Mothers know best...believe me.
When it comes to my mother, I reckon she's got a darn fussy palate. Developed for the sixty plus years of her life, she's eaten at countless places all over the world. In recent years, it's been Singapore, China and England, where my siblings have been living. Thus when she stamps her approval on a dish, you know its a great eat.
Last year, after tasting Elegant Inn's lap mei fan (waxed meats rice) I was convinced this was probably the best in town. However, I was not fortunate to let my ever fussy madre to sample it. Recently, I managed to score a tasting session with the infamous dish for her - the sole purpose of our lunch. Both of us patiently waited for the rice...about 25-30 minutes since that was all we had ordered. As the minutes ticked away, we both didn't mind the long wait as it meant that the rice was prepared the traditional way i.e. cooked in the claypot itself vs the shortcut cheat method by cooking it in the rice cooker and finishing it off in the claypot. We both knew that the slow cooking meant crusty bits of rice sticking to the clay surface - our mouth was watering at the thought of those crunchy bits.
This simple traditional winter dish is best enjoyed when all the elements are in harmony - fluffy rice grains kissed with the juices emitted from the waxed meats, crunchy brown rice grains mixed within for the texture and of course, the waxed meats, a beautiful combination of sausage, duck, meat and liver that is not too salty yet fragrant. Out of the lot, the best was the liver sausages - set aside first like the prized crown jewels. Bite into one piece and it yields a soft texture with a burst of Chinese rose wine (mei kuei lu) that floods your mouth and tingles all the senses. Savour each special piece with a scoop of fluffy rice with crunchy grains mixed together.
The lap mei fan is available in two sizes: RM68++ for a three-four persons portion and RM128++ for an eight-ten persons portion. It is only available until stocks last, so go grab your bowl of goodness to usher in the Year of the Rabbit and 2011.
Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine2.01, 2nd Floor
Podium Block
Menara Hap Seng
Jalan P Ramlee
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2070 9399
(Non Halal. The original outlet is at No. 16, Jln Waras 1, Tmn Connaught, Cheras, Tel: 03-9130 2626. For more pictures on the food from Elegant Inn, see my Flickr collection.)
*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.
26 comments:
This looks and sounds really really yummy, but is it sacrilegious for me to imagine tossing an egg into the rice as well? Somehow I can't help imagining that the flavor of it would blend well with the rest of the recipe, though I'm probably wrong :D
Do they steam the meat over the rice and let all the fat seep into the rice? Lovely as it may sound, I fear the health consequences of eating this too often,
Is the waxed meat sweetened? It looks great but I don't like it when they smear it with honey.
Happy New Year Sean. Hmmm, I've not tried an egg in waxed meat rice before but I think it'll go together. Not sure whether the restaurant will let you add one though.
Hazza - I kinda suspect it is steamed seperately but in a way, it's a bit better since you can adjust the oil level when you do the steaming seperate. Makes it a bit healthy.
Happy New Year Au & Target. May roast chikkun rule your life forever. Don't worry, no honey in the waxed meats at all as it is a savoury dish. You can also buy the meats from the shop and make this at home if you prefer.
So did your mum like it? :)
J - she loved it hence the mum approved stamp. I reckon she's going to return and bring my aunt there for a meal.
OOoh I remember every grain of rice in this pot. I NEED to return for another round. Have a great start to your working week!
Ah, ok! :)
Couldnt see your photo because my ofis IT ppl have just deicided that all photo hosting like Flikr and Photobucket are evil and should be blocked.
(Have now just looked at it thru my iPhone instead...)
I really like the yun cheong here!
i agree it's the best! not too salty yet full of waxy ducky aroma.. blisssss ;)
Oh good golly gosh me! Even if I didn't like lap mei fan (which I do like, quite a bit at that), I would have totally fallen in love with your descriptions of it.
This has gotta be the SEXIEST food post of the year (admittedly only three days in). I mean, what with descriptions like these:
"our mouth was watering at... those crunchy bits... kissed with the juices emitted from the.. meats, ... the texture and of course, the... meats... that is not too salty yet fragrant. Out of the lot, the best was the... prized "crown jewels". Bite into one... it yields... with a burst... that floods your mouth and tingles all the senses."
I mean, you guys are feelin' me, right? Hehe.
Hehe... and I was actually going to post about this! We were just talking about going for this AGAIN :P
OMG i really gotta go try this. I love Lap mei fan!!! Happy New Year to you!
qwazymonkey - come come, we shld organise a trip here as the lap mei fan is to die for. Hve a good work week tday too.
J - ok, u poor gal. I guess they think Flickr and Photobucket has porn??
Michelle - yes, its very nice. Definitely one of the better yun cheong I've had before. Even better than the Yung Kee ones.
C&C - yeah, my mother was complaining abt the other places saying that they're usually very salty.
Life for Beginners - hee hee, Kenny I guess sex sells but yeah, it was not hard to describe it in that way, since it was the absolute truth for my tastebuds..
Pure Glutton - come come, we shld do a big gathering and go before the waxed meats run out.
eiling - Happy New Year and maybe we shld do one big dinner here one nite so we can finally meet up.
look yummy but non halal. hmm
Yes, sorry Norasikin! It's a traditional Chinese dish.
"MOM APPROVED" .. ? That beats my Creme de la Creme and HALL OF FAME anytime.
Respect :-)
HAPPPPPY NEW YEAR to you and Splashie Boy :-) Cheers from Addddooooobaby!
My mom lovesssss lap mei fan, and like your mom, she's also a fussy eater.
Time to show some daughterly love and bring her there!!
I have to concur that Elegant Inn's Lap Mei Fan is the best in KL that I have tasted. The aroma from the waxed duck and sausages was deliciously fragrant and each grain of perfectly cooked rice was coated with the correct amount of oil. Salinity of the dish was perfect too.
The Liver Sausages were a luxurious and indulgent treat, soft and smooth and flavorful. And the slightly charred rice provided a nutty crunch that perfected this beautiful dish.
Thanks for sharing. The Lap Mei Fan brightened up my otherwise dreary evening.
Happy New Year Julian, Louise and Vera! Thxs for the facebook link and the thumbs up.
Augustdiners - Happy New Year, sounds like all mothers are alike with their fussy palates, hope yours love this too.
PA - Glad it passed the fussy foodie's test too. It sounded tres manifique that nite on Twitter.
Wow, must try then. My parents are that way too - everything is never as good as stuff from their neighbourhood places in Johor Bahru. Feeding them in KL involves lots of complaints also about "why so far away? must pass through so many tolls". The one restaurant they actually really liked out of Johor Bahru is the Bayswater roast duck - lots of comments about that when we went to try the Four Seasons branch at Empire which I thought was quite yummy ("good but not as good as original - original has white layer of fat in between skin and meat") :)
Hsian - that rant sounds very familiar & we're in the same boat since our parents obviously have eaten the more superior Chinese cuisine at Spore. The difference is the type of duck, they use super fat and big ducks in London vs the skinny fellas we have from Perak. Hope you like this one, bring the lwyer to try.
i can't wait to give this a try!
babe_kl - you're going next Thursday or Wednesday right? Hope it meets up to your expectations. Jeanette will be around to explain to you on the nuances of the dish.
Can I just buy the lap Mei & cook myself?
I truly appreciate this article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
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