Inventive festive menu awaits

Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang served in an extra large bowl. — Photos: SIA HONG KIAU/The Star

BEING an ardent fan of salads, it is only fitting that yee sang stands as one of my favourites.

The special plum sauce is poured generously on a colourful bed of fresh vegetables and later topped with a dash of pepper and five spice powder.

This is the essence of the popular festive dish.

Yee sang is commonly served with grated vegetables, peanuts and crackers but in recent years fruits are used to add more flavour and modern twist.

At The Westin Kuala Lumpur’s Five Sen5es restaurant, the Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang is served in an extra large bowl.

Honey Glazed Baked Black Cod Fish. 

The longer, large pair of chopsticks used for tossing the yee sang came in handy to achieve a higher toss.

The Chinese believe your luck for the year is measured by how high you toss the yee sang.

A standard portion for the Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang is priced at RM98nett and RM168nett for a large portion.

Diners can choose to have the abalone or vegetarian option of Crystal Pear and Mango Yee Sang.

Having had to brave the traffic and rain, a cup of hot tea followed by the Double-Boiled Dried Scallop and Morrel with Baby Cabbage Soup was a true saviour and kept us warm for the evening ahead.

Braised Duck with Red Yeast Rice and Peanut.  

The dinner continued with Honey Glazed Baked Black Cod Fish, Stewed White Baby Cabbage with Dried Scallop and Slivered Garlic and Pan Fried Scallop with Minced Chicken topped with Citron Salsa sauce.

The Braised Duck with Red Yeast Rice and Peanut was a favourite among many at the table.

The duck is marinated and later braised over medium heat for four hours to ensure the meat is tender and flavourful. Ostmanthus flowers are added to give the dish extra fragrance.

“It’s a complicated dish and not many chefs will take the trouble to prepare it, but I decided to give it a go,” said head chef Tan Tzaan Ling, who was later commended for his effort.

Another crowd-pleaser was the Deep-Fried Prawn with Hawthorn sauce. I enjoyed munching on haw flakes when I was growing up, so the sauce was a hit for me and it paired well with the prawns.

Our last dish was the Fried Rice with Sesame Oil, Diced Chicken and Young Ginger. For dessert, we had Sweetened Chilled Pumpkin Cream with Black Glutinous Rice and Ice Cream and Chinese New Year nian gau.

Nian gao topped with peanuts and served with shredded coconut.  

This year, Tan added sweet potato in the glutinous rice cake dessert to lessen the heavy texture of it.

If you are craving for nian gau, you can order it it ala carte at the restaurant.

There are three Chinese New Year set menus for lunch and dinner priced at RM1,888 nett, RM1,988 nett and RM2,288 nett for a table of 10 people. It will be available from now until Mar 2.

FIVE SEN5ES, The Westin Kuala Lumpur 199 Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: [phone]) Business hours: Noon to 2.30pm, 6pm to 10pm, daily. Pork-free.

This is the writer’s observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.