Dynasty Restaurant

(On a subsequent visit on 20/12/08, we were disappointed by nearly all the dishes except for the fried sayur manis. We also had a banquet dinner upstairs a week before that and we all rated it the worst dinner of the year. I don't know what happened. )

It was a pleasant relief to be invited out for dinner mid-week. No worries about balancing our nutritional requirements and pleasing Wey's palate when I think of what to cook.

I used to enjoy the food at Dynasty (in Promenade Hotel) many years ago, especially their dim sum even though pork was forbidden. If our hotels want to know why their Chinese restaurants are devoid of customers most of the time, it is because of the fact that the ban on pork from their menu in consideration of people who don't eat pork who don't much eat Chinese food anyway turns away the very people who eat Chinese food. That, plus hotel prices are twice as high as regular restaurants'.

It was a very pleasant surprise to find that Dynasty's Chinese restaurant still serves very good Chinese food and, even more surprising, big portions at very reasonable prices. There really aren't many good Chinese restaurants for formal dining in KK and if you take away seafood restaurants, you are left with the same old ones: Royal Palace (deteriorated), Supertanker (sunken), Mayflower (hopeless), Hyatt (generally bad more than good) and other hotel restaurants, Four Seasons behind Cottage (gone from bad to bad), Equatorial (edible the last time I ate there, a year ago), Port View at the old wharf (at best it's mediocre), Winner Hotel (used to be okay) and one at Asia City whose name I've forgotten which was pretty good but the chairs are backless stools, lighting very dim and the food portion very small. If you come to KK, only the seafood restaurants are worth eating in, and their high prices will bring some of your foreign $ in, so thank you.

Before you loose interest, here's what we ate last night at Dynasty:


Fish maw soup

Tasted better and more aromatic than any I've had in a long time.


Thai- style chicken with green mangoes

A hit among those who love sweet and sour dishes but I was wary of the thick, deep-fried batter on the chicken. I generally don't like chicken served this way for banquet dining.


Steamed fish slices

Most steamed fish slices are disappointing with bland flesh and the scent of refrigeration but these slices of soft, fresh and tender fish were good. Even Wey agreed this was good. He only tried it because he thought it was cod, the only fish he eats.


Butter n yolk crisps prawns

Although the flavor was very good and the jumbo prawns were crunchy and fresh, the yolk crisps were not light enough. In fact, with every bite I could taste the butter oozing out. I looked down and saw 'the southerners' --my tummy and thighs-- growing with happiness.


Tofu with fish slices and veg

Wey declared this the best dish and up to this point, I agreed.


Sichuan-style dry-fried french beans

A little sweeter and saltier than usual, but still very tasty. But be warned: a very oily dish because the beans are deep-fried.


Seafood claypot

This was the hit (especially for Yi & I) last night. This is a medium-sized serving but the pot was so big it was like the story book Magic Pot; it seemed bottomless. There were sea cuke, sea asparagus, Pacific clams, fish maw, dried oysters, mushrooms, cloud's ears and sea moss. A pot of this quality and quantity would cost at least RM100/US$29 anywhere, and not have as much ingredients. I'm not sure how much this cost.


Lamb slices

Lamb slices in what appeared to be a dubious sauce Mongolian sauce which you can find everywhere but Mongolia. This was not good. My advice is to stay away from lamb and beef in Chinese restaurants in KK, although I suspect this applies to most Chinese restaurants elsewhere too. Lamb and beef do not play big roles in Chinese cuisine and too much tenderizer is always used to soften the poorer cuts of these meat. Result is soft, tasteless, flavorless meat.

Chinese meals do not end with elaborate rich desserts. Sliced fruits and 'sweet soup' are the most common desserts. In Dynasty, you get a large platter of sliced seasonal fruits such as papaya, watermelon, honeydew and oranges free. Perfect.

The whole meal, including rice and tea and taxes but with a discount of 15% for dining members, cost only RM317/US$90, for 12 people which is amazingly reasonable these days. Good food, big portions, pleasant ambience and good service. If only they serve some oink.