Drinking soup layer by layer

The waxed meat goes perfectly with the claypot rice.

Abalone, dried scallops, fish maw and sea cucumber is one layer... heavenly.KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 We didnt mean to, but we managed to make our friend dining in a super posh Chinese restaurant elsewhere that night very envious of the food we were having at Chef Choi's. Were in heaven, my text went to her, having Fatt Thieu Cheong layer by layer!How else could I have described my experience of the wonderful broth of cordyceps, dried abalone, sharks fin, sea cucumber, fish maw and black chicken that had been double-boiled in a porcelain soup tureen for 16 hours?Nothing had been left to chance: the tureen was sealed with greaseproof paper smeared with egg white, and not flour dough (as is usually done), in case that when it was opened, bits of dough fell into the soup!

The various aromas which came from the soup tureen was absolutely amazing.When the cover was lifted, there were all these amazing aromas floating up. I couldnt help but breathe in all this goodness. The first layer featured the silken threads of sharks fins almost velvety and so flavourful.The second layer comprised the fat dried scallops in a lacy web, "far kow" or fish maw, sea cucumber and a whole abalone. We could see now why the sharks fin was considered the teaser. We savoured each piece, the different textures, the colliding smoothness of the gelatinous sea cucumber and the almost fatty taste of the fish maw.The soup seemed to get more complex in flavour as the ingredients were taken out. It was just yum! The last layer was the meat of the black chicken and the cordyceps. I ate up everything, including the cordyceps, which is one of the most expensive herbs! in the world.It benefits the immune and vascular systems, the liver and kidneys, the respiratory system and energises you, so leave nothing behind!

Cordyceps, black chicken and dried scallops make up another layer... gorgeous.Such a jewel of a soup comes at a price RM450 a bowl, but there is a mini version of this on the menu at Chef Choi as well, at a lower price. But if think nothing of paying this amount for a bottle of good wine or a fine dinner at a swanky restaurant, you should instead consider this.The course before this was the Yee Sang, and there was a special sauce for this, concocted by its owner/chef, with some very different ingredients. Even though he told us about the dried longan water, mandarin peel and lime juice he had added to the original sauce from China, we would not have been able to perfect it like he did.

The precious Fatt Thieu Cheong being brought to the table.Only one and a half tablespoons of this sauce is allowed on the Yee Sang; just lightly sweet, with a perky lift to it and a subtle citrus flavour. We tossed the Yee Sang, and were bowled over by the whole combination with the unusual sauce.The usual Yee Sang sauce is so sweet you wouldnt want to taste it on its own, but we did this and liked it a lot. Later we had this for dessert, as a dip for green apple and sengkuang slices. The green apple, with its light acidity, was marvellous with it.Heres the place to have a steamed Soon Hock, its cooking halted at the right moment to turn out a fish with delicate, creamy and sweet meat.

We had the yee sang sauce for dessert... with green apples and yam bean!We were on to the Lap Mei Farn that we were also looking forward to. Basmati rice was used for this claypot rice speckled w! ith deli cious drippings from aromatic waxed meats, the superb goose liver sausages among them. (These are from the famed Yung Kee restaurant in Hong Kong).Chef Choi has set menus for the Chinese New year, which ends on Feb 17. It ranges from RM688 and RM788 to RM988, RM1288 and RM1588 for a table of 10.Heres whats in the RM1,288 menu: Yee Sang with Ocean Trout, Double-boiled Sharks Fin with Bamboo Pith, Braised Sliced Abalone with Sea Cucumber and Mushroom, Barbecued Suckling Pig, Braised Soon Hock with Beancurd and Whole Garlic, Fried Hong Kong Vegetables with Dried Scallop, Steamed Rice with Chinese Sausage and Waxed Meat in Claypot, Double-boiled Almond Tea with Chinese Dumpling and Crispy Pancake with Yam.Its a la carte menu is a diverse one you can even order Thai Chilli Crabs and Thai Duck Noodles in this restaurant! Our all-time favourite is the Tomato Noodles that taste even better chilled overnight!Chef Choi is located at 159 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Tel: 03-2163 5866, website www.chefchoi.com.