KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — First, the gold coins made of orange rind, with the prosperity greeting stamped on it in gold, made firm, auspicious bites. Then the Yee Sang tossed with deepfried softshell crab and tobiko brought together diverse textures and a welcome salty tang from the crab. We are doing our “lou sang” at Golden Phoenix, Hotel Equatorial Kuala Lumpur.

It is our last lou sang here, this grand old restaurant that used to be the venue for celebrations, whether for the Chinese New Year, birthdays of senior members of the family or weddings. This year, till March 31, will be the last year anyone will be able to do so.

The hotel will close its doors, the building will be demolished and another will spring up in its place. All of this will take at least three years, before a new Hotel Equatorial will reopen.

Deepfried Chicken with Onion Sauce has been on the menu of the restaurant for the last 38 years (that’s how old the hotel is!), according to chef Ng Chee Wah. This has deepfried chicken heaped with crispy onions and drizzled with a tart, gingery sauce. It’s delicious — the skin of the chicken crackles, the sauce gives it a delicious lift, and the onion flavour embraces the chicken. I can see why this has been a popular dish all these years.

The chef points to a nearby table of guests in their senior years, who obviously have been long-time regular diners. “They are having our 38-year-old dishes,” he said. “You should try our Ginseng Chicken Soup, or the Double-boiled Chicken with Cordycep Flowers. There are also Kai Choy Tofu, Chee Kong Pai Kuat (pork ribs), Mui Choy Kau Yook (steamed belly pork with preserved vegetables), Belacan Fish, and Double-boiled Chestnut Chicken with dong quai and shallots.”

I’m salivating already. We are definitely coming back for this dinner.

Meanwhile, Braised Sea Asparagus, Black Moss with Lotus Root and Broccoli is part of the Chinese New Year set menu which we are having. I like the crunchy lotus root here; it balances the richness of dried oysters.

Steamed Pomfret with Soy Sauce is perfectly steamed and is abundant with meaning for this occasion, but it does not showcase the chef’s creativity. The Stirfried Tiger Prawns Vietnamese Style are finished in a tomyam sauce with lemongrass. They are lightly spicy and tangy.

The Fried Rice with Salted Egg and Diced Prawns is good, but at this point the chef insists that we try his Lap Mei Fan or claypot rice with waxed meats and Chinese sausages. Fifteen minutes later, the rice comes to the table, and stirring it up with the sauce releases some wonderful aromas. The rice is a little sticky; the flavourful sauce coats each grain. I love the crispy rice crust as well. Waxed duck, liver and meat sausages make this complete.

Dessert is the Glutinous Dumpling with Ginger Tea, and Panfried Nian Gou with Cheese. The Nian Gou has a crispy net with a touch of cheese wrapping around each piece. It would have been nicer with a thinner net.

The Chinese New Year set menus are priced at RM1,338++, RM1,538++ and RM3,838++ per table of 10.

Call 03-2161-7777 ext 8223 to book.