CHASING FOOD DREAMS: Tai Zi Heen, Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur: Feast on Sumptuous Chinese Tapas!

A truly fabulous concept by Tai Zi Heen, Chinese Tapas Promotion is created for connoisseurs (or simply a foodie like me!) who seek a multitude of dishes when dining out.

On the norm, people are only able to order a few dishes to be shared due to portion wise… thus leading to the question on what if there are only two of us but we love to savor many types of dishes? That’s when the brilliant tapas concept of a plethora of appetizer portions dishes fits perfectly! One can enjoy a diversity of Chinese dishes and dim sum as an entire meal or just a small snack with the concept.

Tai Zi Heen is proud to present its Chinese Tapas menu at Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur for the month of September and October 2011. Let’s check out what fabulous tapas there is with this promotion.

Steamed Dim Sum

The steamed Dim Sums were delightful as they were easy to savor with fresh and gentle flavors. A unique twist is the Steamed Beef Meatballs with Mozzarella Cheese which doesn’t seem to sound right but tasted beautifully. Meatball was tender with slight “QQ” texture and the cheese seems to lend the creamy edge to this really well.

Cold Appetizers

I tell you what’s fabulous from its modern twist of tapas – Smoked Duck in Egg Roll with Preserved Ginger! Simply outstanding with tender smoked duck breast enveloping a wedge of wobbly crystal century egg and sliced preserved ginger with scallion. Flavors were bursting with salty, sweet, sour and freshness as the roll was such a heavenly creation. Be warned, one plate is NOT enough!!

Soups

Gentle flavors seeped through the Eight Treasure Sun Dried Seafood Soup while spicy and sour flavors exuded the Thai Style Shark’s Fin Soup. Both soups are equally luscious depending on the kind of flavors you like… J

Stir Fried Dishes

Noteworthy dishes are Sautéed Prawns with Fried Garlic, Shallots & Dried Chilies, Stir-Fried Sliced Duck with Spicy Chili Sauce and Wok Fried Beef with Leeks & Ginger. Prawns were juicy and bouncy with a heavenly combination of garlic, shallots, onions, black bean & dried chilies, making it pungent and delicious. Sliced lean duck was slightly salty but would have gone beautifully with white rice. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the spicy duck slices a lot. Beef was tender and enhanced with lots of leeks and tasted wholesome and light.

Fried Snacks

Being a deep fried foodie (guilty as charged!), I love the Crispy Boneless Chicken with Coffee BBQ Sauce, Batter-Fried Grouper Fillets with Mango Salsa, Deep Fried Eggplant with Salt & Pepper and Batter-Fried Whitebait Fish with Spiced Salt. Coffee BBQ sauce was sweet and well balanced with a nice hint of coffee, thus making the crispy chicken simply addictive. Grouper fillets were ordinary till you savor this with the tangy mango salsa… I like the salsa a lot. Eggplant was crisp and light so I could taste the sweet eggplant while the whitebait fish was crunchy and savory. Although deep fried, the dishes were well tempered as they were not oily at all. Order a beer for these! J

Other Tapas

Spicy Braised Mutton with Beancurd Stick was decent. The meat was superbly tender but the flavors were a bit heavy.

Baked Honey Scented Chicken Wings was finger-licking good! Sweet and sticky, dived into perfectly coated wings with perfumed honey goodness guaranteed to satisfy wing lovers out there.

Desserts

Desserts are summed up as simply out-of-this-world at Tai Zi Heen! I have been there a few times and desserts are always my all-time-favorite at the restaurant. Their signature Chilled Mango Puree with Ice Cream, Sago & Pomelo is extraordinary with smooth thick mango freshness, chunks of mango, sago and bits of pomelo sacs all chilled with luscious vanilla ice cream! Simply a lethal dessert worth its weight in gold!!

Chilled Lemongrass Jelly with Aloe Vera & Lime Sorbet was another magnificent dessert in my books. The lemongrass jelly with aloe was quite ordinary till one tries it with the citrusy lime sorbet which instantly turns this dessert into a refreshing one full of textures and flavors with a zing!

The third dessert is NOT in the Chinese Tapas promotion but I felt it deserves a mentioned as it was superb. I am not a fan of almond milk because I do not like the smell of the dessert. However, the Almond Milk Soup with Black Sesame Tang Yuen at Tai Zi Heen is marvelous and executed with such class. Hot Almond Milk was surprisingly light and creamy without being overpowering as per its normal aroma while the sweetness was well balanced. Balls of soft and slightly chewy glutinous rice ball filled with jet black creamy sesame paste was gorgeous. I stole quite a few mouthfuls of the almond milk. This one is worth an order if you are looking for a soothing dessert after your lovely meal of tapas!!

The Chefs

Tai Zi Heen is helmed by Chef Ricky T., a distinguished chef of many awards, who has produced many sumptuous and creative dishes where you can read all about it in my previous visit1 and visit2. Together with Executive Sous Chef Alex and Asst. Chinese Chef Liang, Tai Zi Heen has showcased much marvelous Chinese cuisine with a modern twist and extraordinary promotions!

Tai Zi Heen’s Chinese Tapas Menu promotion is available from September 1st to October 31^st, 2011 for lunch at 12.00noon to 2.30pm during weekdays only. All dishes are priced at RM10++ each as stated in the menu above.