Pak Loh Chiu Chow @ Starhill Gallery

December 13, 2015

Dubbed the Golden Sister of the famed Hong Kong brand, Pak Loh Chiu Chow(潮州百乐) restaurant spread its wings and expand its operation at Starhill Gallery Malaysia with bring in almost 40 years of culinary experiences and signature recipes. Pak Loh Chiu Chow restaurant established in year 1967 at Hong Kong has long since forged a name for itself, uncompromising on authentic high-end Teochew cuisine. Touted as serving the most authentic Teochew cuisine, Pak Loh Chiu Chow delivers a wealth of delicious flavours associated with China's gastronomical capital of Guangdong province. 

Catch your attention with Holding the glass enclosed kitchen where can see chef in action and tempting braised goose.
Modern Oriental interior design.
 From 5th December 2015 onwards, Hong Kong native Chef Alex Au ( one of Asia's Top 20 Chefs recently), introducing 40 new Chiu Chow dishes at Pak Loh Chiu Chow, Starhill Gallery. Definitely this is a new breath of fresh air enters Pak Loh Chiu Chow, guests may look forward to the highly anticipated menu include present signature dishes such as the Slow Braised Goose Combination and the Steamed Bucket Pomfret with Preserved Vegetables, Tomatoes and Sour Plum. The new menu at Pak Loh Chiu Chow will see the addition of over 40 new recipes, covering items such as refreshing soups, chicken, beef, pork, seafood, medicinal bird's nest, rice, porridge, noodles and desserts. There are also present other classic Chiu Chow dishes such as the Shan Tou Oyster Omelette and Stir Fried Snap Bean with Preserved Black Olives and Minced Meat.

A short introduction of Chef Alex Au: 
He is the Executive Chinese Chef for Pak Loh Chiu Chow at Starhill Gallery, joined Hong Kong's famous Pak Loh Chiu Chow restaurant 16 years ago where he learned the ropes from the famous Master Chef Chan Tung. With his culinary talents, Chef Alex Au was awarded Masterchef of Authenticity (Asian Cuisine) in Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards 2013-2015 series. Known for his signature dish such as Cold Flower Crab, Chiu Chow Oyster Omelet and Slow-Braised Goose. 

Honestly, this is my first time to visit Teochew cuisine, it was a special dining experience for me because their eating culture is rather different from the other Chinese dishes, Teochew food is well known for its seafood and vegetarian dishes. Flavouring is much less heavy-handed and there is a relatively heavy emphasis on poaching, steaming and braising. 
Gong Fu Tea 功夫茶
Gong Fu (in Mandarin) means skill and patience, Oolong teas as well as more aromatic teas is the best to present Gong Fu method. It will be serve in a very small cup as the tea liquor is quite concentrated. Guests of Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant were served with Gong Fu Tea before meal. 
Baked Bombay Duck Fish with Plum Sauce   RM 25   潮阳梅汁焗九肚鱼
We thought this is an appetiser, but it is a dish! Super like this savoury sweet and sour Baked Bombay Duck Fish with Plum Sauce, i just non-stop eating this because it is tender and the bones were soft enough to be edible, so flavourful as it glaze with plum sauce. 
I am honoured to have a chance to see Chef Alex in a live cooking demonstration. 
Threadfin Fish Soup with Coriander and Leek   RM 98   煎煮深水马友鱼头汤
To present the freshest and sweetest fish soup, Chef Alex Au poured in all ingredients in a base fish broth which boiled for many hours, after that pan-fried the Threadfin Fish until golden-crisp. You MUST TRY this rich fish soup! 
Authentic Top Shell with Preserved Vegetables   RM 108.00   野味咸菜爆鲜螺头
I think many of you will wondering why this dish is quite pricey? Regarding Chef Alex Au explain, the values of top shell in Teochew cuisine is similar with abalone. Fresh and succulent top shell with Preserved Vegetables were butterflied then pan seared at exactly 60 Celsius for 5 second to retain the sweet and juicy taste with a glistening exterior. This is another MUST-TRY dish.
Traditional Steamed Tiger-Toothed Croaker with Pork, Ham and Garlic, Wrapped with Aromatic Chinese Cabbage   RM 98  祖传古方荷苞蒸海三牙
Classic Chiu Chow Wok Fried Assorted Seasonal Vegetables   RM 32   潮州七式菜
This is the classic dish of Teochew, known as a festive dish prepared on the 7th day of Chinese Lunar New Year, each vegetable representing a prosperous word and meaning.
Braised Spring Chicken Stuffed with Glutinous Rice, Garlic, Ginger and Straw Mushroom   RM 45  兰花菌爝姜米春鸡
It took long time for preparation with distinctive cooking methods. That braised spring chicken is so juicy and melt-in-to your mouth, glutinous rice is soft enough and so flavourful with other ingredients. All of us were in full praise for this, MUST-TRY dish! 
Authentic Smoked Bacon Cooked with Yellow Chives  RM 45  
I am so sorry, there was too many MUST-TRY dishes here, hahaha! So this is one of it, pork belly has juicy fat layers wrapped around the meat and that fat is melt-in-your-mouth. 
Braised Pumpkin Bean Curd with Wild Mushrooms and Dried Scallop    RM 42  瑶柱兰花菌烩南瓜豆腐
Chef Alex's house made pumpkin bean curd, melt-in-the mouth bean curd with sweet pumpkin was just too nice! I believe my mother will love this dish because she is huge fan of pumpkin. =)
Flat Rice Noodle Soup with Threadfin Fish and Preserved Vegetables   RM 35  番茄咸菜马友河粉汤
If you don't like to eat white rice, there is another option for you. Enjoyable when eating smoother flat rice noodle and slurp this rich creamy fish soup, warm your tummy. 
Authentic Crispy Bananas with Golden Cream  RM 24   经典来不及
Crispy crust bananas were fried to the perfection. There is a unique story behind this creation. Legend has it that during a cooking competition, the 2 finalist chefs ran out of ingredients to cook after a gruelling competition. One of the chefs saw some banana hanging from a nearby house and decided to use that as main ingredient, which then became the winning dish for him and that is the origin of the name come “来不及”, meaning "not in time". This is the classic and most famous dessert of Teochew cuisine. 
Chef famous wok-roasted crispy pork
Thanks to Chef Alex for serving this dish during our food review, this is one of his signature dish, so don't forget to order this because it is really delicious!!!

It was a happy experience to dining at Pak Loh Chiu Chow, Chef Alex is so friendly and sharing his story, telling the story behind of dishes with us. May be it is a bit pricey but only applicable on the premium dish right? it is worth to have a try since this restaurant using only the finest ingredients, condiments and culinary method. Definitely i will go back again. =)
The newly improved Pak Loh Chiu Chow menu will also feature an extensive list of premium Chinese and Taiwanese teas, such as Lily Jasmine and Tung Ting Oolong. In conjunction with the launch of new menu, Pak Loh Chiu Chow will be running an Instagram contest throughout December 2015. You just need to take a picture of a dish at Pak Loh Chiu Chow, write an interesting caption and post it on Instagram with #paklohchiuchow and tag @feastvillageshg to win a Chinese New Year 2016 family set menu!

Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant 潮州百乐
LG 12 Feast Village 
Starhill Gallery
181 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 - 2782 3856
Opening hours : Daily 12pm-11pm

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