Celebrate with elegance at Wan Li

 

It was good to be back at the Renaissance Johor Bahru again where I was warmly welcomed and ushered into a private dining room in Wan Li Chinese Restaurant.

 

Ingredients for the Yee Sang salad, also
served with a topping of Crispy Fish Skin

The culinary team at Wan Li has specially curated elegant set menus to celebrate the Lunar New Year and it was our pleasure to have a preview experience recently.

 

Among the media friends seated at the same table for the preview was a family with two young daughters, whom I dubbed The Princesses when we were introduced.

 

Keeping the tradition of family reunions and festive feasting, Wan Li continues to delight diners with set menus designed for six to 10 persons, served from the eve of Lunar New Year, January 28, right up to February 12, 2025.

 

Yee Sang ingredients are added
along with the recitation of
traditional auspicious phrases

Led by Chinese Head Chef, Jerry Tee, the team drew upon their combined culinary experience to present three set menus planned in festive themes aptly named, Auspicious, Prosperity and Happiness.

 

The Lunar New is the time of year where the Chinese traditionally indulge in feasting on high-value ingredients and food that has shapes or names that sound auspicious.

 

Tables were adorned in auspicious colours of deep Red with settings for a traditional banquet that will kick off with a prosperity toss of Yee Sang (Cantonese), a phrase which literally means raw fish.

 

Yee Sang is a salad dish created by four local chefs in Singapore as a symbol of prosperity and good health for the lunar new year back in 1964 when Malaysia and Singapore were then, still one country – Malaya.

 

A serving of warm and comforting
Double-Boiled Village Chicken Soup

It was a dish designed for businessmen who wished to toss the salad to great heights, an act at the start of the new year which is believed to augur well for greater prosperity and wealth in the year ahead.

 

Originally, Yee Sang was eaten on the seventh day of the first month in the new lunar year but due to its popularity, many restaurants like Wan Li Chinese Restaurant in Renaissance Johor Baru, will serve this dish throughout the festive season and is even available for takeaways. 

 

The poultry dish comprised of Cantonese
Roasted Duck [Right] and Lemongrass
marinated Roasted Crispy Chicken [Left]

I was delighted to see that Wan Li has added a third choice of toppings to the popular choices of Abalone or fresh Salmon slivers because the topping was Crispy Fish Skin for the Yee Sang salad.

 

This prosperity toss is dubbed Lo Hei (Cantonese) simply translated as ‘Tossing for Greater Wealth' in an activity that can be quite boisterous when diners participate with great gusto while chanting phrases like, “Huat-ah!” “Heng-ah!” the Teochew or Hokkien words for ‘prosperity’ as they tossed the salad higher and higher.

 

At the next table, their chanting while tossing Yee Sang was so “lively” that the younger of the two Princesses was rather alarmed by the loud yells.

 

This menu includes an auspicious vegetable
dish with high-value ingredients like abalone

She was curious and uncomfortable about the uproar that I overheard her asking her mother, “Why did they yell like that?” and mimicked that “roar” we heard from the next table…

 

As the serving staff recited traditional, auspicious sayings while she added each of the ingredients to the salad, I was pleased that the Yee Sang platter was topped with generous toppings of Crispy Fish Skin, a delightfully different ingredient that added extra texture and crunch to this dish.

 

The warm and comforting Double-Boiled Village Chicken Soup brewed with American Ginseng served in individual bowls, was so palatable that – I observed – everyone finished the soup to the very last drop.

 

A whole Silver Pomfret poached with tasty
pickled radish and coriander in soya sauce

The poultry dish was served in a two-compartment platter for a portion of Cantonese Roasted Duck along with a portion of Lemongrass marinated Roasted Crispy Chicken served with a side of Thai chili dip sauce.

 

As whole fish is an auspicious dish for this festive season, Silver Pomfret from Pontian, poached with pickled radish and coriander in soya sauce, was served.

 

The taste of pickled radish and coriander flavour was such a hit among our friends who decided to keep the generous serving aside (after eating all the fish!) to savour with other dishes.

 

King Sea Prawns wok-fried with
Crispy Garlic and Dried Chili for a hint of spice

Another auspicious item for the new year must be whole prawns so the mount of King Sea Prawns, wok-fried with Crispy Garlic and Dried Chili, simply evoked wide smiles around the table.

