This
Chinese New Year, Qing Palace, the award-winning Chinese restaurant at Pulai
Springs Resort, is holding fast to the annual tradition of reunion feasts.
 |
| Entrance to Qing Palace at Pulai Springs Resort |
Reunions
are not just for families but also among friends and colleagues, who wish to
celebrate this festive season together with a sumptuous meal.
I’m at
Qing Palace for a media preview hosted by the resort’s general manager, Sunny
Soo and the Marketing & Communications team.
While I’m
familiar with the menu here, I’m eager to check out how Master Chef Lim Ming
Chong and his culinary team have created a choice of set menus at Qing Palace
for diners to enjoy on Jan 27, the eve of Chinese New Year and from Jan 28 to
Feb 11, 2017.
To
accommodate the modern trend of enjoying the family Reunion Dinner in a
restaurant, Qing Palace offers two dining sessions scheduled at 5.30pm and 8pm
on the eve of Chinese New Year, Jan 27.
 |
| A platter of pan-fried har lok prawns |
Aware of
the layers of preparation that go into marinating, brewing, braising, stewing
or steaming traditional Chinese New Year delicacies, the kitchen team at Qing
Palace are applying their collective culinary skills to serve menus designed to
please discerning diners.
They are
doing their part to let the Chinese keep their proud tradition of indulging in
dishes created with premium ingredients
of high value and auspicious names
that augur well for good fortune and greater wealth at the start of the new
year.
Qing
Palace is offering an 8-course reunion dinner menu for tables of 10 or 6
diners.
The
recommended Menu A features the ubiquitous Yee
Sang or raw fish salad with fresh salmon, braised shark fins soup with
shredded abalone and dried seafood, camphor and tea smoked duck, Hong Kong
style steamed dragon garoupa fish, pan-fried har lok prawns, braised sea cucumber with black mushrooms and
broccoli, lotus leaf glutinous rice topped with chicken floss and deep-fried nian gao – traditional Chinese New Year
Cake – for dessert. Table for 10 at
RM1,388 and table for 6 at RM888.
 |
| Pulai Springs Resort general manager, Sunny Soo, helping to serve the soup at our table |
Studying
the list, I’m particularly pleased to see Qing Palace signature dishes like
camphor and tea smoked duck and traditional har lok prawns, in the festive menu.
It’s
heartwarming to see the pride of Chef Lim and Soo for their renowned signature
dish, the camphor and tea smoked duck, as they posed for a photo shoot.
When the dish
was finally ready to be eaten, I realized that some at our table refrained from
eating duck and I privately punched the air with an imaginary “Yay!” because it
simply worked out to, “Less man more share!”
 |
| Master Chef Lim Ming Chong [Left] and GM Sunny Soo presenting Qing Palace's signature dish, camphor and tea smoked duck |
Yes, it
tasted just as I remembered it. The
slices of duck meat were tender and juicy while its skin was crispy and
flavourful with a dash of the sauce.
There were also deep-fried mantou
or buns to complement the meat and wipe up all the tasty sauce.
Prawns –
a must-have for Chinese New Year because of its auspicious and cheerful name –
was prepared in a traditional har lok recipe that entailed pan-frying where all
its natural juices are soaked up in its delicious meat.
I asked
Soo about the soup item in their festive menu and he explained how the Chinese have
a tradition of splurging on rare and high-value ingredients to celebrate the
new year, as an indulgence just once a year.
The
Chinese community, who developed from humble beginnings mainly in an agricultural
economy, rarely had the privilege to eat meat or seafood except on special
occasions like in the new year or at wedding banquets.
 |
| Ready to toss the Yee Sang for greater prosperity! |
As the
Chinese worked hard to establish themselves and increase their prosperity, many
have the practice of eating humbly throughout the year but will only indulge themselves
on auspicious occasions like the Chinese new year as they believe that it augurs
well for greater prosperity in the coming months.
So for
diners who wish to opt for a meal without shark fins, they may choose Menu B which
offers braised dried seafood superior soup with fish maw – without shark fins.
This menu
includes crispy roasted chicken with Mongolian sauce and Hong Kong style
steamed red snapper, fried prawns in gold dust, three types of mushrooms with
greens and dessert of honey dew with sago. Table for 10 at RM918 and table for 6 at
RM698.
The
tradition of tossing Yee Sang or lo hei
to usher in greater prosperity at the start of the new year, keeps this raw
fish salad as an appetizer in most menus during the festive season.
Diners
may choose from two Yee Sang options that feature salmon or abalone offered in
two sizes: Salmon RM68 (small) RM128 (large); Abalone RM100 (small) RM200
(large). Available from now till Feb 10.
 |
| A nostalgic taste of home and family in this festive dessert of deep-fried nian gao with yam and sweet potato |
To end
the meal sweetly, Menu A offers a festive dessert of deep-fried nian gao, a traditional Chinese New Year
cake made from ground glutinous rice.
Qing
Palace brought back a taste of nostalgia when they presented this traditional rice
cake in a familiar recipe, just like how our grandmothers used to prepare them
at home!
One slice
of nian gao sandwiched between a slice of yam and sweet potato and deep-fried
in a light batter.
As I sank my teeth
into its crispy layers and slowly savoured each chewy bite, it reminded me of
home and family, and how I’m missing my late grandmother’s Chinese New Year traditions.
Pulai
Springs Resort is at 20km Jalan Pontian Lama, 81110 Pulai, Johor. Qing Palace serves food which is pork-free
and without alcohol.
For
reservations, Tel: 607 – 521 2121, Email: enquiry@pulaisprings.com
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