If you’re seeking for your spice levels to be tested, Lai Po Heen at Mandarin Oriental KL has a very special menu of fiery Szechuan fare that will spark your interest.
As much as we Malaysians are a food-loving nation, we’re also a spice-loving one that never holds back the chili in our cooking whether in Malay, Chinese or Indian cuisine.
If you’re seeking for your spice levels to be tested, Lai Po Heen, the award-winning Chinese restaurant at Mandarin Oriental KL is having a very special promotional menu that will spark your interest.
Executive Chinese Chef Ricky Thien has come up with a fiery menu of Szechuan’s best dishes for the entire month of July so ready your tastebuds and, more importantly, the glasses of water.
Here are some of our favourites from the menu.
Braised Australian short ribs with fragrant Szechuan pepper
Slow-cooked beef ribs generally already rank pretty high on this writer’s list of favourite foods but this dish adds an extra smoky dash to the tender meat by means of the Szechuan pepper. It starts off misleadingly mild because of the sweet sauce base but give it time. It being laced with lots of chilli, the heat quickly builds up as you chew.
Fried prawn with spicy sauce
Don’t be mistaken for a second that the prawns will be not be spicy under their shell. The chilli oils somehow found a way to lace the springy prawns, but only minimally so it doesn’t overpower the natural sweetness of the prawns, lending the shellfish a nice kick each time you pop one into your mouth.
Poached sliced fish in preserved vegetables soup
This is hands-down our favourite of the lot. What’s not to love about fluffy slices of fish that melt in your mouth followed by an explosive stew that is all at once spicy, tart, savoury and, right at the end, sweet? The preserved vegetables also retain enough crunch to add a very gratifying texture to the entire thing.
Spicy poached chicken
Poached chicken may sound like the most boring dish in the world but add a little (or a lot of) chili and it is transformed into a flavourful universal favourite that is great eaten on its own or with rice. A delight were the mushrooms that lend a touch of earthiness, intensifying the fragrance of the dish.
Traditional Szechuan Ma Po tofu
Of course the most popular Szechuan dish will also be on the menu and Lai Po Heen’s version does not at all disappoint. The tofu is impossibly light and fluffy and the stir-fried minced meat, incredibly fragrant, so much so that many were seen generously spooning it onto their rice despite gasping from the spice.
Other dishes on the menu include spicy poached slice beef in claypot, wok-fried diced chicken with chili and pepper and the sure conversation starter barbecue mutton skewer with chili and cumin powder, served on a mini grill, among many more.
Served ala carte, dishes are priced from RM32 nett per dish onwards and are available for both lunch and dinner until July 31, 2016. For more information or reservation enquiries, please call o3 – 2179 8885 or email mokul-lpoheen@mohg.com.