Things on the food front are starting out refreshingly different this year, I am glad to report. A heightened sense of chutzpah towards the appreciation of diverse schools of nourishment, as if I'd just woken up from a drawn out slumber of indifference and lethargy. Things I'd previously been oblivious to, or hastily dismissed upon one lousy experience or another, are suddenly offensively irresistible. Like tiresome steamboat. Or messy Ramly mystery meat burgers. Or the seasonal icon nga ku beng.
My previous eating incarnation would never have dreamed of making a beeline for new Oriental Group joint the Han Room at the Gardens mid-week. I mean, Chinese banquet-type dinners have been ingrained from childhood as purely extended family territory and all its connotations.
But on this feasting occasion in work vicinity, nothing else came close to remotely exciting birthday girl Vicky W as the Han Room. A wise choice, as so laid an evening before us of fine, happy feasting.
Crispy cod fish roll with chicken floss. None of us were big fans of chicken floss on well, anything, but this was a delightful savoury start.
Why not mix the starter up a little and throw in something sweet? The thousand layered cake was fine but rather one-dimensional, certainly didn't do its name justice.
The luscious Peking Duck invoked latter unprecedented cravings. I am at this very minute, physically fighting off a craving for that crispy yet juicy skin wrapped in pancake, accentuated by hoisin sauce. The leftover meat, however, was a bit too lean and dry for us but the kitchen worked with what they had with the second course of fried rice from the same dish.
The braised beancurd in crab roe sauce sounded so commonplace I would have glazed over it in a heartbeat, had my dining companions not called attention to it. The crabby sauce lifted every cynical Chinese preconception. Delicious.
With the consistent quality so far, there was no way late arrival Hong Kong Kai Lan "2 ways" could have failed us.Regular programming all out the window by the time we wrapped up the dishes, I agreed over-enthusiastically to desserts, which again, is way out in left field for me. Some years ago, I lost my sweet tooth, I suspect to growing fondness of the drink, never to have seen more than a rare, superficial revival. But I am starting to see a possibility of a real change this year!
The star dessert of the day was the thoroughly refreshing Summer Breeze Coconut Jelly. Provided thoughtful balance to a meal too entirely heavy for a Tuesday evening.
Birthday girl's double boiled sea coconut with snow pear. A-OK.
And to cap it all off, I had the sweetened yin yang avocado & mango. I liked that it wasn't crazy heavy or sweet, despite my earlier reservations. Considering I was bursting at the seams at this point, I managed to mop this up to the last drop and still wished there'd been a spoonful more.
Service remained top-notch well into closing time. We sat around for hours, drunk on duck, dessert and conversation and only realised much later that our table was the last one keeping them from pulling the shutters down, because the staff kept diligently pouring tea and keeping out of our way.
The Han Room
Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall,
Mid Valley
Tel: 03-2284 8833
Ma Maison offers a RM30 nett meal of a myriad of emancipation from stuffy and restrictive diets and starters. There is plenty ot chew on, from garlic toast to toast with caramelised onions & cheese and egg mayo concoction, salad involving eggplant, pasta and beansprouts and potatoes. We were well sated on the homely fare before the main courses made it to the table.
We ponder in silence upon a totally pretty yet pedestrian visual arrest of the City of Love.
The Duck in Orange Sauce is perhaps the most fitting ode to the marriage vow - obliging and hope-inducing. The sauce is robust enough to pare down the fowl gusto of the duck. Most satisfying, as I am sure the parties of the impending union would concur of each other.
The other main course on offer, Perch in Butter Sauce didn't fare quite as well. The meal owner felt that while the flesh was firm and fresh, the sauce was a too heavy on the cream and didn't do it justice. Hmm... mayhaps a conundrum for marital discourse?
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