EXPECTATIONS run high when you encounter two stellar chefs with a combined work experience of 88 years!

Justin Hor, group executive chef of the Oriental Group of Restaurants, and the renowned Jacky Lam, who is Macau Cuisine Association chairman, came together six months ago to work on a dinner menu, titled “A Joint Culinary Journey of 88 years”.

Hor, 48, started out as a kitchen helper at the tender age of 13. The 67-year-old Lam, meanwhile, has 53 years’ experience in the cooking arena.

What stood out for me during our review of the eight-course grand dinner were the Braised Sultan Fish Shunde-Style; Boston Lobster Macau Taipa-Style; Whole Pork Trotter with Hokkaido XL Dried Scallops, Japanese Mushrooms and Quail Eggs; and, Double-Boiled Superior Shark’s Fin Soup with Chicken and Preserved Vegetables.

The soup featured a rare ingredient, preserved radish that had been aged some 30 years, which added an aromatic, complex flavour. The two chefs had travelled around China looking for rare ingredients to delight diners, and chanced upon the aged radish in Swatow.

Hor called the dish “Three-Radish Soup” as the root vegetable was used in three forms: fresh, aged, and ordinary preserved radish, or choy poh.

“Aged radish helps clear the digestive system and gives you energy,” said Lam.

The maestro went on to tell us what each ingredient in the Whole Pork Trotter with Hokkaido XL Dried Scallops, Japanese Mushrooms and Quail Eggs signified in a Manchu Imperial feast he had prepared for a charity dinner in Macau.

“The trotter represents power and control in a country; dried scallops the treasury; mushrooms are cash; vegetables are green pastures; quail eggs are people; and, fatt choy, or sea moss, stands for law and order.”

The explanation served to elevate each delicious component of the dish, which had the braised trotter sitting in a dark, creamy, sticky sauce, steeped from old chicken and pork bones, and a treasure trove of other seasonings.

I loved the Braised Sultan Fish Shunde-Style. The fish was braised with its scales intact to preserve the oil in the skin, ensuring that the flesh stayed silky smooth. It was so sweet and flavourful, with lots of fried ginger and garlic, and strips of eryngii mushroom.

I drank up the braising sauce, and found that some of the fish scales could be eaten, too!

The Boston Lobster Macau Taipa-Style had luscious deep-fried lobster meat covered with crispy bits of garlic, onions, fried chillies, and a surprise ingredient – small cubes of marinated pork neck meat. We delighted in the spicy, pungent bites of these together with the lobster.

Apart from the above-mentioned standouts, we also had the Five-Tapas Platter, which kicked off the lavish spread. One of the five offerings was the Oriental Group’s Signature Char Siew, or roasted pork, all sticky and sweet with a caramelised sauce, and scrumptious meat with the right ratio of fat to lean.

The Chilled Szechuan Farm Chicken had the marvellous meat drenched in a spicy, nutty sauce. The dish is also called “Hau Sooi Kai” as it is so irresistible as to cause saliva to dribble from one’s mouth. Indeed, the version we had certainly lived up to its name.

The Macau Crabmeat Cakes were sublime. Fresh, sweet crabmeat spilled out with each bite of the thin, crispy pastry. The jellyfish was flavoured with finely chopped Bentong ginger and ginger oil, warming the palate, while the Vinaigrette Kyuri and Black Fungus made for a refreshing appetiser.

Nestled within the Lotus Leaf Treasures Rice were mushroom, roast duck and duck skin, and crabmeat made for a fitting crown. Stirred up all together, this dish was so yummy.

On to the desserts, which were nothing short of fabulous.

First, the Mangosteen Custard Lava, where small, thin-crusted “mangosteens” burst open to oozing salted egg custard. Then, it was the wonderfully sticky Sweet Corn Lotus Paste.

The Peach Resin with Snow Fungus and Papaya in Coconut was soothing and delectable.

The eight-course grand dinner hosted by the two chefs has already been served at Noble Mansion, Noble Banquet, Oriental Pavilion and Oriental Star at RM2,688 nett per table of 10.

The Han Room at The Gardens Mall in Mid Valley City will have the dinner today, and Noble Mansion at Plaza 33 in Petaling Jaya will have another round on August 28.

Hor and Lam’s creations will continue to be served a la carte at these restaurants till September 22.

The Signature Char Siew is RM20, Macau Crabmeat Cakes (RM24), Chilled Szechuan Farm Chicken (RM20), Boston Lobster Macau Taipa-Style (RM368), Braised Sultan Fish Shunde-Style (RM388), Peach Resin with Snow Fungus and Papaya in Coconut (RM14 each), and Mangosteen Custard Lava (RM15 each). – August 24, 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.