JOHOR BARU: WHERE can one savour exquisite halal Cantonese cuisine in an elegant and modern setting in the city?
Wan Li Chinese restaurant in Renaissance Johor Baru comes to mind.
One of Malaysia’s top 10 chefs, chef de cuisine Khairuzzaman Ahmad Hadzri and three other masters, dim sum sous chef Go Yong Jia, Chinese sous chef Alan Choong Wah Loon and chef de partie Tee Jerri, are pooling their considerable skills to create contemporary Cantonese dishes bound to impress even the most discerning of diners.
Khairuzzaman, better known as Chef Man, is applying his knowledge and experience to innovate upon classic dishes to offer the diner a surprisingly satisfying and memorable experience.
Since the restaurant was certified halal by the Islamic Development Malaysia in May, the culinary team has crafted a menu to mark the restaurant’s new chapter.
In addition to handmade dim sum and a la carte dishes, Wan Li also offers menus tailor-made to the diner’s taste and requirements.
With five private dining rooms, the restaurant also presents a venue option for exclusive events and celebrations.
Diners were given a demonstration of what goes on behind-the-scenes for them to comprehend the minute details that go into the preparation and presentation of dishes that taste and look good.
A good example of a dish that calls for careful assemblage is the deep-fried, smoked, pan-fried and chilled salad. Soft-shell crab with mushroom king oyster, duck breast with honeydew and cucumber slices marinated in garlic and black vinegar, scallop with supreme sauce, and prawn with seasonal vegetables are cooked in various styles and assembled in one platter.
To prepare traditional ginseng chicken soup, the chefs boil organic kampung chicken with ginseng and herbs for six hours.
”The thickened soup is next steamed for another six hours to condense all the goodness. The result is a fortifying health tonic,” said Tee.
Hong Kong-trained Go demonstrated the meticulous preparation of five types of dim sum — deep-fried taro croquettes, pan-fried Shanghai dumpling, steamed prawn and scallop dumpling, steamed golden custard bun, and baked char-siew puffs.
His attention to the smallest details was again evident in his next demonstration, when he carefully weighed each little piece of pastry to form the perfect pandan lotus puff.
For main course, Choong presented a platter of braised abalone and sea cucumber with abalone supreme sauce, mango Peking duck on a golden egg roll char-siew, fillet of steamed sea bass, and braised yee fu noodles topped with deep-fried fillet of garoupa.
The exquisite dishes were perfectly paired with Chinese tea and rounded off with the delectable cold bird’s nest with a side of freshly-baked Pandan lotus puff.
Set meals may be customised for two to 20 persons with advance orders.
Other delicious options are the All-You-Can-Eat Hong Kong dim sum promotion at RM39++ per person; Dong Zhi eight-course set meal at RM188++ per person; and New Year set meal at RM198++ per person.
For reservations, call 07–381 3333 and for information, visit www.renhotels.com.