Dynasty Restaurant, Renaissance Hotel KL, Now Pork Free, Dim Sum Promo 50% Off Till 29 August

I always know that when an invite comes from the Renaissance Hotel KL, the end result is inevitably a food coma of sorts.  Whilst I first mourned the passing of one of the last bastions of non halal dim sum places in local hotels, I was massively comforted by the outstanding quality of dim sums that were pork free, that we got to sample whenst they first turned over the new leaf, and went PORK FREE.  Memories of those glorious golden yam puffs that melt in the mouth, those plump siu mais...the list goes on.

Anyway, until 29th August, there's a 50% promo off dim sums during lunch time from Mondays to Fridays, which is a damn good deal if you ask me.  Or you can create your own 4 course menu at RM49.90 nett per person, for lunch OR dinner.

The ubiquitous egg tarts with flaky pastry...

The golden Yam Puffs, which initially were just for show, until I pleaded for us to have them, so to our table it came.

Fried Radish Cake....

Prawns with Cheese....

Chive dumplings in chilli oil....

Har Gaos...(Prawn dumplings)

Chicken Char siu baos

Scallop dumpings....

There are more than 30 types of dim sum to choose from, so knock yourself out.

For the set menu, there's a choice of 1 dish from each category of Soup, Fish and Poultry, Noodle, and Dessert, with a choice of add ons.

Stir Fried Grouper Fillet with Spring Onion & Ginger.... classic, simple and tasty.

Cantonese Wonton Noodle with honey glazed chicken and vegetable.  Unfortunately that day the noodles were a bit overcooked, I would have preferred it more al dente.  The kitchen has been notified.

Other choices available are:
SOUP
Assorted Seafood & Crabmeat broth
Sun dried seafood consomme
Shredded Duck Broth with Chives (We had this, but I can't find the photo, it was good)
Wonton Pouches in Consomme

FISH & POULTRY
Stir Fried Duck with Sesame Oil and Oyster Sauce
Grouper Fillet Sauteed With Portuguese Sauce
Stir Fried Grouper Fillet with Spring Onion & Ginger (the one we had)
Sauteed Chicken Strips with Dried Chilli

NOODLE
Stewed mee sua with fish dumpling (not a fan of mee sua, so definitely not my choice)
Seafood Ramen in superior stock
Pan fried Hong Kong egg noodle with enoki and chicken
Cantonese Wonton Noodle with honey glazed chicken & Veg (the one we had)

DESSERT
Chinese Pancake
Signature glutinous rice balls coated with sesame
Osmanthus Pudding
Herbal Jelly With Honey (we had this)

For reservations
Dynasty Restaurant
Renaissance Kuala Lumpur
03-21622233

Dim Sum Brunch at Celestial Court, Pork Free and Guaranteed Full!! (As In Tummy Full)

Celestial Court's (Sheraton Imperial) Dim Sum has always been in my top 3 favourite pork free dim sums.  But actually, for dim sum, I think pork free is not really an issue, I honestly can't tell much difference, except for pork ribs steamed in bean sauce, which of course, is non existent in a pork free menu.  I digress.

The Dim Sum Brunch, priced at RM138 nett, is available on weekends, and really has enough variety to confuse even the most focused of eaters.  There are three starter items that diners are entitled to only ONE serving of, but the rest of the stuff in the menu, knock yourself out man.

The first of the limited items is this Double Boiled Chicken Soup With Mini Whole Abalone and Mushroom

One aspect of Chinese cuisine, perhaps more Cantonese than anything else, that I really love, and need daily, is soup.  Doesn't matter if it's single, double or triple boiled, I just love that clear broth that precedes a meal.  Chinese soups are rarely the creamy heart clogging stuff like their western counterparts, and have always some kind of therapeutic or nutritious value to it.  In this case, the chicken for ...well, the soul, and ginseng for virility I guess.  And abalone I'm guessing for the sweetness and taste.

