I could wax lyrical about Chef Choi all day and night.
Chef Choi serves Cantonese cuisine, although some of the dishes may come across as fusion. My enthusiasm stems largely from the quality of the food; you can’t go wrong with top notch ingredients. For instance, one can get matsusaka beef here. Matsusaka beef is a form of wagyu from the Matsusaka region of Japan, and interestingly enough, the meat comes from heifers. Similar to Kobe beef, the cows receive the usual pampering – massages, soothing music and a rich diet. A cow’s life, indeed. And so, our dining experience began – with a serving of matsusaka beef, vietnamese spring roll and a foie gras on bread. An excellent beginning – the beef was well marbled and tender and the foie gras was good enough to be eaten alone. Chinese cuisine, you say?
Think of the aromatic duck as a value-for-money-meal. Even the bones are edible. You get your protein AND your calcium. Honestly, I was amazed at how brittle the bones were. A dog’s life isn’t so bad, either. The duck skin was crisp and tasty. I’d even go to the extent of calling it the perfect duck. Da duck didn’t die in vain. An alliterating tongue twister. Wait, not quite. Da duck didn’t die in dain. (Definition of dain: Colloquial Scots, particularly North East Scotland meaning “doing” . A typical example may be “Fit i Ye Dain?'” = “What are you Doing?” Can also be “Dein”.)
If you think that’s indulgence, let me tell you that I had a most amazing suckling pig as well. Fatboybakes described it well: “Crisp skin, not too fatty, cos the slicing of the skin was expertly done, so the fat was on the meat, not on the skin.”
In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was not a fan of fried fish. We were served a fried soon hock (marbled goby), which left us aghast – I mean, the very thought of frying a soon hock (expensive) and slathering a sweet and spicy sauce couldn’t possibly be good – what were they thinking? But you know what? It was good. The fish was fresh, the flesh was firm, and we had absolutely no complaints. Be open to possibilities and new experiences.
I liked the prawns in superior soy sauce, sticky and sweet, although the one served in Oversea in Imbi wins my vote for this kind of preparation. The steamed chicken served with young ginger paste is one dish I’d order again. Don’t skip the ginger sauce. In appearance, it looks just like any other ginger paste, like what is served with chicken rice, but one mouthful is enough to convince you that this is a far superior sauce to any other, primarily because young ginger is used, and it is freshly ground.
The noodles deserved a pedestal of their own. Yee mee with lobster. How luxurious is that? Fan pei noodles (made of soy bean) was something I was trying for the first time – translucent in appearance with a bite to it. My absolute favourite was the sang mee with prawn roe – a simple dish that was bursting in flavour. Sometimes, limiting the number of ingredients in a dish to three or four is enough. The tomato noodles was zingy thanks to the vinegar in the sauce, but the flavours mellowed after being kept overnight (yes, I did the test).
For desserts, the almond milk with papaya was brilliantly presented in an environmental-friendly receptacle. They don’t have just typical Chinese desserts here; in fact, one of their popular desserts is the molten chocolate cake.
Until the end of August 2009, Chef Choi is offering a 25% discount for dine-ins.
Thanks very much, Marian Eu, for arranging this amazing dinner, and Cheng Sim, for hosting it. I dedicate my additional 2kg near my belly to you.
Chef Choi
159 Jalan Ampang
50450 KL
Tel: 03-2163 5866
Website HERE.
Also check out Fatboybakes, Cumidanciki, Masak-Masak.
Matsusaka beef, vietnamese spring roll and foie gras on bread
Aromatic duck with pancake
Suckling pig
Fried soon hock
Prawn in superior soy sauce
Steamed chicken with young ginger paste
Lobster yee mee
Fan pei
Fan pei
Sang mee with prawn roe
Tomato noodles
Desserts, clockwise from top: Creme brulee, almond milk with papaya, mango cream
Delicious stuff. very decadent, even sinful.
how true, not your typical Cantonese fare though ……
Oooooo…..the tomato noodles look interesting! And suckling pig….oh suckling pig…how I long for thee!! *drools*
Ooh la la! Oh my….
It all looks too refined for this munkey with crass tastebuds (trying very hard to sound like I don’t care. Did it work? Diddit?)
