Ah Soon Kor dishes out yesteryear favourites at the Oriental Group of Restaurants

When SK invited me to the review, I naughtily asked, “Is he cute?” to which she cheekily said: “You will like this chef.” And indeed, legendary chef Wong Ling Soon, better known as Ah Soon Kor, is quite the character! He returns as guest chef, teaming up with Oriental Group of Restaurants senior chefs, to recreate Popular Dishes before 2000. 

I always thought puff pastry goes with mushroom soup, but only just found out that it was a popular style back then. Ah Soon Kor picked this up when he cooked together with French chefs in Beijing and for this menu, cooked up Foie Gras in Supreme Soup and Double Boiled Duck and Tangerine Soup with puff pastry.

The Abalone roll and Duck tongue braised in special sauce, one of his signature appetisers in the 1970s, was nothing short of amazing while the special occasion Braised Goose Web was everything it is famed for as tastewise it was on point and absolutely delightful. Another signature was the Fengcheng Style Pork and Liver Roll, which had the pork fat in a sugar bath before being rolled with pork and liver.

Another dish worthy of mention was the gorgeous Peacock nest which was actually a beautifully presented Suckling Pig. The peacock head was carved from white radish while the skin, arranged like the feathers, didn’t need any extra sauce, sweetened by the honeydew melon beneath.

Deep-fried Pomfret and Stir-fried Scallops with XO Sauce had the fish fillet rolled up and
deep-fried, while the skeletal main frame was fried till crispy and this was later cut to small pieces which we could enjoy. The Stuffed Old Style Chicken Wings had the skin stuffed with minced pork, water chestnut and carrot at the bite of the deep-fried wing while the Crispy King Prawn Ball was springy chopped prawns dipped in a light batter and deep fried.

We ended the sumptuous meal with Baked Glutinous Rice in Fragrant Coconut which reminded me CNY lap mei fan. Dessert was Dang Ying Red Bean Pumpkin Ball with Banana – loved the crispy and fragile ball that had banana and red bean in the centre; and chilled Bird’s Nest Lemongrass Infusion with basil seeds and mixed fruit.

Desserts were by the Oriental Group chefs. Ah Soon Kor’s menus – 11-course meal is priced at RM269/pax (10 pax per table) or RM369/pax. (Min 4 pax) – is available at the participating restaurants in the Oriental Group till the end of September at all participating Oriental Group restaurants.