Elegant Inn is one of the most sought-after Cantonese restaurants in Kuala Lumpur today. It’s easy to see why: my KL-Cantonese foodie friends hosted a “simple luncheon” for me there yesterday, prior to my departure back to Penang.
By the way, these Cantonese folks really need to define what they meant by “simple”, for what we had was an incredible train of delicious, perfectly-executed eats, the likes of which I had forgotten even existed, post-COVID, when I’d cut back drastically on my frequent-flying food-hunting activities.
I worked and lived in KL for 7 years from 2011 to 2016, but had never eaten here at Elegant Inn, perhaps because 80% of the time, I was overseas in the course of my work, and I just wanted a piece of toast and a cup of tea when I finally got home after each business trip. More likely, it was simply gross negligence on my part - in failing to seek out Elegant Inn’s fine Cantonese cooking, because I’d always assumed I’ll find “better” in my frequent travels to Hong Kong and Macau in those days. KL’s Chinese populace are mainly Cantonese, but I’d somehow (wrongly) assumed their cooking would not measure up to HK’s in terms of finesse. How wrong I was, as I found out yesterday.
Elegant Inn is run by a no-nonsense, rapid-firing (verbally, that is) managing partner, Jeannette Han, a Singapore-born F&B veteran and an uncompromising perfectionist where proper execution in terms of cooking and serving is concerned. Her right-hand man and business partner is Wesley Ng, the mild-mannered, soft-spoken executive chef of the restaurant - but beneath that quiet veneer lay another perfectionist. It’s no surprise that the two have been partners for 21 years - it takes one to recognize another, where demanding 100% attention to the finer details in executing every dish is concerned.
We started off our lunch with a trio of starters:
𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵 & 𝘱𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 & 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦-𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘧𝘶. The contrast of textures between the crispy matchstick-thin wands of whole silver fish against the batter-encrusted cubes of soft tofu were a sheer delight.
𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘬𝘺 𝘦𝘨𝘨, 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘯-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦-𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘪𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴. The soft, egg custard was reminiscent of Japanese chawan-mushi, and given a luxuriant lift with pan-fried foie gras. The addition of tobiko (flying fish roe) which gave the rich-flavoured concoction tiny bursts of salty tang was genius.
𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳-𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. This was inspired by the classic Cantonese wu kok taro puff, a “yum cha” mainstay, but with the introduction of a Japanese oyster that gave the morsel an unexpected explosion of new flavours. It jolted my palate awake, not as if they were slumbering in the first place, but my tastebuds were en pointe for the rest of the meal afterwards!
Two types of double-boiled soups followed - these were painstakingly slow-cooked for 6 hours to draw out the deep flavours of the meats and accompanying ingredients used:
𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘨’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘱, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘮, 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬-𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘴, 𝘚𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬 𝘱𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 & 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. I absolutely adore this soup - maybe because its peppery sucker punch reminded me of my childhood Teochew-style bak kut teh, or Penang-Hokkien’s own pig’s stomach soup. Use of copious amounts of pepper in a deceptively clear broth is an art-form which the Teochews and Hokkiens have mastered. The cracked Sarawak peppercorns (best in the region) deliver a slow heat which cajoled the soup drinker to sip more and more, before the spicy-heat opens up every sweat pore you have, and more!
The inclusion of salted mustard leaves and stems was something I’d never had, but which my fellow diners seemed to take for granted. Sometimes, I wondered how much I’m actually missing from the KL dining scene - I need to associate more with this crowd.
Whilst the soup was carefully ladled and served to us as bowls of clear, intensely-flavoured broth, the ingredients which went into the 6-hour cooking process were served separately in a communal serving platter: dual-layered slivers of pig’s stomach, Jinhua ham, whelk, pork with soft, cartilage bones, salted mustard leaves - all were fork-tender, moist and surprisingly still very flavoursome (I’d expected dried up pieces of meats with all their juices already drawn out of them).
𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘈5 𝘞𝘢𝘨𝘺𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 3 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘧 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘴: 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬, 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯.
This was a much deeper-flavoured soup compared to the other one - a typical fortifying beef consomme which one always hear about - the sort which your grandma insisted would put muscles on your frame when you’re a growing kid, or would cure any illness. 
I’m just here to eat, so any nutritional value is simply an added bonus here. But, oh boy, those beef tendon pieces - they were tiny gelatinous purses of pure deliciousness.
