THERE is a new restaurant in the city that serves a wide range of pork-free Chinese dishes to cater to fans of that particular cuisine while adhering to certain dietary sensitivities.
Opened since May this year, Mei Shi Restaurant at Ideas Kuala Lumpur Hotel offers a menu of Chinese classics such as dim sum, a la carte dishes and Chinese set meals.
Diners can enjoy these dishes against a backdrop of oriental motifs and contemporary furnishings.
The culinary team at Mei Shi is led by chef de cuisine Zam Zuhardee Zamani.
“Our customers are mainly Malay and Muslim workers from government departments and offices near the hotel,” he said.
“Most of them love Chinese cuisine, especially dim sum.
“Therefore, Mei Shi has a dedicated dim sum menu to cater to that demand.
“In the beginning, it was quite challenging to convince customers that our dim sum is pork-free.
“Our team overcame this challenge through effective marketing strategies.”
Zam Zuhardee said Mei Shi was applying for halal certification for its premises.
“Meanwhile, we have a halal coordinator on hand to monitor the food quality and kitchen operations,” he said.
The chef finds that halal Chinese cuisine has huge potential in Kuala Lumpur.
Most of the dim sum is served in traditional bamboo steamers, similar to that at conventional Chinese restaurants.
The salted egg yolk lava bun, yam dumpling and pandan chicken are the restaurant’s star dishes.
The salted egg yolk oozes out when one bites into the chewy black bun, leading to its “quicksand bun” moniker that it is sometimes known as within the Chinese community.
The yam dumpling comes with a mildly salty chicken filling, which makes for a harmonious blend of flavours.
Although not a traditional dim sum item, Mei Shi also offers pandan chicken that features mildly spicy chicken wrapped in pandan leaf and baked.
Other classic dim sum treats such as har gau (steamed prawn dumplings), Shanghai dumpling and chicken beancurd are also available.
The Chinese set meal offers rice with a selection of dishes served on a single platter, such as Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce and Coriander, Stir-Fried Kailan with Garlic and Thai Chicken.
The mildly spicy Chinese fried rice from its a la carte menu is a comfort food that is sure to appeal to the restaurant’s customers.
Mei Shi serves an all-you-can-eat dim sum at lunchtime daily.
It is priced at RM68 per adult and RM38 per child.
Adults can enjoy a discount of RM8 on Fridays.
The Chinese set meal is priced from RM35 onwards, depending on the selected dishes.
Mei Shi also has five private function rooms and can host events for up to 100 people.
MEI SHI RESTAURANT,
First Floor, Ideas Kuala Lumpur Hotel,
12, Jalan Raja Laut, Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: 016-712 9546/ 03-2614 8000).
Business hours: Lunch 11.30am-2.30pm and dinner 6.30pm-10.30pm. Opens daily.
This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
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