Whenever the Bald Eagle and I have dinner at KL Hilton, we invariably end up at Iketeru. After much grumbling on my part, especially after seeing Boolicious and WMW rave about Chynna, I finally got the opportunity to dine there. After church service today, and some deception on the part of the Bald Eagle (who told me we were having dim sum at Taman Connaught, much to my disdain as I was inappropriately dressed for outdoor dining…the heat is just so unbearable these days), I was naturally quite excited when I was informed of the “change in plans”.

Located on the 5th floor of the KL Hilton, this restaurant can be described in one word as opulent. Beautiful cushioned seats drenched in rich hues of deep purple, red and green welcomed us, or at least our butts, as we sank into the chairs. We were served a welcome drink by a chap, known as the tea master, with a pigtail wearing a blue brocade chinese outfit carrying a teapot (which looked more like a watering can!) with a metre-long spout. Quite dramatic. 🙂 Teh tarik, chinese style.

The dim sum selection here is a lot more extensive than at Li Yen (Ritz Carlton, KL). I was initially under the impression that this restaurant was non-halal, as the waitress mentioned char siew pau. But after looking at the menu, I noticed that there were no pork dishes, so I guess she said it for easy identification of dishes.

The yam croquettes with minced chicken and mushroom had nice chunks of chicken in it and a slightly distinctive taste of butter. It was more like a whiff rather than an in-your-face taste, which was perfect.

I usually enjoy fried turnip cake, but the pan-fried turnip cake with chicken floss which we were served here was too soft and mushy to be enjoyable. There were absolutely no crunchy bits in it, and I can imagine how excited toothless people will be with this dish.

So my picture of the prawn dumplings isn’t so great, but I blame it on the lighting. Opulence always comes with dim lights to accentuate the eerie appearance of the entire decor. The prawn dumpling, on the other hand, was wonderful as the prawn filling was fresh and crunchy.

The dish I enjoyed most this afternoon was the oven baked Hong Kong barbequed chicken buns. The bun was soft and fluffy with a crust that was almost cake-like in appearance and flaky. The sweet bun was a good foil for the savoury chicken filling.

The Canadian cod fish topped with ginger and garlic was lovely too. The finely minced ginger and garlic concoction went well with the firmly textured cod.

The shrimp and scallop dumpling topped with tobiko roe was very refreshing due to the addition of what appeared like thinly sliced chives in the dumpling. Besides, it’s hard not to like the combination of prawns and scallops, both of which were steamed to perfection.

Our final dish, which we ordered as an afterthought, was grandiosely named octopus mousse dumpling rolled with golden thread. In layman’s terms, they’re sotong balls. 🙂

Service, was of course, excellent, with waiters and waitresses constantly changing our plates and asking us if we wanted to order more.

Chynna
Level 5, Hilton Kuala Lumpur
3 Jalan Stesen Sentral
Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: +60 3 2264 2264