Chinese cuisine is pretty much a staple here in Malaysia. But we have to admit, it can be difficult to find good restaurants, especially if you’re Muslim. While halal Chinese restaurants might be rare (and or non-existent), Muslim friendly restaurants are still available! Like the Tao Chinese Cuisine restaurant in Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur.
The Intercontinental Hotel not only promises you a good stay, but great food too! If you’re craving Chinese while there, we suggest visiting their Tao Chinese Cuisine restaurant. Also, while CNY may be almost over, but there’s no shame in checking out their festive menu still. After all, it isn’t over till its over!
We recently got to sample some of Tao’s fare and we have to say, they are mouth-wateringly worth it. Instead of the usual CNY course meal, we tasted a few dishes from their a la carte menu. For starters, we got deep fried prawn, corn flakes with mayonnaise dressing. If you want something savoury to begin your meal, we definitely recommend this dish! The cereal ensures the outside of the prawns are crispy and crunchy while keeping the inside juicy.
Of course, you’ll need a few mains to go with your meal. As per the CNY meal, we ordered one fish and chicken dish. The poached Nan Jing style salty chicken with dried scallop sauce was truly one for chicken lovers! The sauce was not overly strong and it certainly helped elevate the taste of the dish. And if you wanted to add a kick to your meal, the wok-fried King Tiger Grouper fillet with hot savoury sauce is definitely the one to choose! It’s spicy enough to add some variety to your meal while delighting your tastebuds with the savoury fish.
What’s a Chinese dinner without rice? For our meal, we got the truffle sauce fried rice with dried sakura shrimp, crab meat, spring onion and diced French bean. The fragrant rice will immediately catch one’s attention and whet one’s appetite. The sakura shrimp and crab meat also add to the flavour of the dish while ensuring the texture isn’t one dimensional.
Finally, finish off your meal with some sweet traditional desserts. We definitely recommend getting the pan-fried “ninko” with sesame seeds. This warm and doughy treat is perfect to munch on with the sesame seeds making it crunchy and fun to eat!
Also, Tao’s signature dessert isn’t one you should miss out on. It’s a mix of mango puree with ice cream and cendol bits. If you aren’t too fond of overly sweet desserts, then this is the one for you. The mango puree introduces a tangy taste with the ice cream balancing out the sour flavour with some sweetness.
Our last recommendation would be visiting Tao at Intercontinental with empty stomachs! You’ll definitely want to experience and enjoy their full fare without having to worry about getting full too soon.
