Dang Ying Red Bean Pumpkin Ball with Banana. — Photos: PATSY KAM
It was an appetiser stamped all over with chef Wong Ling Soon’s trademark: slices of abalone rolled with snow fungus surrounding braised duck tongues in a special sauce laid over jellyfish.
The subtly spiced and tender duck tongues came with a garlic chilli dip, and the delicate slices of abalone with crunchy snow fungus was a mirror of the 1970s when the chef ruled in his own Rasa Sayang restaurants.
At Noble Mansion in Petaling Jaya recently, the chef held court, presenting two special menus with his dishes – this appetiser being one of them.
Deep-fried Pomfret and Stir-fried Scallops with XO Sauce.
Wong explained how the next appetiser had the pork fat in a sugar bath before being rolled with pork and liver in the Fengcheng-style Pork and Liver Roll.
“You can’t taste the fattiness at all,” he said, and indeed the roll was excellent.
Braised Goose Web with Stuffed Rare Morel Mushroom.
Stuffed Old-Style Chicken Wings were decidedly old school, with delicious minced pork, water chestnut and carrot inside the skin of the deep-fried wings.
The Crispy King Prawn Rolls was naturally sweet and springy, with the chopped prawns dipped in a light batter and fried.
Fengcheng-style Pork and Liver Roll.
Foie Gras in Supreme Soup with Puff Crust was a nod to western cuisine, something the chef had picked up at a banquet in Beijing, China, where French guests were present.
Buttery flaky pastry covered this soup and was later submerged in the sublime soup. Mushroom soup doesn’t come close.
There’s also an option of Double-boiled Duck and Tangerine Peel Soup – a richer, tasty broth scented with the citrus peel.
Peacock’s Nest Suckling Pig Skin with Century Egg and Honeydew.
His Braised Goose Web with Stuffed Rare Morel Mushroom was such a treat that I had a double helping.
The gelatinous web melted in the mouth, infused with the spices of the braising sauce.
The delicate morel mushroom burst with the flavours of the meat stuffing.
Peacock’s Nest Suckling Pig Skin with Century Egg and Honeydew looked stunning on the plate.
Stuffed Chicken Wings.
A fine vegetable carving of a peacock with its tail fanning out presided over the thin, crispy roasted skin on honeydew, topped with quail century egg.
No sauce was needed as we crunched the pork skin sweetened by the honeydew beneath.
Deep-fried Pomfret and Stir-fried Scallops with XO Sauce had fish fillets rolled up and deep-fried, with the main bone fried till crispy to the core.
Abalone rolled with snow fungus surrounding braised duck tongue.
This was later broken up and munched on like crispy crackers.
Baked Glutinous Rice in Fragrant Coconut had two kinds of rice fried with waxed meats and baked in the coconut. The essence and delicate scent of the coconut lent a different facet to the rice.
Dessert by the Oriental Group chefs was Dang Ying Red Bean Pumpkin Ball with Banana – a crispy and fragile ball that crackled at the bite, spilling out yummy banana and red bean filling.
We also had chilled Bird’s Nest Lemongrass Infusion with basil seeds and mixed fruit.Ah Soon Kor’s menus are available at participating Oriental Group restaurants till the end of September.
Double-boiled Duck and Tangerine Peel Soup.
It’s a rare chance to savour the food of one of the “Four Heavenly Chefs” from before the millennium.
The other three chefs were Piu Kor of Tai Thong, Cheong Kor of Overseas and another Soon Kor of Golden Phoenix, Equatorial Hotel.
