“A Feast For The Imperial Subjects”
In the food reviewer’s world, one lives in the future. You start celebrating festivities even before the layperson does. Take Christmas festivities as an example, we started indulging in turkeys and puddings back in October way before everyone started their Christmas holiday meal plans. With Chinese New Year just a couple of weeks away, we have already sat through a couple of Lo Hei sessions during Christmas season!
Pan Pacific’s flagship Cantonese restaurant, Hai Tien Lo, has a gastronomic culinary spread planned to welcome the Year of the Wooden Goat. We were given a sneak preview of the menu before its official unveiling on 2 February 2015.
Hai Tien Lo seems to have been modeled after a palace (or a rich nobleman’s villa). The interior has the vibe of the grandeur of wealth and prosperity with the choice of reds and golds yet with ample privacy all around. Private rooms aside, there are screens separating the tables in the outside seating area as well.
Flourishing Prosperity Yusheng with Fresh Lobster, Alaskan Crab, Hokkaido Scallop, Norwegian Salmon, Salmon Roe and Japanese Kelp.
I have always found Yusheng fascinating especially with the inclusion of the decadent ingredients – premium seafood; yet everyone is encouraged to toss the ingredients as high as possible to generate more prosperity – the messier the better. Oh don’t tap the chopsticks or shake them after you’re done; you are shaking your newfound luck away (that’s what the older generation often warn about).
Hai Tien Lo has a selection of six different Yusheng platters, each auspiciously named, presenting a decadent selection of fresh seafood. Hai Tien Lo’s Yusheng platters are priced between $38 – $228 and are available in both small and large sizes.
The end result after all the hard tossing and “huat ah” (prosperous) chants is a messy yet delicious sweet plate of vegetables and seafood.
Double-boiled Abalone, Fish Maw, Dried Scallops, Sea Cucumber and Fermented Black Garlic.
Cantonese cuisine is famous for its slow cooked soups; often steamed for hours at a time under pressure to preserve the structural integrity of the ingredients and to harness the richness in essences. The broth was infused with oceanic scallop flavours and was enjoyable with every slurp. Loved the texture of the springy fish maw slice and the collagen rich sea cucumber.
Chef’s Signature Trio of Treasure – Deep-fried Dumplings with Squids Paste and Salted Egg, Crispy Barbecued Suckling Pig with Fermented Taro Curd Sauce and Steamed Dumplings with Prawns, Vegetables and Black Moss).
This was the highlight of my lunch. I love a good suckling pig – Hai Tien Lo certainly nailed it with a nicely charred crispy skin over a light layer of fat and juicy flesh oozing with pork juices. Definitely not something for the health-conscious.
The steamed dumpling was a premium variant of the otherwise regular “shui gao” served with black moss (fa cai – to prosper) and roe. The fried dumpling was fascinating, while supposedly to represent a bee it looked more like an upside down piglet with its tiny trotters in the air. Despite it being exposed to the humidity longer than usual (food bloggers tend to eat things slightly cold and soggy after wasting all the precious time taking photos, although we tend to take photos pretty fast already), it still had a nice crunch to it but I would have pined for more salted egg fillign in the dumpling.
Steamed Sea Perch Fillet with Preserved Meat and Shredded Ginger. The sea perch was light and delicate on the palate. The slices of preserved sausage added a nice sweetness with every mouthful.
Stewed Inaniwa Udon with Lobster and Truffles Sauce in Supreme stock. Not your usual lobster noodles. Hai Tien Lo has replaced the usual springy “mee pok” with hand kneaded Inaniwa Udon. A lazy eater’s delight, the udon literally slides down your throat without much chewing required. The generous serving of sweet succulent lobster was greatly appreciated and the rich stock paired very well with the black truffle sauce for a more western mix.
Double-boiled Imperial Swiftlet’s Nest with Maltose. Petit Homemade Pineapple Tart and Nian Gao. According to traditional Chinese medicine, bird’s nest has lots of health benefits and it would be befitting to serve this during a sumptuous CNY meal. Hai Tien Lo’s has lots of this gelatinous goodness and I felt rejuvenated. Pineapple tart was a little too petite for me to enjoy though. The nian gao had coated with fried peanuts and coconut shavings which gave another take on a regular mundane Chinese New Year staple.
Hai Tien Lo has an interesting menu for the upcoming Year of the Wooden Goat which starts 2 February until 5 March 2015. Share the joy and well wishes over a gathering of gastronomic delights and signature dishes including flavourful and succulent Braised Whole Abalone with Sea Cucumber and Dried Oyster, Double-boiled Fish Maw and Dried Scallops in Premium Chinese Wine and Barbecued Crispy Whole Suckling Pig with a crackling finish.
Expected Damage: from $108/pax for set menu