THE huge copper wok half-filled with a broth covering prawns, crab and a tiger grouper was set over the fire at our table. This hotpot was the highlight of our Shunde lunch at Dao Xiang, Kuala Lumpur.

Shunde in Guangdong province, southern China, has long been regarded as the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine. It has also been named the Unesco City of Gastronomy.

Minimalistic flavours are the basis of Shunde cooking that’s distinctive with fish, fishpaste, hotpot and congee, and the liberal use of sundried tangerine peel and red dates.

It’s a hotpot of clear, fresh and sweet flavours at Dao Xiang, derived from the lovely fish, mud crab and prawns, and a bunch of spring onions stirred into the soup.

We each had a fish fillet, prawns and a fleshy part of the crab served to us together with a special garlic chilli dip. So, we sipped the delicious broth with subtle fragrant hints of tangerine peel as we savoured the seafood.

Halfway through the hotpot we added in a plate of Chinese cabbage, the smaller variety known as “wa wa choy”.

The sweetness of the bubbling broth went up a notch as the vegetables simmered in it and became soft and mushy, and melted in the mouth.

The layers of flavours in the broth built up and became more peppery and saltier the longer it sat on the fire, and after we each had a few helpings of it.

More broth was added to the diminishing hotpot, and to this a bowl of rice was tipped into it to make a delicious porridge.

Before the hotpot we had chicken feet (RM10 for two plates) that had been slow-boiled in a stock with dong quai and kei chee (wolfberries).The chicken feet were tender and gelatinous, with a faint aroma of dong quai, in the light, tasty soup.

Of course, we had to have the well-fried Shunde fishcake (RM28) that was crispy at first bite, then bouncy. It’s a spicy fishcake, again the ubiquitous tangerine peel made its fragrant presence felt.

Fishcake again, with some minced pork, in the sizzling stuffed eggplant (RM32), deep-fried, then finished in a flavourful sauce on a sizzling platter.

I liked the soft feel of the eggplant against the firm but springy stuffing with crispy edges.

Lettuce with canned fried dace and black beans (RM20) was another vegetable dish which seemed ordinary compared to the rest of the meal.

The lunch bill came to RM539.20 for the five of us. For the hotpot, the tiger grouper (live from the tank) came to RM207.20, for 1.4kg of it, mud crab RM88.80, tiger prawns RM76.80, Chinese cabbage RM15, and RM18, which is start-up fee for the hotpot.

Other notable dishes at Dao Xiang include crispy sirloin (encased in a crispy pastry shell), braised beef brisket in clay pot, twice cooked pork with Enoki mushroom in hot & sour soup, fungus fried stuffed shrimps in soya sauce and baked squid.

On the menu, too, are sets of three to five courses, priced from RM68 to RM128.

Dao Xiang is at Unit 1-13, Level 1, Nexus, 7 Jalan Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2242 0128. – December 4, 2021.

* 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.