Christmas is just around the corner and i was fortunate enough to be invited for a food tasting session at Jia Wei restaurant for their Christmas set menu. Jia wei, literally means a taste from home and is championed by acclaimed chef Lee Tuck Seng, who has forty years of culinary experience under his belt and is no stranger to multiple culinary awards. Special thanks to Keane and Grand Mecure for this wonderful experience.

The interior is a portrait of soft lighting and simple chinese furniture with thankfully rounded tables and surprisingly comfortable chairs. Minimalistic but comfortable, the rounded tables make conversation easy and brings people together much better then the normal rectangular ones found elsewhere. To me, thats a plus.

Roasted Walnut with sesame - This is worth a mention because its made in house, is very fragrant, crispy and pleasing to eat.

The dim sum appetiser reminded me of similar offerings in taste paradise and the hai tien lo trio albeit of a totally different category. The siew mai is rather big and came with a suitably decadent decor of gold foil. It doesn't add to the taste but it sure is nice to look at. The pork taste is rather strong in this but otherwise, it was a nice and regular offering. The second item is a prawn and scallop dumpling which is generally well received by all at the table. I found the crunchy prawn sweet and fresh while the scallop complimented and enhanced the taste further. Definitely something to try. Next up is the prawn and mango roll which had too much mango for my liking since it covered the taste of the prawn and finally, the last item is the deep fried prawn dumpling. Bascially, its good but rather oily. Not a bad start and this gave me high hopes on the restaurants dim sum lunch offers.

They have been away for a long time now; the feel, touch, sight, smell were always in their mind, but its gradually fading away with each day passed. How they wished they could be back, but reality often gets the better of man. He missed the food, while she yearned for the familiar environment.

It struck them after entering the place, the comfortable and cozy environment, just like home. Jia Wei restaurant. How apt.

To have Christmas without the festive turkey and ham (both sets), it’ll be like to have the Mid-autumn festival without the mooncakes, or going through Halloween without pumpkins. He found the meat was too tough and dry, while there was the wasabi sauce, it was insufficient and wasabi didn’t exactly compliment the turkey meat well. Luckily there was the fresh fruits salad to save the day.

The highlight of the menu will definitely be Jia Wei Superior Shark’s Fin soup (Festive cheers menu) in hot stone pot. Thick and generous portions are discovered, the excitement just like discovering a treasure cove. The hot stone pot played a vital role in keeping the rich stock base warm and nice, a notable fact after they tried the other shark’s fin soup which wasn’t served in the stone pot. This bowl of treasure will most likely cost you a bomb if you have it elsewhere, but at Jia Wei, they do it cheap and good, its available on their a la carte menu too. Eating a Chinese delicacy for a frosty Christmas, the thought of home seem so far away.

While the superior shark’s fin soup with Conpoy (Christmas glow menu) offered the same ingredients as the previous one in hotpot, but the differential in price obviously meant that the higher priced festive cheers menu had slightly more shark’s fin. This one was lukewarm by the time they started eating, while the hot stone pot one remained piping hot. The dumpling-wannabe actually had water chestnut, vegetarian mushrooms and crab rob.

The layer of fats aroused her inner feelings. There was a struggle to ignore the calories and enjoyed the bliss. The grilled special rack of lamb (Festive cheers menu) made her succumb to temptation. If they were not to mention anything, you’ll never know the use of Chinese wine, together with a bit of Japanese Sake created a wonderful sauce which covered the usual strong lamb/mutton smell. Without the fats, the rack of lamb wouldn’t be as good, since they largely contributed the tenderness to the overall taste. And, the sweetness of the meat was actually extracted by chewing and sucking the bones. Sinful, yet so good!

One of the dish which he missed a lot from home was pork. The pan-fried fillet of pork spare-rib (Christmas glow menu) was exactly what he needed to satisfy his needs and homesickness. The special seasoning was very peculiar, the inital guess of fruits were proven wrong. Done in Japanese style, the sauce was slightly sweet and sour, which provided a tangy robust taste. The pork was pan-fried that the crispy layer was just right for the meat. It was very delicious. The downside? Portions were dainty considering it’s the main course.

While the braised bai ling mushroom with broccoli (Festive cheers menu) was what his mother used to prepare, he didn’t quite enjoyed the dish since the overall taste was a tad too subtle for his liking. Yes, although this vegetables dish was supposed to be light since the previous few dishes were rather strong in flavour, so i guess its more of different taste buds.

The similar dish on the Christmas glow menu, braised dry scallop with sea cucumber and bamboo piths. The vegetables were fresh, but being neither a fan of scallop nor sea cucumber, they didn’t know how to appreciate it.

There’s reasons for relatives to look alike. Was it baby lobster? Or is it crayfish? Gosh, wait a minute, it does rather looks like a big prawn instead! The home-made noodles were springy and smooth to the palate. The big prawns were fresh and succulent. But, there’s always the big BUT to look out for. Having used stock base for the Shark’s fin, the vegetables dish, and now the noodles. They couldn’t finish the home-made noodles with prawn (both sets) because the excess usage of stock base did seem a bit too much.

The simple, yet refreshing chilled lemon jelly (Festive cheers menu) was definitely a welcoming dessert. With the robust lemon sorbet, and the light lemon jelly, the all-lemon combination provided a sweet ending to the Christmas feast.

On the other hand, there’s the chilled mango pudding (Christmas glow menu) which wasn’t as good as it lacked the bouncy and chewy texture that a good pudding should have.The whole mango flavour was also not very strong, but you’ve to give credits to them for making the mango pudding so pretty.

The oriental Christmas feast at Jia Wei brought them closer to home, and the whole meal took 3 half hours to complete.

