‘XIN’FUL TREATS Xin Cuisine offers an enticing preview of its new mooncake variants for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival in addition to Chef Foong Ah Kwai’s latest culinary creations. 18 July 2009

One tastes like a rich, fudgy brownie except for inventive dish of Baked Sea Prawns with its soft, slightly chewy core that turns out to be Cheese. mochi (Japanese glutinous rice cake). Another refreshes with its uniquely sweet yet subtly bitter accent with citrusy overtone. “The sauce is a mixture of melted cheddar, fresh They are not some inventive dessert but new milk and butter. I want its rich, slightly briny variants of mooncakes that Xin Cuisine Chinese flavour to enhance the prawns without Restaurant intends to offer come August 14 overpowering their natural sweetness,” 2009. Driven by increasing consumer demand explains the genial chef. and the lucrative corporate gift market, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur has decided that if it can’t beat ‘em, its Xin Cuisine Restaurant Few chefs would bother with the hassle of will join the commercial Mid-Autumn Festival extracting fresh crabmeat from scratch but bandwagon. being the purist that he is, Chef Foong insists on “The sauce is a mixture of melted cheddar, fresh the painstaking task as he believes nothing can Although this traditional Chinese festival falls milk and butter. I want its rich, slightly briny replicate the oceanic sweetness of fresh on October 3 this year, commercialisation has flavour to enhance the prawns without crabmeat for his Braised Shark’s Fin Soup with spurred countless restaurateurs, confectioners overpowering their natural sweetness,” Crab Meat and Sundried Scallop. and hoteliers to scramble for their share of the explains the genial chef. profitable pie two months ahead of the actual It is such dedication to quality that has serves occasion. Hence nobody really bats an eyelid Old meets new in the subsequent creation of Xin Cuisine well after close to two decades in anymore when mooncakes of all shapes, sizes Two Varieties of Seasonal Fish; one side is business. A yin-yang showcase of old-world and flavours appear in the market starting next ubiquitously steamed with superior soya sauce Oriental elegance and New Age minimalism, the month. while the flip side sees the fish cut into slices restaurant still garners a loyal following among and stir-fried with asparagus and button KL-lites for its Hong Kong-style Dim Sum and That was how we ended up sampling Chocolate mushroom. Overall, the dish’s delicate nuances delicious Chinese delicacies. Based on our Omochi and Green Tea Lemon Mooncakes for and novel treatment are set to make this an numerous visits in the past six months, its dessert at Xin Cuisine. inevitable crowd-pleaser among today’s service has generally been efficient. health-conscious diners.

The Stir-Fried Four Varieties of Vegetables with XIN CUISINE XO Sauce is another tempting speciality that Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur has crunchy asparagus, fresh magnolia petals, 2, Jalan Sultan Ismail, lotus root and baby corn perked up with a Kuala Lumpur tantalizingly spicy condiment concocted from Tel: (03) 2144 8750 or dried scallops, dried shrimps and ground chilli. (03) 2144 2200 ext 2338

CITIBANK CARDMEMBERS OFFER “The mooncakes will be packed in new 20% off a la carte menu (dine-in only) tastefully designed gift boxes that can be used Valid till 31 October 2009 as jewellery or keepsake cases later,” says Julini Mohd Yusof, Director of Marketing 15% off Xin Cuisine mooncakes Communications of Concorde Hotel Kuala Valid till 3 October 2009 Lumpur. Offers are not valid with any other In line with the Citibank Gourmet Pleasures It also doesn’t surprise us to discover the meaty on-going promotions or discounts. promotion, Chef Foong Ah Kwai has created BBQ Combination Platter of roast duck and Subject to prevailing terms and three new dishes to tempt the tastebuds – roast pork is a perennial best-seller – the latter conditions. Stir-fried Four Varieties of Vegetables in XO with its crispy skin is especially scrumptious Sauce, Two Varieties of Seasonal Fish and when accompanied by some Home-style Fried Baked Sea Prawns with Cheese. Other hearty Rice. If this doesn’t leave you replete, the tasty specialities selected include BBQ Combination Duo of Fried Rice Vermicelli and Glass Noodles Platter, Braised Superior Shark’s Fin Soup with certainly will. Fresh Crabmeat and Sundried Scallop, Duo of Fried Rice Vermicelli and Glass Noodles and Home-style Fried Rice.

Despite being a firm traditionalist at heart, Chef Reviewed by: Foong shows a decidedly modern touch in his Alice Yong-Ching