Seafood grouper dumpling with century egg, asparagus served with XO Sauce and Pumpkin Puree.  You'll be pleased to know that this dish is in the UNLIMITED section of the menu, meaning you can order more than one.

Signature mini abalone Siu Mai...well, if the abalone is the soup was mini, this is miniscule.  Note the size in relation to the finger nail.  Miniscule abalone aside, the siu mai is one of those items that is traditionally pork, but is replaced by chicken, without any loss of taste.  At least to me.

Shanghainese Dumpling (Xiu Long Bao) served in Tom Yam Broth. I honestly am a bit ambivalent about this dish, because sometimes I feel if it works, why change it.  I prefer ordinary xiu long bao to be honest, as the tom yam tends to overpower everything else.  And afterall, the joy of an XLB is having that clear superior broth flood your palate as it pops in your mouth.

Celestial Court Squid Ink Har Gao.

This lovely platter of Chilli Crab with Fried and Steamed Mantao, is the other dish that is limited to one portion per person.  This here is for 5 people.  The chilli sauce is absolutely yummy with the mantao.  The crabs, well, to be honest, blue swimmer crabs are not my favourite, give me mud crab anyday, but respecting religious sensitivities, Blue Swimmer Crabs are not amphibious and therefore are acceptable to all.

But seriously, that sauce and mantao, big thumbs up.

Their signature prawn and banana roll with wasabi mayonnaise has been a long time favourite of mine, and it takes a brave chef to think of such a combination.  It works wonderfully though, the heat of the wasabi, the subtle sweetness of the banana and the crunch of the prawn.

Bean curd rolls with Shrimp and Cheddar cheese.  Well, the cheddar was a subtle amount, which was good, as it didnt distract from the intended flavours.  I always love bean curd rolls, steamed, fried, whatever.

Yam Puff with duck liver and preserved olive filling.   Loved the yam, so creamy and rich, while crispy on the outside,  Very good woo kok.

Actually, in addition to just DIM SUM, there is a whole host of other stuff on the menu, and the roasts section, which surprisingly is not unlimited, boasts this roast duck which is very very good.  In fact, if you ask me, it's better than the limited offering of Peking Duck rolls.

Did I mention Peking Duck Rolls?  Yup, here they are, and these are the last of the three items where diners are allowed to order only one portion.  Which is more than enough.  Go for the roast duck, that is the bomb.

One of the bloggers/writers at the table mentioned that she is always on the quest for a good salted egg custard bun, and well, tah dah, whaddaya know...

I like to think of this as the chinese molten lava cake, as well, for starters, it's yellow, and secondly, that flowy lava-ry goodness does resemble lava more than chocolate does right?  I love this bao, if I wasn't so full I'd have attacked more.

Just having these few items was enough to send me into a food coma for the afternoon, so I dread to think what will happen if I came for the Weekend Brunch, paid RM138 and was working to get my money's worth.

The rest of the menu is really like an ala carte menu, with chicken, beef, seafood, rice and noodle dishes, so it really IS very very good value.

For more details or to make a reservation, please call 03-27179900, e-mail at restaurants.imperial@sheraton.com or visit www.sheratonimperialkualalumpur/celestialcourt

Imperial Pot, Solaris Dutamas

Actually, if you were to ask me where to go for Dim Sum, I'd have to think long and hard.  There are the usual staples, but say if you wanted something different, where would you go?  And by virtue of dabbling in this hobby, inevitably I do get asked quite often for food recommendations, and often, I am stumped.

So, if you were ask me now where to go for Dim Sum, I would actually recommend Imperial Pot, in Dutamas Solaris.  That place if you are not familiar with it, is a horrendous maze.  As you ascend from the bowels of the earth, where the carpark is, the levels do not follow a sequence understandable to humans.  It goes from B5, B4, B3 and possibly suddenly UG, UG1,...you get the drift.

