See, I learn something every day!
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Is the taro basket dough/batter the same as used for the deep fried stuffed dim sum wu gok?
Yes, the same, but made thicker, so the inside is moister.
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Our annual family Chinese New Year dinner - and it just has to be Maple Palace, the only Chinese fine dining restaurant of note in Penang. There were 31 of us, divided into 3 tables of roughly10 each.
- Any CNY dinner will start off with the raucous. traditional lo hei (communal tossing) of the Yee Sang (raw fish salad).
The rest of the dinner deviated very little from the spread we had from previous years:
2) Braised Golden Sharks-fin with Dried Seafood
- Poached Corn-fed Chicken with Shallot-Ginger- Scallion Sauce
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Steamed Marble Goby with Two-Types of Chili Sauce, served with Cuttlefish Balls
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Braised Two-Head Australian Abalone, Sea Cucumber, Dried Oysters, Black Moss Fungus, and Broccoli
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Claypot Rice with Assorted Dried Meats & Sausages
Desserts
7) Nian Gao (New Year Cake) with Grated Coconut & Crushed Peanuts
- Longan, Lotus Seeds, Sea Coconut & Snow Fungus Dessert
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It’s that time of the year again - the annual family get-together for CNY 𝙡𝙤-𝙝𝙚𝙞 at Maple Palace Restaurant. There were 32 of us, spread across 3 large tables.
The restaurant was absolutely jam-packed. For the Chinese New Year season, we booked our tables 8 months in advance.
Our dinner spread:
Prosperity salmon yee sang with jelly fish and nashi pear. Every Chinese restaurant in Malaysia and Singapore will offer this dish during the Lunar New Year season (Feb 17 to March 3, but especially for the 7th Day of the Lunar New Year on Feb 23).
The version here, a mix of finely-julienned fresh ingredients like nashi pear, coriander leaves, carrots and jicama, crisps, and pickles, all bound together with sweet-sour plum sauce and flavored with condiments like 5-spice, is a terrific blend of textures and flavors.
Pandemonium reigns as — to loud shouts of “lo hei” — everyone at the table would dip their chopsticks into the mixture and “lift up” the contents as high into the air as they could, symbolising an abundance of good fortune.
Double-boiled chicken consomme with sea cucumber, sea whelk, and chayote. Absolutely flavorsome soup, a result of 4-5 hours of slow-boiling.
Cantonese-style steamed marbled goby with preserved radish, and cuttlefish balls. My fave dish for the evening. Cantonese-style steamed fish requires a la minute precision, to achieve the “just cooked” effect, and not a minute more. The flesh of the super-fish was delicate, sweet and moist.
Barbecued suckling piglet, and poached corn-fed chicken with minced scallion sauce.
The crisp-skinned BBQ suckling piglet was done to perfection.
Am not a big fan of corn-fed poached chicken, but my fellow diners (uncles, aunts, cousins) loved it.
Braised premium abalone with dried oysters, shitake mushrooms, black moss and Chinese white cabbage. Another classic dish which I absolutely adore. But I’d had better versions of this dish in Singapore, Hong Kong, and even Kuala Lumpur.
Stir-fried prawns with Chef’s Special Sauce and shredded, crisp lemongrass. Skipped this dish as I’m rather hesitant to hand-peel these, even with finger-wash bowls & towelettes provided.
Lunar New Year black garlic lap mei fun. Another classic which is done to perfection here. Love the special duck-liver sausages with Shao Xing wine used here.
Desserts
Nian gao (New Year Cake) with shredded coconut and crushed peanuts.
Chilled sweetened osmanthus longan, peach gum & wolfberries.
Maple Palace is, without a doubt, still the best Lunar New Year dining spot in Penang. Their consistency in serving a large banquet hall with calm and precision is unparalleled in the city.
Just sharing more about auspicious dishes which the Chinese liked to have during this Lunar New Year season:
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Gong hei fat choi.
Another feast.
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Thanks, John. It’s Day 4 of the Lunar New Year season today. 11 more days to go!
