FIVE SEN5ES @ The Westin KL

Get fresh with Chef Ron

December 29, 2019

There’s a sense of freshness at Westin KL’s Five Sen5es Restaurant and it’s not just because the Chef De Cuisine, Ron Lean Wen Seng, has recently joined the kitchen.

The number 5 has a special place in the Chinese community, from the five-clawed dragon (used only by the Emperor) and the 5 elements (Gold, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth) to 5 Grains (rice, broomcorn, foxtail millet, wheat and bean) to 5 flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, salty).

For the Year of The Rat, With this in mind, Chef Ron and his kitchen team has worked out 3 set CNY menus  that embrace the 5 senses of Sight, Taste, Scent, Touch and Sound to usher in 5 blessings of Longevity, Prosperity, Peace, Wisdom and Virtue.

Only the freshest ingredients for the colourful yee sang, with thick slices of smoked salmon

Designed for tables of 10 persons, the menus include a bottle of house red or white wine and start, naturally, with the festive favourite, yee sang. But rather than use thin slivers of raw salmon, Ron offers Smoked Salmon, cut in thick, satisfying slices. “Smoked salmon is also safer as not everyone likes raw fish. It also adds flavour to the yee sang,” he says.

There is no sign of pickles or colourful fried dough, except for the ubiquitous pok chui. To make the dish colourful, Ron uses red, green and yellow bell peppers, ruby-red pomegranate seeds, cucumber, carrot, dried citrus peel, baby radish, daikon and lettuce leaves. Chopped peanuts and roasted sesame add a nutty crunch. The taste is light and refreshing.

Braised Crabmeat Soup with Fish Lips & Dried Scallop

At the sneak preview of selections from the 3 menus, we slurp bowls of steaming Braised Crabmeat Soup with Fish Lips and Dried Scallop proves we don’t need sharks’ fin to make a meal celebratory. Yeah, leave them sharks alone. This thickened soup chockfull of flavour, with plenty of texture in the succulent fish lips, mushroom and dried scallops.

Roasted Chicken with Crispy Puffed Rice

Then it’s Roasted Chicken with Crispy Puffed Rice. Served with a dark, sweet sauce, the chicken is surprisingly scrumptious (because I’m not a fan of chicken). It’s cooked just right to retain all the juiciness and even the breast meat is tender and moist. I dip the meat in the sauce and coat it with some of the crispy puffed rice on the side. Lovely!

Steamed Dragon Grouper with Black Fungus and Enoki Mushroom

Stirfried Prawn with Butter Milk Sauce

Fish and prawn are must-haves for the CNY dinner and we are served Steamed Dragon Grouper with Fungus and Enoki Mushroom and Stirfried Prawn with Butter Milk Sauce.

I really mind having to shell prawn at the table, so I’m more into the fish. The braised enoki and cloud fungus make amicable companions for the Dragon Grouper, without threatening to steal the limelight. The fish is fresh and sweet. Even better, it comes deboned, except for the head and the tail end parts.

Get your Money Bags!

There’s plenty of varied textures in Money Bags made of beancurd skin stuffed with squid-prawn-fish paste and a whole prawn. The deepfried Money Bags are served with braised fish maw, whole shitake mushroom and broccoli florets.

Lotus Leaf Rice with diced chicken, dried prawn and dried oyster is so yummy

I am thinking of giving the Lotus Leaf Rice a miss but one spoonful and I am sold on the rice fragranced with diced chicken, dried prawn and dried oyster.

Welcome the Year of the Rat with this cutie Dessert Trio

Dessert is a trio of chilled Peach Gum Tong Sui with Red Date & Dried Longan, Crispy Deepfried Nin Gou with Yam and Sweet Potato and Mouse Pineapple Tart with Puffed Rice. The tart looks too cute too eat; kids will love this!

phoenixbee@gmail.com

FIVE SEN5ES (pork-free)

The Westin Kuala Lumpur

199 Jalan Bukit Bintang

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Telephone

+603-2773 8495

Opening Hours

Lunch: Noon to 2.30pm

Dinner: 6pm to 10pm

Website

www.thewestinkualalumpur.com

Promotion

Jan 6 to Feb 16: Chinese New Year set menus for 10 pax including yee sang and 1 bottle red or white house wine (complimentary)

Lion Dance Performance at 11am, 31 January, 2020

 

CNY Set Menu

Happy Reunion: RM1,988 nett

Blessings Reunion: RM2,188 nett

Abundance Reunion: RM2,388 nett