I was bowled over by the crabs and the noodles. First the Dungeness crabs, which have more meat to shell ratio than other crabs. About one-quarter of its weight is meat.
I loved it that the carapace of the crab had a thick, creamy lining, and I could almost peel it off the shell. It was for me (the lazy crab eater) the best part of the crab. I did go on to eat a crab claw and enjoyed it as much.
We went on to have Salt Baked Dungeness Crab. This time it was a female one packed with roe, done in that inimitable chiew yim style of Elegant Inn. While the pepper and salt touch the lush meat of the crab, and add to its flavour, we still liked the chilled crab the best.
Just one glance, and you would love to sink your teeth into the Crispy Chinese Noodles Braised with Sea Cucumber and Fish Maw. There is a nest of crispy noodles appearing at the top, with the rest of them sliding into a slightly thickened superior chicken stock with dried scallops, sea cucumber and fish maw then topped with yellow chives, mushrooms and trimmed beansprouts. There is this dusting of fine prawn roe (har chee), which sends a little shiver down the palate.
Imagine the coming together of the crispy with the al dente noodles soaked in the sauce, the prawn roe, and the sea cucumber and fish maw strips. The noodles had been simmered in the chicken stock, drained, then deepfried, before being plunged into the stock again. So the flavours of the stock clung to every strand.
I have had these incredibly rich and irresistible Crab Roe Noodles on a late night in Macau, and I was delighted to find these replicated, but in a finer style at Elegant Inn. It was no less delicious: the noodles in Macau were drenched with an orangey sauce that owed its colour to the generous portion of crab roe in it. Here at this restaurant, the springy egg noodles were doused with a sauce of crab roe and crabmeat. The sweet essence of fresh crabmeat gave them a tasty lift.
This was followed by the Trio of Abalone, Stuffed Sea Cucumber and Mushroom. The abalone was smooth and soft which I liked. The Mexican spiny sea cucumber had an eight treasure stuffing, with pork, dried scallops, ! mushroom and waterchestnut, among them, and together they delivered a mlange of delightful flavours and textures.
Dessert was Almond Tea with Glutinous Rice Ball and Sweet Osmanthus Waterchestnut Stick. It was executed well, with thick and fragrant almond milk touched with tea presented in a teacup. It was simply heavenly with the waterchestnut stick that was crispy on the outside, and jelly-like on the inside.
This dessert and the Crispy Noodles with Fish Maw and Sea Cucumber are two of seven items that appear in a set menu (for at least two people) at RM118++ per person.
The RM88++ per person menu offers six courses Twin Delight Platter with Smoky Prawn Cake and EI Crunchy Nachos, Double-boiled Shark Cartilage Soup with Bamboo Pith and Baby Cabbage, Crunchy Garoupa Slices with Light Spicy Sauce, Old-Fashioned Braised Pork Cartilage Ribs, Ginger Egg Fried Rice and Chilled Longan Sea Coconut with Hasma and Osmanthus Waterchestnut Stick.
Elegant Inn is located at 2.01 2nd floor, Podium Block, Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-2070-9399).
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