Imperial China Restaurant Whisky Pairing Dinner with Fifty Six Degree Scotch Whisky

A New Age Whisky Pairing Dinner with Chinese Cuisine

Food pairing with wine and liquor is getting more popular these days. It’s a perfect way also let diners enjoy a sumptuous list of pairing without the hassle as the chef would have work with the sommelier on the best pairing for the food and alcohol.

Imperial China Restaurant, from the Tai Thong Group, played host together with FIFTYSIX Degree Scotch Whisky to bring diners a scrumptious pairing of Chinese cuisine pairing dinner with Scotch whisky recently. Imperial China has hosted several wine pairing previously and due to positive demands from diners, the restaurant has organized a creative and unique Chinese dinner courses best paired with whisky.

FIFTYSIX Degrees Blended Scotch Whisky is a new age Scottish whisky with a 40% ABV (alcohol by volume). Blended for our Asian palate in mind, FIFTYSIX Degrees is named after the latitude of the Scottish Highlands where the fine dram is distilled. It is a boutique whisky made with exacting standards of quality through Ian Macleod Distillers’ generations of masters with many accolades under their belt.

As always Imperial China restaurant, located in Subang Jaya SS17, resonates an elegant dining ambiance. Set in opulent shades of bold red, black and cream, the evening mood was also enhanced by a live 3-piece band named The Raw Note that evening.

Cocktails of 56 Escape and Scottish Lass were served, made with FIFTYSIX Degrees whisky of course, with bites of Crispy Crab Dumpling with Wasabi Dressing and Deep Fried Pumpkin and Lotus Root with Salted Egg. I do enjoy the cocktails a lot as I guess it’s sweeter and I for one love my cocktails while the Crispy Crab Dumpling was superb!

The first course of trio appetizer made a grand starter! Leading the limelight was the Lobster with Fresh Fruit Salad with Italian Vanilla Dressing. Standing in full glory, the lobster shell commanded everyone’s attention. The lobster flesh was sweet and succulent though the salad was a bit heavy on the creamy vanilla dressing. A unique inclusion was the vanilla as I can sense its presence in the salad. Lobster with fruits in creamy salad is a crowd pleaser as always.

Next, Sliced Chicken with Foie Gras and Almond, a combination of chicken paste with crispy skin crumbed with almond are served with a spread of foie gras on crepe. It’s a delicious combination but I would have love to taste the presence of the foie gras a bit more. I do enjoy the texture of the chicken with almond a lot.

The third appetizer was Crab with Roasted Sesame Sauce wrapped in Egg Roll, topped with shredded meat floss. Certainly a mouthful but the flavours work harmoniously well. It’s got a good hint of sweetness as well as savory notes with a creamy ending.

The appetizers certainly worked well with the FIFTYSIX Degree whisky as the bold flavours of the dishes are beautifully balanced with the smooth and vibrant note of the new age whisky.

One of my all-time favorite course is soup and ours was a warming one of Double Boiled Village Chicken Soup with Apricot Kernels and Snow Pear. Full of comforting flavours and soothing nutrients, the soup had a gentle and natural sweetness from the snow pears which I really enjoy.

The next course was heavenly, a big crowd pleaser and definitely a great match with the whisky!

Spice Roast Suckling Pig with Chilled Ambarella Juice Shooter had us all savoring crispy skin from the succulent piglet with a dab of hoisin sauce and scallion. Once we enjoyed the scrumptious swine, we were told to down a hot of chilled Ambarella or Kedondong juice shooter to cleanse the palate. Love the idea of this dish…

There would always be a fish course in any Chinese meal as well and ours was the highly prized estuary grouper prepared in two sauces of Yin Yang Estuary Grouper Grilled with Caramelized Onion & Sauteed with XO Sauce, Celery and Apple.

The presentation was definitely an eye-catcher with the whole fish fried till golden and placed in the middle of the platter. The fish was prepared in two sauces, one with more of a sweeter edge with caramelized onions and smoky note while the other was more fruity and delicate in flavour. I definitely enjoyed the first sauce because of the smoky caramelized flavours of the dish.

Our final savory course was the lavish platter of Braised Abalone, Sea Cucumber Stuffed with Tuna and Wanton. It is my favorite dish of the night, not because of its lavishness but because I really enjoyed the stuffed sea cucumber and also the wanton.

The abalone is well braised and smothered in the classic Chinese brown savory sauce. The spiky sea cucumber was tender and gelatinous with a scrumptious bouncy tuna and meat filling while the plump wanton had delectable sweetness of prawns. The dish epitomized Chinese lux and is also a great dish paired with whisky.

Dinner ended with a high note of trio of desserts. The trio of Chilled Layered Dessert of Black Sesame, Mango and Fresh Milk, Mini Pumpkin Dumpling with Sweet Potato and Cheese and Sweet Corn Bun sprinkled with Cocoa Powder looked really unique and interesting. The pairing of black sesame with mango and milk seemed to be decent. It was a sweet and savory one for the mini pumpkin dumpling with its combo of sweet potato and cheese. I adored the sweet corn bun shaped to resemble a mushroom. It’s nice and fluffy with a creamy sweet corn filling.

The Imperial China Whisky Pairing Dinner with FIFTYSIX Degrees is priced at RM1888 nett for a table of ten pax. Each table includes 2 bottles of the FIFTYSIX Degrees Scotch Whisky. Look out for more pairing dinners to come from the Tai Thong Group through their website: www.taithong.com.my and Facebook: www.facebook.com/TaiThong

For more information on FIFTYSIX Degrees Scotch Whisky, please visit their website www.56degreeswhisky.com or at Facebook: www.facebook.com/fiftysixdegreeswhisky

IMPERIAL CHINA RESTAURANT

7th Floor, Intan Square,

No. 3, Lorong Utara C,

46200 Petaling Jaya

Tel: +603-7956 6868

Website: www.taithong.com.my

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TaiThong