Five Senses @ Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

It is true that downtown Kuala Lumpur has tons of restaurants, so why come here? The answer is the spanking new restaurant with an aesthetic menu that tinkers with classic Cantonese food, just enough to make things interesting for your 5 senses. 

Behold the sense of sight, an open kitchen that flirts with your stomach. 

House Made Bean Curd Pancake with Black Fungus (RM33) - The meatless option spotlight a house made bean curd pancake with some black fungus.

Wok Fried Australian Scallops with X.O. Sauce and Asparagus (RM58) - Not quite a vegetarian yet? Pair your greens with some fresh scallops, stir fry with X.O. sauce. 

Honey Glazed Black Cod with Teriyaki Jus (RM68) - Despite the Japanese heredity, this superlative cod fish fits perfectly in the menu.

Pan Seared Stuffed Prawn with Enoki Mushrooms in Honey Maki Jus (RM68) - The enoki mushroom was tucked between the sizzling fresh prawns. 10/10 for taste but 0/10 for plating. 

Carving the peking duck can be a meticulous process, but is a well appreciated art.

Famous Authentic Traditional Peking Duck in Two Series (RM108) - Series 1: Not all Peking Duck are created equally good. This dish was less dazzling compared to its peers, with wraps that were a tad too thick.

Secret Home Made Crispy World Class Pork Belly (RM33) - Wait for 30 minutes and crackles with some pork belly, as it goes round and round your plate. 

Fried Noodles with Duck Meat - Series 2: Empty spaces will be filled with this gigantic plate of noodles. 

Verdict: SOMEWHAT SMITTEN

Smitten Dishes:

Honey Glazed Black Cod with Teriyaki Jus

House Made Bean Curd Pancake with Black Fungus

Lei Garden Restaurant 利苑酒家 @ West Kowloon, Hong Kong

Success doesn't always come easy, at least for the founder of Lei Garden, Mr. Chan Shu Kit. The once financially loss making restaurant has successfully transformed itself to become one of Hong Kong most reputable fine dining restaurant, with 10 branches all over Hong Kong, 2 in China, 1 in Macau and 2 in Singapore. We came here with high expectations and we were not disappointed. 

The combination of great service, elegant table setting and delicious cooking are the reasons why Lei Garden is still in business after 39 years. Its Mong Kok outlet was recently awarded two Michelin Stars, with the other 9 outlets being awarded 1 Michelin Star each. That's a whopping 11 Michelin Stars! 

Crispy Roasted Pork - Save the Char Siu for another day, Lei Garden is all about Siu Yok. This dish itself is worth a star. 

Steamed Beef Balls - Once you have properly stoked your appetite, dig into the beef balls, a platoon of delightfully fresh minced beef coupled with some fragrant scallions.

Pan Fried Turnip Cakes - Swipe these lovely square shaped turnip cakes with some chili sauce to take it up a few notches. 

Stir Fry Kailan - Simple hearty vegetables dotted with some shallots.

Braised Garoupa with Ginger and Scallions - Continue your parade with some piping hot Garoupa fish imbued with rich flavors.

Steamed Shanghai Xiao Long Pao - These packages were juicy, filled with lean pork meat. The soup was absolutely delicious!

Steamed flour rolls with green onions -  Meet the silky Chee Cheong Fun, it's so smooth that it might just slip through your chopsticks!

Lobster Broth Hand Made Noodles Soup - Pile of noodles flooded with a rich lobster broth. Just when we think it couldn't get any better. 

Crystal Dumplings - Steaming hot packets filled with diced vegetables, herbs and meat.

Salted Egg Custard Buns - A deceptively simple dish of sweet and savory.

Baked Mini Egg Tarts - These egg tarts were much eggier and less creamy than the English tarts.

Custard Layer Cake - Gallop away with some exceptionally flavorful warm custard layer cakes.  

VERDICT: TOTALLY SMITTEN

Smitten Dishes:

Crispy Roasted Pork

Steamed Shanghai Xiao Long Pao

Lobster Broth Hand Made Noodles Soup

Lei Garden Restaurant @ West Kowloon

Address: Shop Nos 2068-70, 2nd Level, Elements, No. 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Telephone: 852 2196 8133

Operating Hours: Mon to Sun - 1130am - 3pm, 6pm - 1130pm

The Square @ Central, Hong Kong

The Square at Central is always packed for lunch and dinner. It is one of Hong Kong's most popular Chinese restaurant, with one Michelin star under its belt. 

The restaurant was spacious and the service was quick and casual.

Marinated suckling pig knuckles (HK$48) - Chinese people love their pig knuckles, nothing can come between them, well, except for the secret chef's seasoning sauce. =)

Pan fried turnip cakes with X.O. chili sauce (HK$45) - Turnip cakes are an integral part of dim sum. These square shaped turnip cakes had a light charred, with a melting soft texture. 

