10 hours Ago
FOR a fresh spin on the obligatory yee sang, Le Mei Chinese Restaurant at Le Meridien Putrajaya departs somewhat from using typical ingredients. Its version is Salmon, Tosaka Nori green Yee Sang with crispy shredded treasures and Blackcurrant-Plum dressing. The Tosaka Nori green seaweed surrounds the shredded vegetables, flanked by ingredients considered auspicious.
“For yee sang, we don’t dip it in sauce like the seaweed used for sushi,” said Chinese executive chef Lim Kian Meng. “We include salmon roe for freshness, while Tosaka Nori brings a healthy element, complemented by the blackcurrant-plum dressing.” Lim and his culinary team have unveiled four luxurious set menus for Chinese New Year, featuring exquisite ingredients symbolising auspicious elements.
As with any Chinese set menu, I looked forward to the warm, earthy soups and the Double-Boiled Silkie Fowl Soup, infused with fish maw, porcini mushrooms and dried scallops left me feeling satisfied and nourished. According to Lim, the herbs are boiled for about five hours before the Silkie, a black chicken, is added along with scallops and boiled for some seven hours. The Braised Whole Abalone and Sea Cucumber, Black Mushroom with Premier Oyster Sauce is another essential festive dish on the set menus.
Undoubtedly, the star of the festive menus is the Lemongrass- Marinated Roasted Crispy Duck. “We blend the lemongrass, green chillies and coriander to marinade the duck. “Using lemongrass to marinade duck is unusual in Malaysia,” said Lim.
I liked the lemongrass element because of its citrusy flavour, and the duck was crispy and succulent. Typically for Chinese New Year fish dishes, I would expect a grouper or snapper, so I was pleasantly surprised by the Steamed Turbot with Hunan Fermented Chillies. Turbot is a fish with a flat body from near European coasts.
Steamed turbot fish with Hunan fermented chilies. It was Lim who conceptualised pairing of the steamed fish with fermented chillies from Hunan, China. “It is usual to find soy sauce in steamed fish dishes but the Hunan chillies are like pickles and it complements the fish.
“If we take grouper for example, the meat is a bit tough, while turbot is a firm, white fish usually used in Mediterranean cuisine, and it is fresher and tastier,” said Lim. I loved how the fried rice was served daintily in individual portions. The fried organic brown rice with Sakura shrimp, seafood and foie gras gave a big hit of umami flavours.
It also had the tasty crispy, charred and smoky bits of rice resulting from the wok hei (breath of the wok). Double-boiled Silkie Fowl with fish maw, porcini mushroom and dried scallops. — Photos: IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star For dessert, there is Double-boiled Nostoc Jelly with Snow Pear, Snow Fungus and Red Dates, and Deep-Fried Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame and Mochi Strawberry with Cream Cheese.
The Chinese New Year menus include the Spring and Happiness Set priced at RM2,188, while the Everlasting Prosperity Set is at RM2,688. The Wealth and Fortune Set is priced at RM3,888, and the Splendour and Luxurious Set is at RM1,590. Each set includes a complimentary bottle of Wolf Blass Bilyara Shiraz.
The restaurant is open daily for lunch from 12pm to 2.30pm, and dinner from 6.30pm to 10.
30pm. Private dining areas are available. LE MEI CHINESE RESTAURANT, Le Meridien Putrajaya, Lebuh IRC IOI Resort City, 62502 Putrajaya, Selangor.
(Tel: 03 8689 6888 ext 6868) Business hours: Noon to 10.30pm. Pork-free.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro..
