Iberico Ribs
Sigh, it's been so long since I blogged that I reckon I have forgotten how to already. Here's my attempt in getting back into the groove and clearing that mountain of blog posts.
It is not like I don't eat out almost every day but honestly, it's getting harder and harder to find really good places to eat.
Instead, we gravitate towards old places we are familiar with such as Gu Yue Tien where dishes are always tip-top. It is heartening to see Places & Foods chose this place for his choice for this year's Time Out KL's awards (vote for it with this link). Hopefully it picks an award as the food here is always innovative and darn good, every visit I've been.
foie gras mousse on toast
My friend CS had rounded us up for a dinner here. She had sampled the set dinner they had introduced to celebrate their eighth anniversary that is priced at RM880++ for 8-10 persons. Her raves got our tongues drooling hence we gathered here one rainy Saturday night.
We didn't meet the quota for eight persons, hence there was an extra portion, but that was easily eaten up.
wok-fried whitebait with salted egg yolk
The meal kicks off with an assortment of appetizers, ranging from the exciting to the ho-hum ones like deep-fried prawn dumpling and century eggs topped with a slice of pickled ginger.
All of us had our own favourites. I immensely enjoyed the crispy whitebait. Each fish was deep-fried to a golden crunchy texture that was coated with the immensely umami-tasting salted egg yolk. Curry leaves and chopped chillies gave it a slight fiery hit. I reckon if I could have eaten it all up by myself.
cucumber topped with chicken floss
The cucumber cups with chicken floss was simple but tasty. I especially liked the crunchy texture of the Japanese cucumbers combined creamy mayonnaise with the savoury taste of the chicken floss. Kinda reminds me of those addictive floss buns I must always eat at Bread Talk.
The foie gras mousse on the deep-fried toasts were yummy too and topped with a piquant diced mango pickle to balance out its richness.
jellyfish with cold chicken on cucumber
The jellyfish appetizer with the cold chicken topped with the tangy chilli sauce was an excellent way to kick up our appetites for the main meal.
sliced pork neck with cucumber
A crowd favourite was the pork neck slices wrapped around crunchy cucumber slivers. What made it yummy was the hot bean sauce that topped it.
crabmeat balls
An old school appetizer was the crabmeat balls with a crunchy beancurd skin exterior. In the olden days, it would have been made from the pig's caul (fine net-like) but nowadays, it has been abandoned for the healthier beancurd skin. These delectable morsels are stuffed with fresh crabmeat, crunchy water chestnuts, celery and carrot with a light touch of five-spice powder.
braised seafood soup with crab roe
Since it was a rather cold rainy night, the slightly thick but aromatic soup hit the right spot. There were chopped up seafood and tofu cubes as we dug into our bowls.
wok fried freshwater prawn with spicy sauce
I really enjoyed the next dish, the prawn that came with this slurpworthy sauce. It was piquant and slightly spicy, with a thick texture. One could imagine a crab being cooked in this sauce that would have us licking all our fingers. This came with toast for us to dip and sweep up the sauce as daintily as possible.
The meat item was a choice between, the wok charred lamb rack or iberico pork ribs. I've always loved those ribs and it was delicious and so good that one did not mind messing up our fingers as we ate each long rib with our fingers.
hunan fish
Then came the steamed fish topped with a generous sprinkle of chopped chillies and garlic, cooked Hunan style. This was yummy as the smooth fish flesh goes well with the tangy (but strangely enough not spicy) chilli and garlic mix. It is served with blanched beehoon noodles, that soaks up the soy sauce, garlic and chilli topping so well.
Last but not least, we end with a refreshing dessert of chilled sea coconut with longan and snow fungus. There's a slice of lime underneath the glass that adds a tangy taste to the not overly sweet dessert. Thumbs up to my friend CS for the great recommendation and Frankie Woo of Gu Yue Tien for not dissapointing our fussy palates.
Gu Yue Tien
Lot 5A, Chulan Square
Jalan Raja Chulan
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2148 0808
(Non Halal. The set is available until end of this September. More pictures in the Flickr set.)
*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.