… ooh dammit. I need to have a meal here!
Mouthwatering-ly delicious!
ohh… unka so owe me a meal here! ggrr..!
Totally sinful, i would say!!! But we’re all sinners, aren’t we, lol! Thanks for the Scottish lesson – learned something new 😉
Oh my,… *drool*… so many tantalising delicacies…. 😀
(Woe for cholesterol and calorie counts, yay for tastebuds!)
J2Kfm: Yar, I needed to do penance after that.
Bangsar Babe: Wait till you try the sang mee with prawn roe. You will think that you’ve died and gone to heaven.
Munkeyboy: Faster go before Hari Merdeka to enjoy the discounts! Psst….I can see your saliva dripping from the other end of the Klang Valley.
Kiran: Certainly is!
thenomadGourmand: Hahaha. Unka, I hope you’re seeing this!
Pureglutton: Glad that you enjoyed the lesson!
J: What’s cholestrol?:-P
2 kgs u say? thats about rite with that kind amount of pictures!
Huh? Who? See what? Hahaha…Must take advantage of the 25% walk-in discount lah to feed her. Monkey, want to go on a double date?
why only protein and calcium? I want fats!!!!!!
scrumliciously delumptious!
Wow, looks fantastic. Will be in KL, staying at Ritz Carton end of the month…will go and try this place out. Thanks for recommendation.
your pics made me so hungry. it is near by my office, wish someone can go with me ;p
Turning some common dish into a high-class fare. But don’t agree with fried soon hock, uncantoneselah:-)
lotsofcravings: Now you know why I’m eating salads all the time.
Unka: I’m sure there will be many who will want to go with you. Yar, take Becks there pronto.
KY: Aiks, I forgot to mention FATS too. hehe.
Cumidanciki: I need to use your dictionary.
P.Chong: Oooh I love staying at Ritz Carlton. Enjoy your visit!
Wong Shan Ty: Oh, I’m sure there will be loads of people who will want to join you if you’re buying. 😉
Chin: Awww..yeah, I’d have thought like you too, but it was a nice difference.
“I dedicate my additional 2kg near my belly to you”
ROFL!! Now that’s hilarious… hahahahah…
I gotta admit that the lure of all the food above can be too much to take. I’m weak now…
the food looks very delicate ….
I was at their website and found some very interesting dishes; Claypot Rice with Lobster, Fried Rice Hokkien Style (woah, the black-black type ar?), Stir-fried Sliced Beef with Foie-Gras Sauce and Inaniwa Undo Noodles with Seafood Soup. woah! anyone’s bday coming up before 31 August? 🙂
Lovely dishes. Looks like the kind of place to host a birthday dinner. Never been there before, as I am not very exposed to Chinese cooking, except for the dishes my grandmama cooked for me. I think fusion is probably the ‘in’ thing now, and just as well to. No more excuses for not doing Chinese Dinner.
all i can say is – BLISS!
Sang mee with prawn roe looks absolutely beautiful… benchmark reset to the Nth. I shall never look at noodles the same way again.
The pics would drive anyone simply crazy! Absolute mouth watering.
That looks delicious! I’ve never eaten the bones before – that’s something new, but it would be interesting. Do they taste like bones?
Wonderful , beautiful , INSPIRING blogsite-I love the pictures!!! Thank you!Betty http://www.geothermalquestions.net
looks familiar. was i there?
I have never in my life had any of these dishes or many of those that you post about and yet every time I visit your blog, there is this feeling of longing, like homesickness… maybe I belong to your neck of the woods because the food always beckons lovingly and in comfort.
Went there last night after seeing ur blog, food was as good as it looks in your pics!
Only things was they didnt have the lobster yee mee (had to order that in advance according to the captain), but the sang meen with prawn roe was simply delicious! The aromatic duck was nice and crispy and painstakingly shredded by the staff!
Keep up the reviews and lovely pics!
HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY! 🙂
Love the first pic of all them rolls stacked up… There’s food photography and there’s food photography… and then there’s you. A master at work, ja? 🙂
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. 🙂 Cheers! Sandra. R.
i’ve heard a lot about this restaurant, but yet try it out. I should do so soon. the lobster yee mee looks so yummie