KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — The excitement leading up to Chinese New Year is infectious and you cannot help but be swept up by it. Even if you are not Chinese.
It is during this auspicious occasion that many seek to bolster family ties and friendships... through an endless round of lunches and dinners.
While many families still subscribe to the traditional way of holding their get-togethers at home, many prefer to avoid the hassle of cooking by eating out.
To help you pick where to go for that CNY makan with family, friends or business associates here is a snapshot of what some KL hotels are offering.
Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur
An enticing array of auspicious dishes awaits patrons at the hotel’s Chinese restaurant Shang Palace. Its a la carte menu offers mouthwatering servings of Braised Bird’s Nest Soup with Lobster Meat, Wok-Fried Freshwater King Prawns with Chilli Sauce plus its specialty, Poached Chicken with Lemon Grass & Supreme Soy Sauce, among others.
There are also five prosperity set menus: the eight-course Great Prosperity Set Menu at RM239 nett per person, the eight-course Rich Fortune Set Menu at RM339 nett per person (with minimum four persons), the nine-course Happy Reunion Set Menu at RM2,318 nett per table of 10 persons, the nine-course Wealth Treasures Set Menu at RM3,388 nett per table of 10 persons and the nine-course Immense Wealth Set Menu at RM4,998 nett per table of 10 persons.
All the sets begin with yee sang and end with pan-fried ninko. For enquiries, visit here.
Hilton Kuala Lumpur
You have a choice of four types of Chinese New Year Eve set dinners. They are:
1) Opulence, an eight-course dinner priced at RM238 nett per person
2) Grand Fortune, which offers an eight-course dinner priced at RM298 per person
3) Prestige, a six-course dinner at RM388 per person
4) Longevity, an eight-course dinner at RM528 per person
Be sure to try Chef Lam’s special dishes including the Hakka-style poached free-range chicken, steamed grouper fillets with quails' eggs and golden lily mushrooms, Canton-style stewed whole duck with five spices and braised three-head abalone with goose web and garden greens.
There are attractive discounts for Hilton Premium Club members and selected bank cardholders.
For more information, visit here.
The St Regis Kuala Lumpur
The hotel takes holiday feasting up a notch. Throughout the season — from January 7 to March 16, sumptuous flavours are presented with flair including the signature Prosperity Yee Sang and braised bird’s nest soup.
The reunion celebration feast is priced from RM313+ per person. From Feb 15-19, guests can opt for an overnight stay for two in a St. Regis Suite plus breakfast and Chinese New Year set dinner at The Brasserie starting from RM2,600 nett for two.
For more information, visit here.
Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel
From February 2-March 2, Dynasty Restaurant’s executive sous chef Kok Chee Kin and his team are set to serve up their festive dim sum menu which includes the timeless Treasure Pots and a variety of yee sang.
There are three festive set menus: Happiness at RM1,788 nett, Fortune at RM2,188 nett and Longevity at RM3,388 nett for a table of 10 persons. These come complete with yee sang and Dynasty’s fortune pastries.
Besides that, the six-course and seven-course Double Delight menus for two persons are also available, priced at RM378 nett and RM578 nett respectively. Groups of six people can go for the nine-course Six Happiness Set at RM1,188 nett.
The seven-course and eight-course Prosperity Treasure Pot Sets complete with yee sang and fortune pastries for five persons are also available.
To discover more, visit here.
Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur
Guests can head to Latest Recipe for special yee sang delights and a wide variety of local and international fare throughout the festive period. A Lunar Buffet Dinner is available from February 5-13 and February16-March 2, 2018.
This culinary experience is priced from RM143 nett for adults and RM71.50 nett for children from Monday to Thursday and Friday to Sunday, priced at RM155 nett and RM77.50 nett respectively.
On Feb 15, the gastronomic journey culminates with the Chinese New Year Eve Buffet Dinner available at RM198 nett for adults and RM99 nett for children. There will be a lion dance as well on February 16 at 11am.
For more information, visit here.
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral
From January 22-March 2, the hotel’s futuristic-style restaurant Nook will go traditional when its chefs serve up Lunar New Year delights such as Salmon Yee Sang at its signature buffet dinner priced at RM118 nett per adult.
Meanwhile, the hotel will also host Auspicious 9 priced from RM1,699+ per table.
