"Lou Hei" your way to good luck this CNY with Holiday Villa, Subang Jaya

In two short weeks the Chinese New Year of the wooden horse will be knocking at our doors and Kuala Lumpur will not be short of dining establishments as family and friends gather from near and far to toss yee sang and usher in luck and prosperity for the coming year. If the hustle and bustle of the city is not your cup of tea, then there’s one restaurant that lies in the quiet suburbs of Subang Jaya that serves up equally delectable Chinese fare without you having to go out and brave the crowd in downtown KL.

Holiday Villa Resort & Suites sits hidden in a quaint residential neighbourhood just outside the embrace of the SS15 Subang Jaya area. Consequently, its house Chinese restaurant, the Inn of Four Seasons, is strategic in offering an idyllic dining experience where lush greenery stretches for as far as the eyes can see while you tuck in to your Chinese New Year reunion dinner 

This year, its award-winning Chef San Chong Chen has a delectable menu specially customised for your tastebuds.

Jellyfish and salmon yee sang

Start your merry-making by tossing a plateful of jellyfish and salmon yee sang. Fresh, thick slices of salmon tops a colourful plate of sweet ginger, Chinese crackers and other spiced vegetables for you to stir up and toss with your loved ones. A very special sauce goes into this particular yee sang however – a Ribena-based condiment gives it a sour kick as opposed to your typically saccharinely sweet mix.

A regular at most Chinese dinner banquets, the shark’s fin soup, is given a new recipe with a clear herbal soup instead of your usual glutinous thick broth. Infused with cordyceps and a variety of other Chinese herbs as well as seafood, it is herbal and sweet all at once, the latter borrowing its intensity from the generous amount of crabmeat and sea cucumber.

Bite into something more solid with the fried crispy spring chicken with pickled papaya. Free-range chicken is marinated for extended amounts of time with garlic, spring onion and a traditional Chinese ginger before deep-fried into a golden brown perfection. What you get are succulent chicken thighs that is juicy and meaty in every bite with a light, crisp skin that bursts forth with flavour from its herb and spice bath. Slices of pickled papaya titillate the tastebuds with tangy, sour notes in between every mouthful of chicken.

For the fish course, the restaurant did not disappoint with the steamed red grouper fish with crispy Szechuan beans. Fluffy and white fish meat comes off steaming from the body at the prod of the fork. Drizzled with a light soy sauce and accompanied by a small bit of the crispy Szechuan beans, it is a home-runner in terms of both texture and taste.

• Click here for MBG's recipe of its poached red Grouper with plum bouillion for a healthier festive celebration

(Clockwise from top left): Braised dried oyster with black moss and lettuce, golden fried rice with waxed duck meat, double-boiled shark's fin soup with cordyceps and assorted seafood, steamed red Grouper fish with crispy Szechuan beans

The braised dried oyster with black moss and lettuce comes in a small mountain that drew gasps from everyone at the table. Chewy and robustly orange in colour, the oysters were musky in smell and almost truffle-like pungent in taste, ticking off all the requirements of a good oyster dish. If heavy flavours are not for you, then the lettuce makes for a nice refreshing side, adding the crunch and green crispness the oysters lacked. 

Another dish to watch out for is the golden fried rice with waxed duck meat. Rice is wok-fried with egg yolk to obtain this beautiful yellow colour. Every mouthful warms the heart with smoky flavours that carry the best of simple Chinese foods. Every once in a while, cubes of waxed duck meat catch you unaware for a sweet and salty surprise. 

Golden fried rice with waxed duck meat

Even its dessert is a sight to behold. End your meal with something that is sweet not only in taste, but also in sight. Chef San’s chilled 'Kway Hou' jelly with longan comes in clear gelatin blocks with actual flowers suspended in them. Looking more like flower-speckled crystals than food, it makes the perfect dessert to a satisfying meal with its mildly sweet and cold finish.

This Chinese New Year, welcome the year of the horse with grandeur. Take your pick from any of Inn of Four Seasons' three dinner menu sets. The Longevity Set, Imperial Set, and Double Fortune Set are priced at RM1,416++, RM1,636++ and RM2,086++ respectively.

For more information or reservation enquiries, call 03 - 5022 7230 or head on over to the official website at www.holidayvillahotelsubang.com.