KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — Were we surprised that there is a Dragonfish Yee Sang at Gu Yue Tien? It’s the Frankie Woo factor. Chance upon an unusual ingredient, and a light bulb goes off in the head of this chef/owner. It’s Yee Sang with a crispy, thin fish with a tapered head, that curves up like a dragon.

There’s a heap of these atop the coral lettuce, pear strips, pomelo, raisins, to which crackers are poured over like gold flakes, and showered with sesame, oil and a light strawberry sauce. Slices of raw salmon were fanned out at the bottom. We tossed all these up, and if dragons could fly, they did!

The Dragonfish Yee Sang tastes so good, with the crunchy “dragons.” “I just wanted to create a Yee Sang nobody has,” said Frankie, explaining that if there are seahorses, there are sea dragons or Hoi Loong Yue too. A friend of mine, who’s expert in all things marine, thinks they are actually tiny eels.

We move on to a Thick Seafood Broth with Crab Roe that has crabmeat and roe, prawns, scallop and squid colliding against silken white tofu in a very flavourful soup. You would slurp this up, enjoying all the different textures and find yourself filling up in the most satisfying way.

I have had the Salt Baked Spanish Iberico Pork Ribs before, and I’m wowed again by the stirring aroma as they are presented on a wooden board. The scrumptious meat you tear off the bone, using your hands — naturally! The meat is sweet in itself, it didn’t need much seasoning, save salt and pepper, and you get the bits of muscle and tendon alongside the tender pork.

Then we were floored by the Halibut, steamed Hunan style. Frankie admits to not having a liking for hot chillies, but this was perfect! A paste of chopped red chillies with fresh garlic are piled on top of the fish and steamed, then topped with fried garlic, releasing some appetising aromas. The halibut is wonderfully creamy, almost melting against the chilli and garlic, but the heat is just right.

Sichuan Ma Po Noodles sit in a spicy Ma Po Tofu broth, which is a classic Sichuan dish. This has a smooth broth cooked with the tau parn cheong or hot bean sauce, together with minced pork, mushrooms, lots of garlic, chilli oil and tofu. The soft noodles taste so good in this broth, with bold as well as subtle nuances, without tipping over the balance with too much chilli hotness.

While Frankie loves cooking Cantonese dishes, he also has Shanghainese and Sichuan dishes in his repertoire. I can’t wait to explore more of his Sichuan and Hunanese dishes.

Give me a Chinese almond cream, and I will be happily satiated. This was served with mixed fruits and vanilla Ice-cream. It was exquisite, the almond cream, thickened with the ice-cream, and I loved the aroma and flavour.

The other dessert was Hong Kong Nin Ko, steamed and rolled in coconut. It’s the traditional way of serving nin ko, which everyone likes. It makes a delicious change from the usual fried style.

You can order a la carte, picking out these dishes, or go for the Chinese New Year set menus of eight courses, which are priced at RM738++, RM838++, RM1,188++ and RM1,388++ for a table of 10. The Iberico Ribs are in the RM1,388++ menu. There are the Sichuan Ma Po Noodles and Braised Pun Choy Hakka Style in the RM1,188 set.

On the a la carte menu, the Iberico Ribs cost RM15 per 100gm. There are some claypot dishes on the menu that are worth taking note of, such as the Braisd Waxed Duck and Sliced Chicken with pumpkin and yam puree (RM26-RM39), Braised Venison and Eggplant with hot bean paste (RM26-RM39), and the Claypot Rice with Waxed Meat (RM16 per person, with a minimum 2 people).

Gu Yue Tien is located at Lot B5-A, Chulan Square, 92 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 016-956 6642, 03-2148 0808.