Steamed flour rolls with barbecued pork (HK$32) - These freshly steamed flour rolls a.k.a Chee Cheong Fun were smooth, thin and soft with the right amount of elasticity. 

Stir Fried flour roll with X.O. Chilli sauce (HK$45) - Steamed Chee Cheong Fun can be rather monotonous. But when fried Chee Cheong Fun comes into picture, our view becomes better. These stir fried chee cheong fun were extremely aromatic, thanks to the well absorbed X.O. chili sauce.

Assortment of Cantonese BBQ specialties (HK$128) - The BBQ pork had a perfect fat to meat ratio, while the chicken was creamy accompanied by the crispy skin.

Siu Yok - The cracker thin crust of the pork skin was glorious!

Citrus Deep Fried Prawns -  A surprising combo of crunchy prawns and zesty sauce. 

Sauteed mushroom with green house sprouts (HK$80) - The vegetables were fresh and crunchy, topped with tender sauteed mushroom and abalone sauce.

Fried noodles with shredded pork and bean sprouts (HK$108) - The noodles were thin and crispy, drizzled with the right amount of tasty gravy and bean sprouts.

Baked Egg Tarts (HK$20) - The crumbly, soft and moist egg tarts were heavenly.

Bean curd pudding in wooden bucket (HK$58) - The made to order bean curd was the highlight of my meal. The bean curd was smooth and creamy, while the crystallized sugar added a different dimension to this sweet delight.

Verdict : TOTALLY SMITTEN

Smitten Dishes:

Pan fried turnip cakes with X.O. chilli sauce

Baked Egg Tarts

Bean curd pudding in wooden bucket

The Square @ Central

Address: Shop 410, 4/F Exchange Square Podium, Central

Phone: +852 2525 1163

Website: www.maximschinese.com.hk

Pak Loh Chui Chow @ Elements, Hong Kong

Founded by Mr. S H Pui in 1967, Pak Loh Chiu Chow has been serving traditional Chui Chow food for more than four decades. 

Cold Steamed Crab - Food often tastes better when you eat with your hands - Each bite was smooth and rich.

Fried Fish fillet - Perfectly crisped! Warning : these deep fried fish fillet can be quite addictive.

Omelette with Baby Oysters - The fresh bivalves binded well with the omelette, thanks to the right mixture of starch. The gummy texture left us overwhelmed.

Braised Duck Liver - Duck liver is truly global. The creamy liver swam perfectly well in the soy sauce. 

Steamed Har Gow (Shrimp Bonnet) - The shrimp was fresh and the skin was translucent. Even though the ingredients were simple, the flavor evoked the essence of Chinese cuisine. No wonder it is listed as number 34 on the World's 50 most delicious food compiled by CNN Go in 2011. 

Sliced Octopus - Another sublime snack option : chewy and pliant!

Verdict: SOMEWHAT SMITTEN


Pak Loh Chui Chow @ Elements Branch
Address: Shop 1028D, Elements, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Opening Hours: Mon - Fri (11am - 11pm), Sat - Sun (9am - 11pm)
Telephone: 3691 9168

The Han Room @ Garden Shopping Mall

The Oriental Group of Restaurant is no stranger in town. Since the opening of its first restaurant at Jaya Shopping Center in 2000, the group has expanded their foothold to places like Bangsar, Maju Palace, Jaya 33, Jalan Imbi, Viva Home and The Garden Shopping Mall. 

A stunning array of condiments - Assam onions (my favorite), green chili paste and red chili paste

BBQ Char Siew (RM16) - Well caramelized BBQ Pork with notes of honey, five spice powder, dark soy sauce and Hoi Sin sauce. 

Steamed Cheong Fun with Prawns (RM8) - The combination of fresh prawns wrapped in silky soft rice noodles roll went well with the light soy sauce. 

Dried Scallop Dumpling with Spinach (RM7) - These sweet humble packages were filled with dried scallop and spinach, garnished with some roe. 

Chives Dumpling with XO Sauce (RM7) - The aromatic chives added an unique twist to the dried prawns. 

Imperial Har Kau (RM8) -  The filling of a har kau may not be revolutionary, but this is a quintessential dim sum dish. 

Siew Mai (RM7) - The Siew Mai was rather disappointing, as it was not served steaming hot. =(

Fish Ball with Asparagus (RM7) - The fish ball was subpar, thanks to the stale fishiness. 

Deep Fried Bean Curd Roll with Shrimp (RM7) -  Crispy bean curd wrapped with fresh shrimp was enhanced with a smear of chill paste

Braised Egg Noodles Village Style (RM24) - The marquee dish was filled with egg noodles, bean curds and Chinese mushrooms. The dish was rather sappy, with limited "wok hei".

Overall, there were some hits and misses, in my opinion Oriental Classic at Jalan Imbi still serves the best Chinese food under the Oriental group family. Nonetheless, The Han Room is settling into Garden Shopping Mall quite nicely.

Verdict: SOMEWHAT SMITTEN