On a recent Friday night, approximately 300 well-heeled guests of law firm Chee Hoe & Associates streamed into the new Halley Mandarin Palace located on the second floor of The Federal Kuala Lumpur along the kinetic Jalan Bukit Bintang. In a recall of a Gatsby party, guests were immediately swept away by the opulence and elegance of the restaurant’s ancient imperial palace ambience, which showcased 1,118 intricate phoenix and dragon carvings, paired with modern Chinese touches of elegance.
To kick off the night was the bar by spirits specialists Rémy Cointreau, who presented a delicious range of cocktails featuring Bruichladdich’s Classic Laddie single malt and the Rémy Martin 1738 cognac as base spirits. A duo of tarot card readers lent a mystical edge to the evening’s proceedings, with many guests making a beeline for them.
Then, it was time for the cuisine of Halley Mandarin Palace to take centre stage. The restaurant, which serves timeless pork-free Chinese dishes, such as handcrafted dim sum and other delicacies, utilises seasonal and locally sourced fresh produce resulting in a delicious array of dishes. Highlights include abalone-topped siew mai, fluffy chicken char siu baos, charcoal-skinned har gow and the exquisite swan taro puff with chilli crab. There would also be an opportunity for the guests to indulge in yet another yee sang toss with many auspicious wishes made, befitting of a gathering of business associates and friends.
As the night carried on, guests continued to discover the renewed beauty of the reinvigorated Halley Mandarin Palace specially chosen for the evening. The main dining hall, with its ornate dragon pillars, celestial-inspired wall panels, individually detailed dragon representations on its ceilings and parquet flooring, also branches into private dining rooms that are just as sumptuously bedecked.
This dining hall was the setting of the first official dinner between guests and dignitaries on Merdeka in 1957 ,and was built by skilled artisans specially flown in to sculpt the mythical dragons and phoenixes. In the present day, a premium tea bar offers guests an opportunity to reflect on the astonishing details of this majestic dining venue.
As guests enjoyed the evening’s proceedings, new connections were made at this jocund party, with many productive conversations taking place among the plush ambience. And with such an exceptional sense of place, the evening bore all the hallmarks of an invitation to a mysterious, and also private, grand residence, which made for an unforgettable evening.