Dim sum: we were served two “yum cha” items, both were some of the best-tasting of their kind I’d ever had:
𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭. This was an upgraded version of the standard HK cha leung - fried dough fritter wrapped in a soft, steamed rice flour roll. Elegant Inn elevated this dish by dispensing with the obnoxious deep-fried fritter, replacing it with finely-julienned fresh jicama, carrots and crisp-fried Vietnamese bánh tráng (rice paper). The end-result crunch with each bite was so much more delicate, as a result.
𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘬𝘬𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. This was singularly the most delicious mouthful during this lunch: each innocuous-looking dumpling, topped with a sweet-fleshed scallop, actually hid a whole prawn underneath, enfolded within the translucent rice-flour cloak.
Only fresh sea-caught wild prawns were used here, really bursting with flavours.
Main courses:
𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘒 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴 & 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 “𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪” 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. This dish was stupendous - never knew Chinese condiments like dried shrimps and salted vegetables could complement the taste of turbot so well. My fellow diners were ooh-ing and aah-ing - which brought to mind Meryl Streep’s Julia Child-eating-sole meunière scene from “Julie and Julia”.
𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘤-𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘦. This is one of my favourite dishes here: the piece of cod-steak was lightly dusted with flour then fried till a thin, barely discernible gossamer of a crust delicately encapsulated all the juicy deliciousness of the white meat within.
I was told to remove the speckles of dried chilis and black beans before eating - the cod-steak was topped with those condiments just before serving, so their spicy-saltiness would just be barely imparted onto the meat. That piece of fish steak: I could eat it every day!
𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘺-𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘱-𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘥.
This was a classic Cantonese dish from the 1950s/60s Malaya/Singapore. It reminded me of the retro Cantonese dishes we used to get in Singapore from places like Happy Restaurant in Tanjong Katong, Lai Wah in Jalan Besar, Majestic in Bukit Pasoh or Capital at Cantonment Road. It was executed perfectly here.
𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘳-𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. This just had to be the simplest dish on the menu, but owner, Jeannette Han, was so fussy about ensuring that it’s correctly executed that only three selected chefs, amongst her phalanx of 20 kitchen crew, were allowed to cook this dish.
The perfect balance of bitter and sour, and spiciness from a tiny piece of red chili, was the make-or-break for this dish. Most of my fellow diners raved over this dish. I struggled to learn the subtleties that continue to confound me - maybe, just maybe, it’s because I don’t have the Cantonese DNA in me.
𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦. Another deceptively simple dish, but which had to be executed strictly according to the Jeannette Han-Wesley Ng playbook. Two types of rice were used for this dish: I understood that the two types: one crispier than the other, were combined just to give an added textural dimension to the dish. It had just rice, egg, dried krill, crabmeat and finely chopped scallions.
No takeouts are allowed for this dish - they will only serve it to you in the restaurant as, according to Jeannette, the all-important textural contrast which elevates this dish to the sublime, will be lost if not consumed a la minute. PHEW!
𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 & 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. In contrast, this second carb dish which we had was sheer comfort food - no, you aren’t told when and where to eat it: just dig in and enjoy!
Desserts
𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦. This is like French toast assembled by fairies in some magic kingdom: delicate squares of the lightest sponge cake, pan-fried in butter and god-knows-what, then served hot. Each bite simply melts in one’s mouth. It’s like biting into a delicious cloud. I stopped myself at two - god knows I wanted to finish the whole plate, but my tummy was 120% full by then - I was beginning to understand how Monty Python’s Mr Creosote felt.
𝘚𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘴. The Cantonese jiandui - this was the best I’d ever had, with a moist crunchy peanut butter filling. To all of us diners at the table, these were perfect. But to the restaurant owner, Jeannette Han, she felt the sesame balls could do with just a few seconds more in their hot oil bath.
We beg to differ - but then, what do we know?!
𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. Nice.
𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘵 & 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘱. Very refreshing - I’ll definitely order this when I come back the next time.
𝘈𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘵. Not an almond cream fan, but its pairing with fresh young coconut was genius. The addition of hasma - the gelatinous fatty tissue from the fallopian tubes of frogs (okay, I admit I’m not selling this very well) gave the dish a luxurious lift.
Overall, one of the best Cantonese meals I’d ever had - and it’s not in Hong Kong or Macau, but in Kuala Lumpur!
Address
Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine
02-01, 2nd floor Podium Block, Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P. Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3-2070 9399
Opening hours: 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm Mon to Sat,
10.30am-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm Sun.
