A Hong Kong encounter at Prince Hotel

Thanks to Sidney from BigBoysOven, I had the chance to be part of the media to cover Prince Hotel’s latest offerings with the theme of ‘A Hong Kong Encounter’. Not only was the food on parade, even fashion was displayed too! We started our event with a mini display of designer gowns by none other than our very own Carven Ong. This gorgeous dress greeted me at the entrance of his posh boutique.

Wedding gown by Carven Ong

Upon entering his boutique, I was greeted with more couture pieces which took my breath away. Every piece was a delicate work of art, it was amazing. I secretly wanted to try all the clothes there, but of course I didn’t because I was just too shy! *blushes*

Colourful evening gowns

There was also an array of wedding gowns displayed, all white and pure and elegant.

Wedding gowns by Carven Ong

And don’t forget shoes!

Shoes by Carven Ong

Before long, two young models entered the boutique, parading Carven’s latest designs, the Oriental Flower couture. I thought the designs were oriental but modern. Very chic.

Carven Ong’s latest designs – Oriental Flower

Models with Carven Ong and Prince Hotel’s representatives

There were 3 more pieces of gowns in the Oriental Flower line that Carven designed, which were laid out nicely on the couch.

Carven Ong with his latest designs

Carven Ong posing with his latest designs

I had a chance to camwhore with Carven Ong himself and Ken too!

Ken, witch and Carven Ong

Models, witch and Carven Ong

Models with Carven Ong

By the way, did I mention that I fell in love with one of Carven’s designs? This was it! So wonderfully gorgeous. Carven, will you sponsor this dress for my wedding? *winks*

witch with Carven’s wedding dress

Rachel, witch and Xin

After much camwhoring, we all proceeded to Tai Zi Heen, which is Prince Hotel’s famed and award-winning Chinese restaurant. This year, Tai Zi Heen will be presenting “A

Hong Kong Encounter” at the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival featuring Chinese Master Chef Ricky Thein Yiew Ming, who is well-known within Malaysia and Singapore for his Cantonese dishes.

Carven Ong’s design displayed at the entrance of Tai Zi Heen

Models welcoming us!

Upon entering Tai Zi Heen, we were presented with very meticulous tables set to the T.

Impressive table setting

Pretty napkin holder

Candle in the middle of the table

We were told that apart from the Hong Kong encounter menu that we were going to sample, we would also be drinking wines, courtesy of Pernod Ricard Malaysia.

Wines from Jacob’s Creek Reserve

Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz Vintage 2006 and Jacob’s Creek Reserve Riesling Vintage 2007

Without further ado, we started with the appetizer, which was the “Wok-fried prawn with Asian Tomato and black sesame dressing, Crispy yam puff with foie gras and minced chicken, Steamed cod dumpling with crab meat glaze and Shredded beef with dried tangerine peel”. Wow, what a mouthful! *LOL* Each of the 4 appetizers was delicately prepared and tasted delicious. If only the portions were bigger! When it comes to good food, we always ask for more eh? I enjoyed the Wok-fried prawn with Asian tomato and black sesame dressing the most (bottom left corner in the picture). The prawn was succulent and huge, and it embraced the tomato gravy perfectly.

Appetizer

Second dish served was the “duo of duckling and organic yin choy broths with sun-dried seafood, prawn and hairy gourd.” Again, another mouthful. When served hot, the broth was extremely rich, full-bodied and thick. Every spoonful was goodness from heaven.

Soup

When it came to the main courses, we were randomly given either the lamb or salmon. I was given the “Citrus marinated lamb rack roasted with white sesame seeds, wok-fried baby cabbage, fresh lily bulbs and a spicy minted plum sauce.” Seriously, could the names get any longer? I had one piece of this lamb while the other was switched with Christock for his salmon! The lamb, although small in size, was juicy and packed with flavour. One couldn’t help but to lick the bones clean, simply because it was too good to waste even a tiny morsel of it!

Lamb

As for the other main course, it was the “Honey and soya baked salmon with fragrant crab roe, soya beans, broad beans, honshimeji mushrooms and wolfberry sauce.” The sauce was pretty similar to teriyaki sauce, slightly sweet and very aromatic. Most importantly, the fish was extremely fresh, with each piece of meat coming out as flakes.

Salmon

Apart from meat, we were also served with some carbohydrates in the form of noodles, “Dan mee with soy-braised beef, carrots, radish and leek topped with a splash of red wine”. The key of eating this plate of noodles was to mix the spoonful of red wine with the noodles thoroughly before eating them. The slightly sour and bitter taste of wine surprisingly complemented the noodles really well. Also, the noodles were still crispy even after mixing them with the gravy and wine. Very creative dish indeed.

Noodles

Last but not least, who could forget dessert? We had the “Chocolate Whiskey Siew Mai, Vanilla Ice Cream With Fresh Mango Puree, Sago and Pomelo and Crispy water chestnut spring roll.” At first glance, we thought we saw something wrong, chocolate Whiskey siew mai? It turned out to be a cute siew mai shaped dessert with chocolate filling mixed with a hint of whiskey. Good idea to offset the otherwise very sweet chocolate. I loved the mango puree the most! But then I may be biased since I love mangoes. The addition of a mini scoop of ice-cream inside the puree kept the puree chilled for longer time and gave it a more milky texture.

Dessert

Chocolate whiskey siew mai

Ice-cream in mango puree

Before the night ended, we took more shots!

Sunny, witch and Jessica

witch and Jessica

Models, Carven and Chef Ricky

witch with Executive Chef of Prince Hotel

The models, chefs and the fashion designer

Group picture

The night ended with lots of laughter from us when we were talking about some obscene jokes you wouldn’t want to know. The Hong Kong Encounter menu was especially designed for the MIGF 2009, so it is one course not to be missed!

All the items mentioned above are available in the Festival menu:

From 1st October 2009 till 30th October 2009, the Festival Menu is available for public @ RM180++/pax with wines, or RM120++/pax without wines.

For Light Festival Menu: RM120++/pax with wines, or RM80++/pax without wines.  : 3 items on the appetizers, salmon or lamb, and the desserts.

Promotions from Prince Hotel:

For every full Festival Menu with wine ordered, receive a RM50 voucher for the Mandara Spa and a RM50 food voucher for either Tai Zi Heen, ENJU or Eccuccino, redeemable with a minimum spend of RM150 in a single receipt. T&C apply.

Festival diners receive a 30% discount on food at Tai Zi Heen when they produce their Festival lunch or dinner receipt. Valid for dining in from 1 to 30 November 2009.

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