Grand Imperial Restaurant’s Assorted Fruit and Nuts with Chicken Bits (right) and Almond with Sesame White Lotus Paste mooncakes. — Photos: YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
A FEW names come to mind when thinking of a place to go for a satisfying Chinese meal.
With 11 branches serving banquet-style Chinese delicacies from dim sum, barbecue, steamboat, Hong Kong noodles and fresh seafood, quality is always a priority at any Grand Imperial restaurant.
Having been in the food and beverage industry since 2008, the Grand Imperial Group of Restaurants has set a benchmark for premium food.
We visited the well-known restaurant at its Sri Hartamas branch and were pleasantly surprised with the lunch offerings.
On the menu were interesting choices comprising Deep-fried Spoon Beancurd Skin with Chilled Century Egg and Abalone, Double-boiled Shark’s Bone Cartilage with Fish Maw, Roasted Crispy London Duck and Stewed Egg Noodles with Crab Meat and Truffle in Bamboo Cup.
We were excited to tuck into the beancurd and abalone dish because we could eat everything there including the “spoons” made out of beancurd.
Perfectly seasoned and crispy, the edible vessel carried the egg and abalone effortlessly, making a mouthful of this a joy to consume.
Juicy Roasted Crispy London Duck melts like butter on the palate.
While century egg is an acquired taste, the combination of all the elements here was harmonious to the point where the pungent egg sat in the background and only emerged delicately to complement the subtle abalone.
A lot can be said about double-boiled soups – this one had all the elements of premium and “good for health” ingredients and warm, soothing textures.
The milky, gelatinous soup actually got its texture from shark cartilage, which is known to be packed with collagen.
The fish maw, while it is generally tasteless, absorbed the flavours of other ingredients through its spongy texture, making this an extremely appetising soup.
Velvety and ‘melts like butter’ was what can be said about the prized, crispy London duck.
Plum sauce and a special soy sauce accompanied the bird, but even on its own the duck was ethereal.
Combining Chinese cuisine with hints of truffle sounds tricky, but the noodles, crab meat and truffle made for a harmonious combination of flavours.
Deep-fried Spoon Beancurd Skin with Chilled Century Egg and Abalone.
Grand Imperial is also having its Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition snow skin mooncake promotion until Sept 29 comprising Snow Skin White Lotus Single Yolk and Snow Skin Custard and Chicken Floss, priced at RM27 per piece.
Executive dim sum chief chef Fanny Foo said the sweetness of the custard was balanced with the saltiness of chicken floss.
A little something special is the butterfly pea flower that lends the bluish hue to the snow skin.
Grand Imperial is also offering the Royal Salute 21-year-old Scotch Whisky package with four pieces of mooncake (customers can choose their flavours) priced at RM888nett per set.
Stewed Egg Noodles with Crab Meat and Truffle in Bamboo Cup.
Eight other baked mooncake varieties are also available until Sept 29 comprising Red Bean Paste with Citrus (RM24), Macha Red Bean (RM25), Low Sugar White Lotus Paste (RM26), White Lotus Single Yolk (RM29), Pandan Lotus Paste Single Yolk (RM29), Lotus White Paste Double Yolk (RM29), Assorted Fruit and Nuts with Chicken Bits (RM29) and Almond with Sesame White Lotus Paste (RM29). All prices are for one piece.
The mooncakes are sold at selected Grand Imperial outlets. For details, visit www.grandimperial.com.my
GRAND IMPERIAL RESTAURANT, Hartamas Shopping Centre, Lot F33-F35, First Floor, No. 60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: 03-6201 3777) Business hours: 11.30am to 3pm (Monday to Saturday), 10am to 3pm (Sunday and public holidays), 6pm to 10.30pm (Monday to Sunday).
This is the writer’s personal observation and not an endorsement by StarMetro.
