes. Siang has a great mix
of classic dishes served with a modern touch. Our Siang Trio Platter came beautifully presented in a modern
presentation of appetizer platter. It consisted of Scallop Watermelon , Crispy Squid Ball and Salted Egg Yolk with Prawn with Carrot Cake.
The
Scallop Watermelon is a brilliant
combination of cubed scallop lightly poached with bits of cubed fruits and
served on a square cut of chilled watermelon. It’s a first for me and I have to
admit, this combo worked deliciously. The sweetness of the scallops is further
enhanced by the sweetness of the refreshing and juicy watermelon. One gets more
bite with the crispy chopped apples and mangoes with the popping fish roes in a
light creamy dressing.
The
Crispy Squid Ball is served on an
upside down shot glass that seemed to have a little pretty garden inside the
glass. The garden is actually alfalfa sprouts and edible flowers and micro greens.
The crispy squid ball is superbly executed. Crispy on the outside, bouncy squid
paste on the inside… yum!
Salted Egg Yolk Prawn with Carrot
Cake is another
winner in my books. The shelled prawn is coated with a luscious thick salted
egg yolk sauce. The prawn is aromatic and very good as the intensity of the
rich salted egg yolk is super scrumptious. I like how it is served on a pan
seared carrot cake disc and served with the crispy fried prawn head and a sprig
of fried curry leaves.
The
Baked Cod Fish with Teriyaki Sauce
is another masterpiece. The silky smooth and rich cod is baked with a
delectable sweet and sticky teriyaki sauce. The flesh of the cod has a sweet
note and a creamy flavour too. Its buttery trademark made the fish enjoyable
together with the sauce. Presentation is pretty as the fish is crowned with
crispy fried greens and served with sliced strawberries.
Vegetarian Shark’s Fin is a perfect option for those who
still wish to enjoy a bowl of the classic soup and be eco-friendly at the same
time. The creamy starchy soup is full of flavours and ingredients. Lots of crab
meat makes the soup really sweet. The vegetarian shark’s fin added texture to
the soup nicely. Plus points goes to the serving of the soup which is kept warm
through a mini burner so one can really savor the soup at its best.
A
sizzling pot of Stewed Sea Treasure in
Casserole filled the air with such wonderful aroma upon arrival. Filled to
the brim, the pot had thick cuts of sea cucumber, fish maw, abalone, dried
scallop, prawn, mushroom and broccoli all braised in a savory brown sauce. The
seafood essence in the sauce makes this a perfect accompaniment for rice.
Taking
on a Western dish and twisting it with an Asian marinade is the Baked Rack of Lamb. After hours of marinating,
the lamb rack is nicely chargrilled. The smoky sweet lamb is also beautifully
moist and tender. This is a dish not to be missed if you love a good lamb dish!
Another
dish that exuded comfort notes is the Homemade
Bean Curd with Shark Fin and Egg. I was particularly fond of the soft eggy
bean curd that has a natural sweetness and soft texture. It went very well with
the creamy egg sauce and some vegetables. The dish is made luxurious with shark's fin but one can opt this out. Without the shark's fin, it’s a dish I could eat everyday with
rice because I happen to really enjoy the comfort flavours of the bean curd.
Crispy Chicken in Two Preparations showed off two ways to enjoy a
chook. Savor it with a crispy roast skin and moist dark meat or savor it Thai
style in a salad with lots of crunchy onions in Thai sweet and spicy sauce. I
happen to enjoy both, especially the crispy skin of the chicken.
For
vegetarians or those prefer meatless options, do try their Fragrant Crispy Fried Noodles. Its thin rice noodles stir fried
with loads of vegetables and mushrooms. The rice noodles has a good note of wok
breathe and I really like how crunchy the vegetables are in the dish, giving it
a lot of textures and different flavours.
Our
next dish of Fried Shimeiji Mushroom
with Kailan in XO Sauce has us all enjoying our greens and mushroom in a
luxurious XO sauce. The kalian is crunchy and contrasted with the soft earthy
mushrooms before being topped with crispy fried dried scallops. Its vegetables
going lux in this one!
Another
vegetable dish of the evening was the Sauteed
Bell Peppers with Asparagus. Simple execution done well, the bell peppers
are sweet and crunchy, matching well with the asparagus.
One
of my favorite dishes of the night is the Braised
Ee Fu Noodles with Spicy Eggplant and Salted Fish. Despite being so full, I
really love the flavours of the noodles. The soft noodles and cubes of eggplant
soaked up all the salty and unctuous flavours of the salted fish flavour with
some hints of heat from chili. There is something beautifully addictive about
this dish that makes you want to go back for seconds… and I did.
We
ended the evening with a Chinese sweet dessert broth of Doubled Boiled Chinese Ginseng with Red Dates and Peach with Siang Signature Sweet Potato Puff. It’s
light and wonderfully soothing after all the dishes we had. The flaky sweet
potato puff pastry is well-made, buttery and wonderfully sweet from the
filling.
It was a very
enjoyable evening at Siang Seafood
Restaurant. There are plenty more dishes in their menu besides what we ate
that evening. I do have to say that this is one of the better halal dim sum
places I have been and the Chinese dishes are also equally good. Despite all
the modern touches, Siang Seafood
Restaurant has still managed to maintain classic old school flavours in
their dishes very well, making it an enjoyable and delicious dining experience!
Check out their website here for specials and promotions.
SIANG
SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
Level 6, Kompleks
Sogo,
190, Jalan Tuanku
Abdul Rahman,
50100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603 2618 1848
(Ext. 1130)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiangSeafoodRestaurant
