The ‘Auspicious Horse Imperial Spring Feasts’ menus feature richly symbolic dishes meant to usher in prosperity, longevity, happiness and good fortune.
BEYOND the heartwarming flavours, Chinese New Year banquets can also be lavish expressions of aspiration.
Dishes are thoughtfully chosen for symbolic connotations, turning every bite into an invocation for prosperity, longevity, happiness or good fortune.
In that spirit, San Xi Lou at Gurney Paragon Mall in Penang has curated its “Auspicious Horse Imperial Spring Feasts” with six different menus featuring up to 18 courses.
Utilising premium ingredients and artful plating, the restaurant aims to elevate the traditional reunion meal into a truly extravagant experience.
Regional manager Jack Seow said the signature 18-course option opens with not one, but six individually plated appetisers.
They are Sliced Pork Belly with Garlic, Deep-fried Chicken Cartilage, Green Chilli and Preserved Egg, Deep-fried Tofu with Salt and Pepper, Honey Tomatoes, and Hot and Sour Wood Ear Mushrooms.
“Multi-course banquets here tend to start with a single appetiser dish. We follow the Hong Kong tradition by serving several light bites instead,” said Seow.
This approach reflects the restaurant’s roots.
The ‘poon choy’ takeaways are packed with luxurious ingredients, each layer representing a wish for prosperity and abundance.
Established in Hong Kong in 2007, San Xi Lou earned a reputation for refined Cantonese cuisine with Sichuan influences.
The brand made its Malaysian debut at Gurney Paragon in October 2025, bringing in a team of Hong Kong chefs to ensure authenticity.
“Most locals are familiar with Sichuan cuisine, but what sets us apart are superior ingredients and balanced flavours.
“Our dishes are neither too oily nor aggressively spicy. Instead, we strive for indulgent and well-rounded tastes that are much more satisfying,” Seow added.
The 10 main courses revert to communal plating, each carrying a positive narrative for the year ahead.
Take the Barbecued Suckling Pig, a delicacy prized for its whole presentation that symbolises abundance, togetherness, and completeness – the very essence of festive reunions.
The restorative Double-Boiled Maca, Conch and Chicken Soup is a toast to well-being, while the showstopping Baked Flower Lobster in Superior Broth oozes richness alongside luck and vitality.
Up next is Deep-fried Crab Claw with Shrimp Paste, a combination intended to multiply fortune, joy and laughter.
Fish is integral to any Chinese New Year feast, being a homonym for “surplus”.
Here, it is Steamed Spotted Grouper, a species prized for its mild flavour and firm flesh.
The contemporary dining spaces of San Xi Lou will bring a touch of class to your Chinese New Year reunion banquets. — Courtesy photo
A simple steaming in soy sauce and a drizzle of hot oil ensure it is a delight on the palate, and if you buy the cultural meaning, perhaps even a boon for the wallet.
Braised Dried Oyster and Pork Tongue with Black Moss continues the auspicious theme. The latter ingredient, more popularly known as fatt choy, equates to “get rich” in Cantonese.
The Sweet and Sour Pork, Crispy Fried Chicken, as well as Braised Conpoy with Bamboo Pith and Vegetables that follow, are comforting dishes that further represent unity, resilience and growth.
Rounding off the savoury courses is Fried Rice with Abalone Sauce in Lotus Leaf, a seafood-laden treat that embodies wealth and renewal.
For dessert, the Red Date Pudding is an ode to fertility and fortune, while Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls in Black Sugar Ginger Soup reminds one that life should always be sweet and complete.
Seow said the signature 18-course menu is priced at RM4,038++ for a table of 12.
Smaller groups are catered for with a 16-course menu for 12 (RM2,838++), two 13-course menus for eight (RM3,038++ or RM1,688++), a nine-course menu for six (RM1,288++) and an eight-course menu for four (RM888++).
These festive menus will be available from Feb 12 until March 3.
Tables on the eve, first and second days of Chinese New Year are selling fast.
The restaurant is also offering luxurious poon choy takeaways at RM1,088 nett per pot, each layered with premium ingredients that symbolise wealth and abundance.
It includes South African abalone, Japanese sea cucumber, dried scallops, fish maw, tiger prawns, Shajing dried oysters, roasted pork, black moss, roasted chicken, pork knuckle, broccoli, mushrooms, fried beancurd, yam and white radish.
This is limited to 50 sets only and available for collection from Feb 2 onwards.
SAN XI LOU, Level 6, Gurney Paragon Mall, Gurney Drive, Penang. (Tel: 012-391 8168). Business hours: 9am-3.30pm (dim sum and a la carte), 5.30pm-10pm (a la carte). Non-halal.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