 

This is because the Cantonese word for prawn, Har, when repeated sounds like, Ha! Ha! Ha! … the sound of laughter and happiness.

 

The auspicious vegetable dish comprised 10 head of abalone, sea cucumber, Chinese mushrooms, dried scallops, black moss and seasonal vegetables, braised in a tasty sauce.

 

Finally, there was fragrant Fried Rice dotted with bits of Chinese Sausage, dried oysters and chestnuts, served wrapped in Lotus Leaves. While dried oysters may be an acquired taste, this auspicious combination of flavours tasted just right.

 

Fragrant Fried Rice served wrapped 
in Lotus Leaves

The meal came to a sweet end with double desserts of Chilled Lemon Jelly with Peach Gum in Osmanthus Sweet Soup, and Deep-Fried Nian Gao Balls. Nian Gao is a traditional sticky rice cake made with glutinous rice also known as Kueh Bakul.

 

Another dish by Wan Li which is popular this festive season is Cantonese Poon Choy or Choi, a dish best described as a Banquet-in-a-Basin.

 

This elaborate dish is said to have originated in Hong Kong during the late Song Dynasty (960 – 1279) when Mongol troops invaded China and the young Emperors, brothers Zhao Shi and Zhao Bing, fled to the area around Guangdong and Hong Kong.

 

Double Desserts of Chilled Lemon Jelly with
Peach Gum in Osmanthus Sweet Soup [Left]
and deep-fried Nian Gao Balls [Right]

The brothers and their imperial entourage were welcomed by the local people and to feed them, they collected and cooked a variety of their best ingredients.  

 

But they did not have a bowl large enough to serve all the food. The only large receptacle was a big wooden basin, traditionally used to wash clothes. And this was how the big basin banquet or Poon Choi was invented.

 

Poon Choi soon became associated with events that involved the whole community, usually held in a courtyard or open space in the village. 

 

In traditional village celebrations like religious festivals, rituals and weddings, Poon Choi was served in metal wash basins simmering over stoves, large enough to feed 10 to 12 persons. 

 

Eating from a common bowl is a symbol of village cohesion that removed class and status differences as everyone was considered equal. 

 

The Wan Li Abundant Treasure Pot
served in a large clay-pot

At Wan Li, the Wan Li Abundant Treasure Pot is served in a large clay-pot with its top layer attractively arranged with heads of abalone, whole prawns from the sea and broccoli florets topped with black moss.

 

Among the auspicious ingredients in the treasure pot are slices of sea cucumber, Chinese mushrooms, fish maw, dried scallops, dried oysters, village chicken, roasted duck, white radish, Chinese Tianjin cabbage and lotus root, stewed in the rich flavours of golden garlic and abalone sauce.

 

Like the Yee Sang, the Poon Choi by Wan Li is served in two sizes, Small and Large, and are available for dine-in or takeaways.

 

On Lunar New Year Eve, Jan 28, the elegant Reunion Set Menus come with one bottle of house Red Wine, served in two dining sessions at 5pm and 8pm.

 

Wan Li Auspicious Set Menu prepared for table of six persons at RM1,488 nett and table for 10 persons at RM2,288 nett.

 

Wan Li Prosperity Set Menu prepared for table of six persons at RM1,788 nett and table for 10 persons at RM2,788 nett.

 

Wan Li Happiness Set Menu prepared for table of six persons at RM1,988 nett and table for 10 persons at RM3,188 nett.

 

Entrance to Wan Li Chinese Restaurant at
the lobby level of Renaissance Johor Bahru

Three choices of Prosperity Yee Sang are served in two sizes: Abalone Yee Sang, RM148 nett (Small) and RM238 nett (Large), Fresh Salmon Yee Sang, RM118 nett (Small) and RM168 nett (Large), Crispy Fish Skin, RM106 nett (Small) and RM158 nett (Large).

 

The Abundance Treasure Pot (Poon Choy) is also served in two sizes at RM688 nett (Small) and RM1,188 nett (Large).

 

Wan Li Chinese Restaurant is on the lobby level of Renaissance Johor Baru, at No. 2 Jalan Permas 11, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Johor Baru, Johor.

 

For reservations to dine-in or for takeaways, Tel: +607 – 381 3388 or send WhatsApp to: +6012 – 771 9056. Email: henry.lee@renaissancehotels.com