Friday, January 29, 2016

First Lou Sang of 2016 - Imperial Garden, Tai Thong Group

Gasp, January is almost over, and I have not written a single thing since 2016.  A sure sign that this blogger is at the sunset of his blogging career!!!

My first event of the year from the ever exuberant Eddy aka Chyuan Tiffin, of the TT Group, for their Chinese New Year press event.  Their events are always very carnivalesque, previously with all kinds of interesting stalls, and photobooths, and calligraphy booths, etc.  Well, perhaps the economy has come to a screeching halt, but there was markedly less festivities this year.

This was basically the spread which we expecting, as this was all laid out nicely at the foyer for photography...

Entrance of the god of Prosperity and the Monkey god.  No offence to these Chinese deities, but I don't think I'd fancy an encounter with either of them in a dark alley way late at night.  In a rather rare appearance, Eddy himself gave the welcome address...




Their Golden Fortune Yu Sang is basically a fruit salad, rather than the usual traditional Yu Sang with the gloriously artificially colored unidentifiable objects....which makes this rather refreshing, but there's no Yu, nor was there any jelly fish, which frankly, at RM108.80++....hmmmm.....No doubt it was tasty.  Those who prefer the traditional Yu Sang might find this a tad too healthy.

But good news, they do have the traditional Yu Sang as well, the Fortune Yee Sang with Salmon and Snow Pear (also RM108.80++) or the Double Happiness Yee Sang with Japanese Fish Roe and Prawns, at RM128.80++.


Steamed Fatt Choy Dumpling with Prawns...we were sampling both the dinner and lunch menus.  RM8.80++ per basket.

I have to say, this baked dried oyster tart was stunning..... Buttery (or maybe lardy) flaky shortcrust pastry, melt in the mouth with a delicious oyster filling.  This was one of my favourite dishes of the night. RM8.80++

The steamed bamboo rice with waxed meat, part of the lunch time menu, at RM10.80++. is worth every penny.  Lovely flavours infused into the rice by the waxed stuff...




Steamed Triple Delight With oyster sauce, RM9.80++, pretty good value as well, with a dried oyster, a small tuft of fatt choy and chinese mushrooms on a fish and prawn patty.

Everyone's unanimous favourite of the night, double boiled dried premium seafood soup served in coconut.  A clear soup, with all the goodness of a chinese soup, abalone, scallops, fish maw, crab sticks (eugh, I don't know why this absurdly fake ingredient is allowed in any dish at ALL), mushrooms, bamboo pith, village chicken and red dates.  Well, seeing to how all the ingredients are listed out, I might try making this at home, because it's really very very good.  RM48.80++.  (That used to be the price of an entire meal per head)...

By this time, we were all getting rather full, as that soup was quite filling, and we already had the bamboo rice, so I think Eddy was trying to get us into a food coma.  The main rice dish, the Claypot Rice with Chinese Waxed Meat and Edamame, really filled us up.  What a jolly good idea to add edamame to the lap mei fan dish...

The grandfinale, Fortune Seafood Treasure Pot.  I personally think crab sticks should really be banned from any dish, unless it deliberately wants to look cheap.  The fortune pot, well, costs a fortune as well, RM298.80 ++ for 5 pax, and RM498.80 ++ for 10 pax.  Consists of tiger prawn, jade perch, cheese baked mussels, stuffed squid with chicken meat, shitake mushrooms, baby corn, etc etc...


Something must have greatly amused the floggerati...

And finally, chilled nian gao with osmanthus and sakura RM11.80++. Such a pretty dessert if you ask me, pieces of nian gao enveloped in the translucent osmanthus jelly.

Anyway, there's a whole host of Tai Thong restaurants to choose from,