Humble homecooked for grand celebrations

 

This festive season, Hop Sing Chinese Restaurant at Ponderosa Golf & Country Club, continues the tradition of serving wholesome homecooked-style dishes for family gatherings like traditional Reunion Dinners and corporate Hoi-Kong Farn (Cantonese) or auspicious Back-to-Work gatherings in the new lunar year.

 

A Fruity Yee Sang served with slices 
of fresh mango at Hop Sing Chinese Restaurant

Almost two years had passed since families and friends were compelled to scale down their festive celebrations and gatherings due to the global pandemic. Even as restaurant dine-in had reopened, many still prefer to choose the takeaway option.

 

This is all good for the culinary team at Hop Sing who had earned a reputation for serving wholesome homecooked style dishes in set menus that caters to smaller groups of between four to six diners, or for seven to 10 diners, for both dine-in and takeaways.

 

Entrance to Hop Sing on Level One

The Chinese usually celebrate with sumptuous meals as they believed that it augurs well for greater prosperity and abundance in the coming year.

 

But as families and friends opt to gather in smaller groups, the set menus at Hop Sing are designed to cater to small groups that aimed to reduce food wastage.

 

Hop Sing will usher in the Year of the Tiger with menu options dubbed the Crouching Tiger Set at RM138+ for four to six pax or RM228+ for seven to 10 pax, the Climbing Tiger Set at RM168+ for four to six pax or RM238+ for seven to 10 pax, and the Leaping Tiger Set at RM198+ for four to six pax or RM268+ for seven to 10 pax.

 

As businessmen in this part of the world had started the tradition of eating Yee Sang or Raw Fish salad at the dawn of the New Year, each of these festive menus will keep the tradition of starting with a prosperity toss of this salad.

 

A dish of Chicken with Ginger-Paste Sauce 

At Hop Sing, this auspicious salad will be served without the Yee or fish as a refreshing change and to maintain the freshness of this dish in the takeaway option.

 

I was delighted to see that the slivers of fish were replaced by slices of fresh mango in an appetising Fruity Yee Sang (I privately dubbed Fruity * Sang Salad!) which tasted so good.

 

The food quality and taste of our dine-in menu in the Leaping Tiger set was as comforting as homecooked food, savoured in dishes that were served almost at the same time for us to eat together in a convivial mood – just as we always did at home.

 

Hong Kong style steamed Seabass

The serving of half a Chicken with Ginger-Paste Sauce was simply a taste of nostalgia, reminiscent of that traditional specialty of tender chicken that hardworking Sam-Sui women would prepare for their celebrations as a treat from their diligent lifestyle, working at the construction sites.

 

In the Cantonese tradition, there must be a soup in the meal. And in this menu, it was a refreshing clear soup prepared with smooth ingredients, curls of Fish Maw and ice-berg lettuce.

 

A beancurd square from the
Claypot Beancurd dish

The Hong Kong style steamed Seabass was served perfectly timed for flesh that was tender and succulent, an admirable skill that the chef had mastered for proper timing in the steaming of a large fish.

 

Served in a claypot brimming with vegetables, small prawns and of course, squares of beancurd simmered in gravy, I thought this tasty Claypot Beancurd dish would be best savoured with steamed white rice.

 

Meanwhile, mushrooms were an auspicious ingredient for the new year, so the next vegetable dish was Broccoli with Mushrooms, served with whole mushrooms arranged within a ring of broccoli florets.

 

Broccoli with Mushrooms

The menu rounded off with a dish of their Signature Fried Rice, fragrant with egg and small prawns.

 

With our bellies comfortably full, this homecooked-style meal at Hop Sing came to a sweet end with a refreshing dessert of chilled Longan with Sea Coconut.

 

Hop Sing, the Chinese Restaurant at Ponderosa Golf & Country Club, is on Level One of the main clubhouse at No. 3 Jalan Ponderosa 1/1, Taman Ponderosa, 81100 Johor Baru, Johor.

 

Food from Hop Sing is prepared with No Pork and No Lard as all ingredients used are sourced from Halal food suppliers.

 

For more details on the Lunar Year of the Tiger menus and resort promotions, visit website: ponderosagolf.com

 

For reservations or takeaways, Tel: +6019 758 8093 or email: enquiry@ponderosagolf.com.