BACK in the 1970s, chef Wong Ling Soon, or Ah Soon Kor, had established himself as Malaysia’s “king” of Cantonese cuisine.

His first restaurant – Rasa Sayang – in Imbi, Kuala Lumpur, drew in the well-heeled who would dine sumptuously on abalone, shark’s fin, lobster and fish like the prized so mei, or humphead wrasse, among other outstanding dishes.

Ah Soon Kor is now 76, and though he has divested himself of all of his six restaurants, he is still sought after as a menu consultant and chef trainer.

His fine Cantonese dishes are in special menus he curates and they are featured in dinners at the Oriental Group restaurants, from now till end September.

We dined on such a menu that harks back to the 1970s, at Noble Mansion in Petaling Jaya.

First to be served was an appetiser of abalone roll and duck tongues braised in a special sauce. We delighted in delicate slices of abalone rolled with snow fungus and tender duck tongues with a garlic chilli dip.

The chef explained that the pork fat had had a sugar bath before it was rolled with pork and liver in the Fengcheng-style pork and liver roll. It was excellent and didn’t taste fatty at all.

The crispy king prawn roll was all sweet and springy chopped prawn dipped in a light batter and deep-fried. The delicious stuffed old-style chicken wing was bursting with out minced pork, water chestnut and carrot.

Foie gras in supreme soup with puff crust was what Ah Soon Kor learnt to make while in Beijing. 

“A lot of Westerners would dine in this restaurant, hence the puff pastry covering the clear double-boiled soup,” he said.

With the buttery flaky pastry removed, the soup exuded the aroma of foie gras.

The double-boiled duck and tangerine peel soup was a richer, tasty broth, scented with citrus. The same puff pastry crust covered this soup too.

The braised goose web with stuffed rare morel mushrooms tasted wonderful. The gelatinous web, infused with the spices of the braising sauce, melted in the mouth. The delicate morel mushroom burst with the flavours of the meat stuffing.

The 70s vibe was in the peacock’s nest suckling pig skin with century egg and honeydew. A fine vegetable carving of a peacock with its tail fanning out presided over the thin, crispy roasted skin on the sweet fruit topped with quail century egg. No sauce was needed as we crunched on the pork rind.

A blast from the past was the deep-fried pomfret and stir-fried scallops with XO sauce. Fish fillets were rolled up and deep-fried, with the main bone fried till crispy. You could break it up and eat the bones too.

Baked glutinous rice in fragrant coconut had two kinds of rice fried with waxed meats and baked in the coconut. The essence of the coconut embraced the scrumptious rice too.

The Dang Ying red bean pumpkin ball with banana was a crispy and fragile ball that crackled and oozed yummy banana and red bean filling at the bite

We also had a chilled bird’s nest lemongrass infusion with basil seeds and mixed fruit.

Two 11-course set menus are priced at RM260 nett and RM389 nett per pax (minimum four pax) or RM2,688 nett and RM3,888 nett for a table of 10.

You can dine on these menus at The Ming Room on August 28 (03-2284 8822), The Han Room on August 29 (03-2284 8833), Oriental Sun on September 6 (03-5611 1138) and Noble M on September 6 (03-7931 8633). – August 26, 2023.
 

* 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.