THE year may have zipped past, but the texture, taste and aroma of the exquisite Bird’s Nest Egg Tarts at Yun House are still imprinted on my palate from when I had them nine months ago.

The light, eggy and buttery tarts, with a heap of bird’s nest resting on the silky custard, are simply unforgettable at this pork-free Chinese restaurant, located at Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur.

Just as delightful are the Mini Caramel Egg Tarts, which we enjoyed for dessert together with the superb Avocado Mousse with Coconut Ice Cream after lunch last week.

Dining at Yun House – “yun” is “park” in Cantonese, as the restaurant overlooks the KLCC Park – also means feasting your eyes on its luxe interior.

The black-and-gold entrance leads to an elegant dining room with private spaces, featuring classic yet contemporary furnishings. The main wall feature of 22,000 ceramic pieces by a Thai artist depicting plants swaying in the wind, with a dragon and phoenix hidden in the clouds, stops you in your tracks.

Our lunch began with an appetiser of strips of scallop skirt embraced in a spicy-sweet sauce, setting the tone for what was to follow from the hands of executive chef Jimmy Wong.

We sank our teeth into the Deep-fried Eggplant with Cereal, biting into a crispy covering of fine oats, and then, a creamy, soft centre. Was that really eggplant?

It was so delicious, with fried curry leaves and chilli adding spice and aroma. The skill was in the frying, with nary an oily print on the plate.

We couldn’t get enough of eggplant, so we had the Braised Eggplant in Claypot with Minced Chicken, or Yue Heong Kay Chee, and enjoyed that, too.

The Old Cucumber Soup with Chicken and Chinese Almonds was soothing, favouring us with a sense of wellness. Soup is always lovely in any Chinese meal.

Our dim sum picks included the Fried Carrot Cake with Spicy Scallop Sauce, Bean Curd Skin Roll with Shrimp, Rice Rolls with Crispy Shrimp, and Chicken and Seafood Dumplings with Abalone.

I liked the fineness of the fried carrot cake, each cube intact and covered with a mildly hot dried scallop sauce.

The Rice Rolls with Crispy Shrimp were strikingly red, the colour derived from red rice. The smooth skin gave way to a crispy layer, then springy prawns.

More fresh, sweet shrimp was in the crispy, layered Bean Curd Skin Roll.

We revelled in the Chicken and Seafood Dumplings, or Siu Mai, which came topped with a tiny abalone, adding a new, tasty dimension to this traditional dish.

Braised Hong Kong E Fu Noodles with Assorted Seafood in Spicy Scallop Sauce had the smooth noodles in a hot, yummy sauce with mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, chicken and seafood.

For a previous lunch at Yun House, our appetiser of Crispy Fish Skin with Salted Egg Yolk was a winner. It was so good and addictive that I vowed never to eat store-bought fish skin crackers again.

Then, there was the delectable Vegetarian Hokkien-Style Wok-Fried Rice Vermicelli that drew flavour from chat tai, or vegetarian “sausage”.

If you are celebrating a birthday and didn’t bring along a cake, lighting a candle on a black slate platter of Bird’s Nest Egg Tarts absolutely nails it for the occasion.

Another dessert we loved was the Black Glutinous Rice Broth with Coconut Ice Cream, served in a whole coconut.

Some of the prices: the Chicken and Seafood Dumplings with Abalone were RM40, Fried Carrot Cake with Spicy Scallop Sauce, and Rice Rolls with Crispy Shrimp (both RM30), Deep-fried Eggplant with Cereal (RM48), Vegetarian Hokkien-Style Wok-Fried Rice Vermicelli (RM55) and Mini Caramel Egg Tarts (RM24).

Yun House is the place to go for a special treat. It has been a year since it first opened its doors at Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur, and interest has not waned, evident in the bustling restaurant.

To book a table, call 03-2382-8640. – July 27, 2019.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.