For enquiries, visit here.
The Westin Kuala Lumpur
The hotel’s elegant Five Sen5es outlet has prepared three sumptuous reunion set menus namely Happiness Reunion, Blessings Reunion and the Abundance Reunion.
The culinary journey starts at RM1,888 nett per table of 10 persons. The venue also showcases exquisite a la carte offerings such as braised duck and pan-fried scallops with minced chicken for an unforgettable occasion.
For more information visit here.
Swiss Garden Hotel & Residences
The hotel’s Sino Scene restaurant offers four set menus A, B, C and D priced at RM1,088, RM1,388, RM1,588 and RM1,888 respectively for a table of 10.
Among the special dishes in Menu A are Braised Ocean Seafood with Bamboo Pith in Crabmeat Soup and Oven Roasted Crispy Chicken in Chaozhou.
The fare included in Menu B are Hot and Sour Szechuan Seafood Soup with Fish Maw and Steamed Silver Catfish with Superior Soy Sauce.
Menu C offers Steamed Sea Grouper Hong Kong Style and Roasted Crispy Duck with Teochew Brown Bean.
The goodies in Menu D are more elaborate comprising Superior Eight Treasure Soup with Dried Scallop with Bird’s Nest and Imperial Steamed Village Chicken with Chinese Herb in Hunan Style, among others.
Early birds who book before February 5 will be entitled to a 10 per cent discount for sets A and B and 15 per cent discount for sets C and D. For more information, look up here.
Dorsett Grand Subang
Dorsett Grand Subang’s Emperor Chinese Restaurant may just be the perfect place for your reunion dinner, especially if you want to avoid the nasty KL traffic. From now to March 2, the restaurant is offering four Joyful Reunion set menus.
Ranging between RM1,188 nett and RM1,888 nett per table of 10, each set comes as an eight- or nine-course meal featuring Cantonese delights with contemporary twists including Pan-fried Scallops Stuffed with Prawn Paste, Double-boiled Fuji Apples with Snow Ear and Honey Dates and Crispy Roasted Duck with Chinese Herbs.
The hotel offers signature yee sang and Poon Choi (Treasure Pot) takeaways like "Hee Har" Pink Prawns and Fresh Fruits Yee Sang (which is RM88 nett and RM138 nett for the half and full portions respectively) and Baby Abalone and Korean Pear Yee Sang (RM128 nett/RM258 nett).
For bookings or enquiries, email [email protected]
Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Over at Sunway Putra Hotel, diners have a choice of having their reunion dinner at the coffee house or in one of the function rooms (available upon request).
As for the menu, two sets — both priced at RM1,188 for a table of 10 — of Reunion Dinner have been meticulously created by the award-winning head Chinese chef Chew Keng Chai and his team.
Included in the eight-course Set A are Hot and Sour Sze Chuan Seafood Soup, Deep Fried Red Snapper with Sweet and Sour Sauce, Stir-Fried Tiger Prawns with Salted Egg Yolk, among others.
The dishes in Set B include Braised Crabmeat and Seaweed Soup with Dried Scallops, Steamed Sea Garoupa Hong Kong Style and Stir-Fried “Nai Pak” (Milk Cabbage) in Superior Stock, Garlic and Mushroom Dumplings.
Dessert includes Chilled Honeydew in Rock Melon, Chilled Honeydew with Sago in Sea Coconut and Baked Spiral Lotus Puffs.
For more details, visit here.
Putrajaya Marriott Hotel
The hotel has a carefully curated Sau Gong menu to greet the Lunar New Year. At its Summer Palace Restaurant, master Chef Yip Boon Seng has created special set meals namely the Sau Gong Auspicious Menu (at RM1,388 nett per table of 10), Sau Gong Longevity Menu (RM1,788 nett per table of 10) and Sau Gong Abundance Menu (RM2,288 nett per table of 10, inclusive of two bottles of house wine or sparkling juice).
Priced between RM118 nett and RM328, the selection includes Vegetarian Korean Pear, Salmon with Soft Shell Crab Yee Sang, Smoked Salmon Yee Sang with Organic Vegetables & Black Truffle and African Abalone Yee Sang.
The Sau Gong year offer ends on March 2. For more information, visit here.
