Fan Chen Mei, Bercham

I seldom enlarge my photos... but when I do, it is meant to make it easier for you to spot the fine details :) My colleagues had a get-together luncheon to signify "sau gung jau" and to usher in the near year ahead. As many restaurants have never failed to raise their prices every other year (we will never catch up with the mediocre increment in salary) so this year we have to downgrade to a non-air conditioned dining place in Bercham. This year, its Restoran Fan Chen Mei. And we decided to go for something different than the banquet style dishes or those chu-char dishes to go along with your white rice. Hence, we will try the.....

There were two options available - the set meal of  of Poon Choy at RM468. There is another option with the addition of "10 headed" abalone. As clarified in a previous post, "head" is a measurement of the size/weight of the abalone. In other words, the number of heads is the number of abalone which makes up to 1 catty or 600g. So the higher the number of heads, the lighter/smaller your abalone is. The additional charge comes out to almost RM7 per piece only. Well, its not like you eat abalone very often, so why not just a symbolic gesture to give yourself a treat? Lets go for the RM538 one instead.

Yee Sang is quite a letdown though. The ingredients is very similar to those pre-packed ones available in supermarkets - its evident from the food dyed "meehoon" and the pickled fruit peels which seems to be heavily laden with preservatives. The salmon slices did not do much justice also as the surface dried up a little and was plague with  "fishy smell". Perhaps that was why the worker used the pepper and five spice powder from the angpow packets to marinade the fish. I think that is the wrong procedure as only the lime wedge should be squeezed on the fish slices while the seasoning powder should be sprinkled on the platter of mixed ingredients instead! Hmmm...

Poon Choy - first layer consists of the relatively more premium items namely Abalone, scallops and prawns. There is also smoked duck breast, crabmeat stick, Chinese shitake mushrooms and broccoli for the contrasting colours which sends visual attraction and sends your saliva glands to start be on overdrive mode. Beneath the top layer houses a whole kampung chicken, beancurd sheets (tau pao), another type of mushroom, raddish, carrots and cabbage. The bottom layer ingredients is soaked with the essence of the top layer and the gravy is packed with flavours. The slight drawback was the gravy turned slightly watery, probably due to the moisture from the vegetables, especially the cabbage.The communal style of dining is like incorporating most dishes into a single pot which goes along well with plain rice.

The Steamed Garoupa was executed perfectly! The fish is fresh, the soya sauce being at just right level of saltiness with shallot oil used sparingly. The flesh of the fish is firm at the accurate level of done-ness, neither over nor undercooked. White rice, lotus root soup, blanched vegetables, Chinese tea, dessert (red bean mochi jelly and soya milk + longan) are included in the set.

There! the scallop and the abalone. Well, if only it was braised longer in the gravy... The abalone is still very much "fresh". Overall, it was a good experience for a Poon Choy but I am sure there are better ones around as the version here lack the chemistry and "bonding" between the ingredients as it seems each ingredients are cooked individually as a result of most items did not absorb the flavourful gravy/broth. It is as if it was just arranged nearly in a communal bowl for serving/illustration purposes only. So how was your reunion dinner recently? Care to still dine for Chinese food this CNY period although being charged exorbitantly and still need to eat in a rush (5pm-7pm-9pm slots)? Feel free to share your experience in the comment box :)