Elegant Inn, Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P Ramlee
It was fantastic to meet someone so passionate about food. Jeanette Han, one of the owners of The Elegant Inn asked Kris of weddingsmalaysia.com to invite some wedding planners to review their new private rooms. Ann Lee, ever efficient AND insisting that we do a better job than her charming people, dragged us along. I think that's her ruse for company really. ;-) We get to Elegant Inn and it's obvious the waiters' have been briefed. We are ushered into a pleasant room, furnished quietly but well, 
and we meet Jeanette, who immediately takes charge of the afternoon, informing us, very breezily, of the changes that have taken place and the food that we are about to eat as well as the nuances of their philosophy on food. In short, she definitely leans toward slow food but as realistically as it can be applied in Malaysia. Provenance of food is obviously important and contrasts and balance of flavour, as well as texture, and presentation are all meticulously taken into account. We started out with some awesome starters and if I go into detail about every course, we'll be writing a thesis. So instead, I will let 
the photos do the talking and I will elaborate on dishes I particularly enjoyed. I should say that I enjoyed all the dishes but in the interests of brevity, I will go ahead and highlight the exceptional ones.I was thoroughly impressed as to the delicacy of the presentation. Very contemporary and flavours were very well balanced and textures made it very interesting on the palate. I absolutely adored the soup. Sweet corn on the cob, pork ribs, figs, and all sorts of good stuff crammed this bowl to the extent that the soup was sweet, savoury, meaty, and everything a good cantonese broth 
should be. There are a few types of soups in the Chinese pantheon of cuisine. Your clear soups (which are simmered for hours and hours) and the thickened "kang" which uses this broth and thickens it with arrowroot starch. I'm a good Eurasian/Cantonese boy. And I LOVEADORE a good soup. And this was one heckuva doozy! Next came the Kobe Beef which was like...repeat after me...BUDDAH!. Omigod. "Melt on your tongue" has this picture of it next to the definition in the dictionary. Just amazing. Desserts, a particular favourite of mine, also featured largely in this spread. Some interesting, others 
yummy, but always with that particular emphasis on taste, texture, provenance, and presentation. All in all HIGHLY RECOMMENDED but expect to pay a premium. Having said that, all their prosaic dishes are very affordable and you should be able to get away with a generous weekday meal here at around RM50 to RM60 per person.
16 Comments
4:21 PM
looks good! the bitter gourd looks young and crispy and not too bitter. am i right? LOL
9:54 PM
yums...love love love chinese!
10:37 PM
Ciki; the bitter gourd was mucho interesting. Jade green and not too bitter and slightly sweet. Very clear flavour.
Becks; hahaha :-) Haven't heard from my Doc yet. Will tell you once I hear.
10:50 PM
Buddah!
OOoh you can't believe what I have my eyes set on...the bittergourd. It looks temptingly crunchy and fresh.
11:05 PM
That foo kwa looks very ching, like a good piece of jade!
And that net-like thingy overlooking the char siu looking thing, must be handmade by the chef?
I loveadore a good soup too. Just had some york choy kai thong - soooo comforting. If only there were some kampung chicken around..
Now for argumentation sake, why is when something is blissfully good, it is associated with 'nirvana' and 'buddah' but when we are frustrated/PO, we go 'Jesus Christ!', or 'For Christ's sake!' leh?
11:42 PM
munkyboi; it was ;-)
GFAD; that's the word; "ching"
Oh "Buddah" was my way of saying "Butter" like Barbra ;-) hahahaha
That's a good question...I don't know...perhaps the very fact that it's been ingrained into us to NOT say it makes it an exclamation. You know human beings are contrarian. ;)
12:38 AM
Uhm, okay... BUDDAH!
Hehe, nice pics btw... really clear and sharp... now all I want is a bite or two of what they captured... :P
11:23 AM
looks shiok..sure 50 per pax can ar..
i want that melt in your tongue beef worr...
11:46 AM
LFB; Ya its good
Joe; see. Don't read. I said CAN GET AWAY WITH...not THIS MEAL IS RM50 to RM60. ;-) This meal was around RMRM120 per pax
12:51 PM
more like fine Chinese cuisine :)
been trying to come here for several times but somehow, something always got in the way...
maybe I will ask my friends to tag along sometime on weekend... less traffic and less crowded
3:25 PM
I like your reply re the cursing bit. How we love to contradict ourselves.
I was debating whether to comment on that because some ppl can get sensitive and defensive abt religion. But it was a genuine question. Kinda like why would the mother always be the one to be cussed, and not the father? Is it because we are more protective towards our mothers and hence be more easily provoked and offended?
2:35 PM
thule; it is fine dining chinese style la but not limited to that
GFAD; hmmm Mother always being cussed? I think you're probably seeing it from the point of a stay at home Mum? That's probably why you feel that is the case more often than not. However, I've known fathers to get blamed or cussed out as well. Hard to say on that one since I'm not a parent. ;)
10:59 AM
Nigel, sorry. Should have worded my comment more properly.
I meant a lot of swear words relate to cussing the mother, ie. t*u n*amah, motherf**ker, etc. :D
1:11 PM
i see u've discovered the joys of picasa collaging.
1:04 AM
We had dinner there last year. You should try their Three or Four Season plater that comes with fried silver fish and scallop wrap in bacon which we like a lot.
5:43 PM
GFAD; well fatherf**ker doesn't have the same ring! ;-) Tho some Dad's are DILFs ;-)
FBB; your fault!
Jason; thanks for recommendation ;-) Will do so. Must bring dad along! He'd enjoy it :-)
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