Chinese with zing!

It’s a fine mix of old and new at Zing where the best piece of advice given to TAN BEE HONG is to toss aside the menu and ask the staff to make recommendations instead

ONE can’t help but notice the tall, dark lattice screens, customary red tablecloths and unusual lamps. Indeed, stepping into Zing is like being almost transported back to old Shanghai of the 30s.

I say almost because it’s not an oppressive dose of the traditional. Contemporary cream-coloured armchairs and long, curved settees with cushions are comfortable enough to make you reluctant to get up once you’ve settled down. The lamps are conversation pieces, comprising a “scale” balanced on one end by the soft glow of a dragon and phoenix lampshade and (you wonder why) a Chinese writing brush on the other.

Also breaking away from tradition is the presence of two action stations. Traditionally, Chinese kitchens are usually in the back but at Zing, a dim sum station is located right at the entrance. The sight of chefs at work and the aroma of steaming dumplings are enough to quicken one’s step.

Turn the corner to the right and you’d come upon a noodle bar where chefs Du Suang Fu and Guo Ling Ping from Beijing are busy stretching and pulling dough to make la mien (hand-pulled noodles). Customers can park themselves at the counter and watch the chefs make them a bowl of noodles from scratch.

Priced from RM18, the noodles come with various sauces and toppings like prawn wantan and sliced duck breast, seafood and XO sauce, braised beef brisket, crab-meat and roe and fresh water prawn. I particularly enjoy the topping of spicy minced chicken and a luscious smoked duck breast. The spicy sauce is perfect for palates weaned on sambal and chili padi.

Apart from hand-pulled noodles, the chefs also make an interesting hand-sliced noodle dish. Here, they simply slice thin strips off a lump of dough to make the noodles.

At Zing, don’t bother with the menu. Instead, ask the staff for recommendations. After all, chef Simon Hew is at his creative best unrestrained by menu rules.

Dim sum (from RM6.90) is served daily for lunch and from 10am on Sundays. For dinner, dim sum is served as an appetiser. Ours come with three dainty morsels – poached wantan with spicy sauce, scallop xiu mai and wu gok (yam puff).

Other popular items include sharks’ fin dumpling soup, deepfried beancurd roll with prawns, crystal prawn dumpling and mini egg tarts.

Liz and I refresh our palates with a hearty soup made by simmering shark bones and dried scallops for hours. The strong, intense broth is served with white cabbage, fish maw and kei qi (boxthorn berries). Zing also offers a range of herbal concoctions designed to rejuvenate health.

I am not keen on the baked cod in filo pastry (RM38). The skinned cod fillet is marinated with garlic juice and salt. Then it’s wrapped in the pastry and baked. Unfortunately, I feel the flavour of garlic proves far too overpowering to allow the delicate cod to shine.

In contrast, the freshwater prawn with egg white custard (RM38) is a real treat. The prawn is halved lengthwise, making it easy to scoop out the orange roe in the head. The prawn and silky smooth egg white is a tight-wire dance of flavours on the tongue.

Moving on to meatier morsels, the barbecued duck breast is stunning. Full bodied in flavour without the accompanying gameiness, the duck has a layer of fat under the skin that keeps the duck meat juicy while allowing the skin to turn a glistening brown. By all means scrape away the fat if you must but don’t turn your nose up at the wonderfully crispy skin.

With all that food putting us in a buoyant, indulgent mood, we only put up a show of the slightest resistance as Hew talks us into a dessert set (RM18) comprising a bowl of hot almond tea, a durian tart and a durian pancake.

The milky almond tea, said to be good for the complexion, is smooth and slurpilicious but if you don’t like it, there’s a more mundane choice of mango pudding or gui ling gao (black tortoise shell jelly).

“Eat the hot tart first, then the cold pancake,” advises Hew. The flaky, crumbly tart is packed with durian flesh. The pastry shell has a slightly salty taste from the butter. Paired with the sweet durian flesh, it makes me feel warm and toasty all over. On the other hand, the cold pancake, oozing with durian flesh and cream, calms the tongue after the afternoon’s exciting play of textures and aroma.

Zing Chinese restaurant is at the Grand Millenium Hotel (formerly The Regent). It is open daily from noon to 2.30pm and from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. On Sundays and public holidays, it opens for dim sum breakfast from 10.30am.

ZING (pork-free)
Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur
160 Jalan Bukit Bintang, KL
Tel: 03-2117 4888