Christmas Glow ($78 )
Festive turkey, ham and fresh fruits salad
Superior Shark’s fins soup with conpoy
Pan-fried fillet of pork spare-rib with special sauce
Braised dry scallop with sea cucumber and bamboo piths
Homemade noodles with prawn and conpoy
Chilled mango pudding

Festive Cheers ($98 )
Festive turkey, ham and fresh fruits salad
Jia Wei superior Shark’s fin soup in hot stone pot
Grilled special rack of lamb with Chinese wine
Braised bai ling mushroom with broccoli
Homemade noodles with prawn and conpoy
Chilled lemon jelly

Enjoy a 30% discount on the Christmas feast from Monday to Thursday, except on 24, 25, 31 Dec 2008 & 1 Jan 2009. This was an invited food tasting session, I’ll like to thank Keane and Shu Ling representing Grand Mercure Roxy hotel for being a wonderful host. I’ll also like to take the chance to praise Jia Wei’s assistance manager, Jessica who was very professional and knowledgeable about the cuisines. And also to my dining companion for being a good company (you know who you are).

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!

Tucked behind the bustling bus stop opposite Parkway Parade lays Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel – and located at level two of what used to be a Thai restaurant is now Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant, opened in December 2007.

Honed by Master Chef Lee Tuck Seng, that brings with him wealth of culinary experience, including Gold Award in the FHA International Salon Culinaire, Jia Wei offers a modern and exquisite dining experience with a touché of traditional home-cooked fare.

They are currently serving Special Asian-themed Christmas specials that consists of their $78 per pax Christmas Glow Menu and the $98 per pax Festive Cheers Menu.

The complimentary Roasted Walnut with Sesame was pretty enjoyable – perhaps all of us were hungry due to the late lunch but it was finished up within minutes.

What’s a Christmas meal without Turkey – and thus lunch commenced with the Festive Turkey, Ham and Fresh Fruits Salad for both sets. HFB is not a big fan of turkey having bad experienced with them and Jia Wei’s version is not going to change my opinion any sooner. Now don’t get me wrong here – the turkey was juicier than most I have tried before, but it was the Wasa-mayo that did it this time round. The pairing just didn’t taste right – with the Wasabi too overbearing, but thankfully the fruit salad offered a much-welcomed reprieve.

If turkey is a must during Christmas, then equivalently, Shark’s Fin is a must during all festive Chinese celebration meals. The Christmas Glow menu offers the Superior Shark’s Fin Soup with Conpoy. A generous slab of Shark’s Fin was offered but HFB found the broth to be a little lacklustre from usual – even a dose of vinegar and dash of pepper didn’t help.

However, the Jia Wei Superior Shark’s Fin Soup in Hot Stone Pot was definitely the highlight of the day. Unlike the former, this version came piping hot when served and the broth was inspiring and robust with flavours. The superior fins also aided to the consequence – and this dish alone is worth half the menu’s price.

While the Pan-fried Fillet of Pork Spare-rib with Special Sauce from the Christmas Glow menu came nicely plated, it tasted just like normal sweet and sour pork. It wasn’t bad – it just didn’t impressed me much.

However, none of that can be said for the Grilled Special Rack of Lamb with Chinese Wine (Festive Cheer Menu). This is the other dish that is worth the other half of the menu price. The essence of the Chinese wine is captured and fused nicely with the lamb, which essentially ridded the meat of the gaminess, piquant smell – that most people gets turn off with. Not forgetting the thick jello of fats that streaked right above the meat – simply OMG divine!!! In fact it was so damn bloody good that when it gets to the bone, HFB, without hesitation, threw all his dinning etiquette aside and started using his fingers to tear the meat off its rib *shy*.

When it came to the vegetables, HFB was slightly mixed when the Braised Dry Scallop With Sea Cucumber And Bamboo Piths (Christmas Glow Menu) was served. On one hand, one should be glad with the generous serving of scallops scattered all over it, on the other, noticed the word “scattered” was used – the presentation was less than ideal – not only the scallop, but the vegetables were disarrayed and no bamboo piths were to be seen. Although it didn’t look appetising, it did taste pretty good – the vegetables were really fresh, even as the starchiness of the gravy began to set in.

The Braised Bai Ling Mushroon With Broccoli from the Festive Cheers Menu had similar gravy, amidst serving portion differs. The Bai Ling mushroom, a rare species of edible mushroom that originates from the desert of China, had a very nice chewy texture with just a hint of woody taste. Once again, due to the cooking method, the flavours were trapped nicely within the mushroom. This is definitely a dish that all mushroom lovers would like!

Both sets happened to share the same noodle dish – Homemade Noodles with Prawn And Conpoy. The trick to really enjoy homemade noodles is plainly to slurp it finish as quickly as possible, like a Japanese to ramen, so that one can fully appreciates the texture of the noodles – any delay and chances are the noodles will turn soggy. The prawns were excellently executed – deep fried over hot boiling oil before having the gravy poured over – it was succulent! Although one might find the gravy blander, HFB thought having a third dish with starchy gravy was a little excessive.

Thankfully, the deserts were good – the Chilled Mango Pudding (Christmas Glow menu) was everyone’s favourite – it tasted good and was captivatingly decorated with dried fruits of many colours traditionally of Christmas.

Although HFB is not one to take to sourish lemon sorbet, he has to commend the Chilled Lemon Jelly from the Festive Cheers Menu. The mild sweetness of the jelly complements really well with the intense sorbet and within spoonfuls, one’s palate is instantaneously cleansed.

Both menus are available from now till 4 Jan 2008 and come with a complimentary glass of red/white wine. And as if that is not good enough, the restaurant is also giving a 30% discount, valid from Monday to Thursday (except eve of PH and PH).

You can view all the photos here.