Having enjoyed an impressive Festive feast at PARKROYAL KL’s Chatz Brasserie not long ago, I was naturally delighted to receive an invitation to their Sichuan and Cantonese Restaurant Si Chuan Dou Hua. I haven’t been to any Sichuan restaurant for a while because I don’t crave Spicy food as much here due to the hot weather. So it was a rare occasion for me. Though the menu that night turned out to be veering towards Cantonese, it still gave me a pretty good first impression. Apart from the crazy 2 hour jam on the way there, rendering me a nervous wreck.

Si Chuan Dou Hua has a Tea master, “imported” from Szechuan. Apart from his impressive tea pouring skill, what I really love is this fragrant Eight Treasures Tea with plenty of floral notes and mild sweetness. I had plenty of refills that night to calm my frazzled nerves.

For this Chinese New Year, Chef Sim Nin Looi and his team has put together a bountiful feast, carefully crafted with significant symbolic dishes, perfect for those who wants to reward themselves after a year of hard work. The menu is also designed to suit different budgets, starting from RM75nett per person.

There are many variations of Yee Sang here but the Tropical Fruits version is their signature. Righty so too, with unusual ingredients such as dragonfruit, strawberries (both of which I used in my Yee Sang last year because I was inspired by them), mango, apple etc making this a refreshing treat. Perfectly vegetarian too. Of course, we tossed our Yee Sang with great enthusiasm, as usual. Always a fun thing to do.

Our next course was a Shark fin’s soup which I gave away. Unfortunately all their CNY set menus include Shark fins so you might want to call ahead to swap dish if you don’t eat them.

I knew this would be tasty judging by the colour of the Chicken skin. It has a wonderfully smoky aroma and the skin is well seasoned too. I might have taken a few extra pieces (well I did skip the soup!).

I don’t think I have ever had a bad Cod dish, though most of the time they were either steamed, poached or pan fried. This deep fried version is surprisingly tasty. With plenty of crunch; and a tangy sweet Pomelo sauce to cut through the richness. I wouldn’t mind having it again.

The prawn dish, however, was just ordinary. Then again, can’t really go wrong with butter and prawns. I couldn’t really taste the cornflakes and it was just a little too sweet for my liking.

Sea cucumber made another appearance this year, along with some dried oysters, and vegetables. Everyone was going straight for the sea food, while I enjoyed the broccoli with the tasty broth. Didn’t forget the Black moss to attract prosperity.

Finally something that is actually of Sichuan origin. I was looking forward to this because I love Dan Dan noodles. The broth has a sour note from preserved vegetables, and a slight kick of spice from chili oil and szechuan pepper. Although the noodles are not as chewy as I expected, the broth more than made up for it. The large piece of scallop dressed up a humble noodle dish. This makes me want to return and sample more of their spicy dishes.

Nian Gao is one of the staples for Chinese New Year and here they kept it healthy steaming it and then rolling it in fresh dessicated coconut, for that extra aroma. Yum!

Chinese New Year Set Menus:

Auspicious Blessing: RM 150.00 Nett per person (Min. 2 pax)
Blissful Happiness: RM 195.00 Nett per person (Min. 2 pax)
Happy & Prosperous: RM 750.00 Nett per table of 4
Smiles of Fortune: RM 1088.00 Nett per table of 6
Golden Prosperity: RM 1958.00 Nett per table of 10
Bountiful Wealth: RM 2300.00 Nett per table of 10

Available from 13 January ~ 14 February 2014, lunch from 12noon to 2:30pm and dinner from 6:30pm-10:30pm.

PARKROYAL is also prepared to serve a special Chinese New Year Hi-Tea on the 31st Jan and 1st February at Chatz Brasserie (RM68nett per person), available from 12:30pm to 4pm.

PARKROYAL KUALA LUMPUR
Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: +603 2147 0088
Fax: +603 2147 0099
http://parkroyalhotels.com