Rarefied Cantonese cuisine at Grand Imperial restaurants
In a city like Kuala Lumpur, the Cantonese-style cooking method is reflected in cuisine from street level all the way to fine dining rooms. Its balanced flavours eschew heavier spices, preferring to rely on cooking techniques as well as fresh ingredients.
Pushing the boundaries on this Cantonese cuisine style is the Grand Imperial restaurant located at the Pinnacle Annexe in Bandar Sunway. Here, the ambience is set up for a heightened dinner experience with deep golden walls and plush upholstery. Out front, the Hexa Lounge offers moreish aperitifs and cocktails. Its bartender and mixologist serves up Manhattans and Negronis with aplomb, before unleashing some wilder concoctions such as the Silk Road cocktail which merges basil, strawberry, lemon and honey, with a garnish of flame-crisped maple syrup bacon. Book yourself in one of the private dining rooms and you will find yourself dining under chandeliers and the all-important karaoke machine and audio system.
In Grand Imperial Group’s Chief Chef Chew Yeow Chuen, 19 years of cooking has led him from Malaysia to Hong Kong and back. Now in his seventh year with the group, Chew continues to provide a modernist edge with daring reinventions of classical dishes.
An example is toothsome slices of coral trout which are deboned and blanched in 98-degree Celsius olive oil, before anointed with a dash of soya sauce. The effect is a transcendent one, with perfectly textured fish bursting with freshness and flavour. This off menu item necessitates a one-day advance order for ingredients to be delivered.
The same applies to roasted meats which undergo a slow marinade process of six hours and two hours of baking to get the right doneness. This is followed by a 40-minute actual roast which serves a dual purpose of removing excessive oils and ensuring an optimum crispness.
Chef Chew’s invigoration of classical standards is the reason Grand Imperial continues to win new fans. The line-up of culinary invention ranges from Iberico-originated ribs and flash-fried whitebait, to river prawns simmered in Chinese wine and baked in XO sauce. All these and much more provide a good imprint of contemporary Cantonese for those on a quest for elevated dining.