If you are LOOKING at Solaris Dutamas from main road, ie, from Duta Tropika guard room, then Imperial Pot would be towards your far left, as the hill ascends, and is on the first level, which is the level above the road level of the perimeter road.

The first question I asked when Walauwei invited me was, "does Imperial Pot make you high too, like regular Pot?" ...okay, children below 18, please ignore that remark.







To kickstart a sleepy Saturday morning , a variety of soups of aphrodisiac and energizing qualities....ranging from American ginseng, I'm guessing angelica,wolfenberry and all the other things "pou".  They're served elegantly in tea pots, poured into miniscule cups, (like the ones in bak kut teh shops, and proper tea houses), so bottoms upping is no problem.  Different assortments of meats are available as well, chicken and pork.  Apparently that's where the name Imperial Pot is derived.  I must have missed this part of the preamble. 











Unagi Puffs In BBQ sauce.  The pastry was nice and buttery, though it probably contained lard...lard gives a light airiness to chinese pastries that is difficult to replicate with shortening and margarine, which are bad for you anyway.




Egg Custard Bun in Charcoal Grilled Skin


Oinky Custard Bun..


So how does cuteness rank against a rather pedestrian dull charcoal exterior?  Actually, as in all things, beauty lies within, and the filling of the charcoal bun was superb.  Melt in the mouth, rich, eggy and salt egg yolky custard, treating the palate to shades of saltiness and sweet all in that molten lava of wonderful yellow. 


Nothing to warm the entrails of the heart more than bacon, the very sight of it makes me almost as high as pot, ...not that I have ever tried.  Enokis in Pig Skins...Usually we see enokis wrapped in cow, in Japanese restaurants.  Wrapping them mushrooms in pig is so much nicer, if you ask me. 


Leopard Skin Prawn Dumplings.  Basically, the traditional har kau with spots.  Good for the traditionalists, who need the familiar. 


Bits of leftover Darth Vader's head.  Okay, charcoal skinned prawn dumpling.  What's with the charcoal craze?  I am not sure, maybe it's the detoxifying properties of charcoal, so that you can eat and still feel healthy. 


Bak Kut Teh Siu Long Baos...a rather novel idea.  The skin was adequately thin, and the burst of soup as you bite into it is most satisfying.  Like eating a HUGE fish egg...don't you love the squirt of brine when you bite into fish roe...yeah, it's something like that. 


This cheong fun wrapped around a yoo tiao must be Hong Kongese, since I've only ever had it there.  I'm not sure I understand this marriage, but nevertheless the ricy almost glutinous cheong fun with the greasy yoo tiao (a friend described yoo tiaos as air trapped in grease), does make an interesting combo. 


Fresh prawns in orgasmic ..oops, organic red rice roll.  Again, very unique, and something I won't mind trying again. 






Actually Xiu Long Baos are rather photogenic food.  It's like the meringue of the dim sum world. 


A cross section of the earlier mentioned prawns in organic red rice roll. 


Deep fried dragon's beard... Which I think would have been a cooler name than deep fried avocado roll with crispy silk wrap.  It reminds me of that greek dessert, just not as sweet.  Can't really go wrong with avocado, unless it was a bad one to begin with. 


Salted Egg Prawn, which seems a bit incongruous to the surroundings, if you ask me.  It looks like it fell off a banquet menu more than a dim sum one. 

And to end it all,Tau Fu Fah, which was a rather large serving, which everyone got one of.  Oddly enough, all the chicks on the table, found a sour aftertaste to the bean curd, but none of the guys could detect that sour aftertaste.  Fascinating.  maybe it's estrogen related.

I am not sure if they charge corkage, but I am thinking of having a bubbly brunch here soon.  (if they have no or nominal corkage).


Imperial Pot
A1-UG1-03 Solaris Dutamas
No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1,
Dutamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
(603) 6412 6188
(603) 6412 6288
Opens daily: 9:30am – 9:30pm (rest time 3-5.30)
http://www.facebook.com/ImperialPot
http://www.imperialpot.com/