Hopping into the Lunar New Year with the Iconic Golden Phoenix Chinese Pop-up Restaurant at EQ KL

The lunar year of the water rabbit is predicted to be one filled with great hopefulness, as the rabbit is a symbol of peace, prosperity and longevity in Chinese culture. Chinese New Year celebrations at EQ Kuala Lumpur for 2023 are bountiful, with feasts and gifts for all. As has become tradition at EQ Kuala Lumpur, the lunar new year is the time of revival for the Golden Phoenix, once the city’s most famed Chinese restaurant. Each year, EQ brings back the legacy of Golden Phoenix with food from its cherished menu archives.


Thanks to EQ Kuala Lumpur, I was invited by them to check out their Golden Phoenix Chinese Pop-up Restaurant and the dishes they have prepared for us.


Golden Phoenix restaurant has long held a reputation for culinary excellence since its inception in 1974. Much like its mythical namesake, the restaurant has gained legendary status for its celebrated Cantonese and Szechuan fare.

Chef Choy Sin Sang has been instrumental in continuing the Golden Phoenix legacy for many years. An alumnus of Selangor Ching Wu School, Chef Choy studied the art of dim sum making at the Taiping Tea House before working at his first hotel in 1957. He joined the original Equatorial Hotel in 1973, where he has since ensured that the food from the Chinese kitchen is of the highest calibre and authenticity. It is with great pride that EQ recreates the Golden Phoenix in all its glory every Lunar New Year.


Set Menus To Celebrate With

There are four set dinner menus, offering some of the very best celebratory fare. Priced at RM188+, RM238+, RM328+, RM488+ and RM688+ respectively per person, for a minimum of four persons.

Platinum smoked salmon Yee Sang

Rich Fortune Set (RM188+ per person) (Available for lunch only)

Platinum smoked salmon Yee Sang
Braised lobster soup with sea cucumber, dried scallops and mushrooms Braised sun-dried oyster with abalone, sea moss, flower mushroom and broccoli Steamed giant grouper with marmalade sauce and glass noodles
Sakura prawn fried rice with smoked duck, taro and asparagus
Assortment of Chinese pastries - Rice cake and baked peony lotus seed paste

Double-boiled fish maw soup with fish lips and conch meat

Great Prosperity Set (RM238+ per person)

Platinum smoked salmon Yee Sang
Braised lobster soup with sea cucumber, dried scallops and mushrooms Braised sun-dried oyster with abalone, sea moss, flower mushroom and broccoli Steamed giant grouper with marmalade sauce and glass noodles
Baked king prawn with sea salt and Mexican pepper
Traditional roasted chicken with fragrant onion sauce
Sakura prawn fried rice with smoked duck, taro and asparagus
Chilled sweetened rainbow pearls, panna cotta with avocado cream
Assortment of Chinese pastries - Rice cake and baked peony lotus seed paste

Baked cod fillet with sakura “melazhan” sauce with fragrant onions

Happy Reunion Set (RM328+ per person)

Platinum Hokkaido scallop and salmon Yee Sang
Double-boiled fish maw soup with fish lips and conch meat
Baked cod fillet with sakura “melazhan” sauce with fragrant onions
Braised sun-dried oyster with abalone, sea moss, flower mushroom and broccoli Stir-fried Hokkaido scallops and prawns with asparagus in supreme dried scallop sauce Roasted chicken with fragrant shallots, garlic and Mexican spice
Golden Phoenix seafood fried noodles
Sweetened taro sago cream soup with black sesame glutinous dumplings
Assortment of Chinese pastries - Rice cake and baked peony lotus seed paste

Garlic fried rice with seafood, fish roe, topped with crispy scallops

Wealth Treasures Set (RM468+ per person)

Premium abalone Yee Sang with fish roe
Double-boiled fish maw soup with fish lips and conch meat
Blue sea prawn with chef's signature sauce and basil
Braised abalone with dried oysters, flower mushrooms, sea cucumber and broccoli
Steamed cod fillet, Hokkaido scallops with preserved soy bean dregs and superior soya sauce Tea-smoked chicken roll and crispy chicken with mango yuzu sauce
Garlic fried rice with seafood, fish roe, topped with crispy scallops
Sweetened taro sago cream soup with glutinous rice dumplings
Assortment of Chinese pastries - Rice cake and baked peony lotus seed paste

Traditional roasted chicken with fragrant onion sauce

Prosperity Set (RM688+ per person)

Premium abalone Yee Sang with fish roe
Blue river prawn ball broth, fish maw with Alaskan crab meat and fresh lily bulbs
Baked stuffed lobster with dried scallops, mushrooms and cheese
Braised abalone with dried oysters, flower mushrooms, sea cucumber and broccoli
Steamed cod fillet, Hokkaido scallop with preserved soy bean dregs and superior soya sauce Roasted duck with crispy bun and hoisin sauce
Garlic fried rice with seafood, fish roe, topped with crispy scallops
Sweetened bird’s nest, red dates, lotus seeds and ginkgo nuts
Assortment of Chinese pastries - Rice cake and baked peony lotus seed paste

Sweetened taro sago cream soup with glutinous rice dumplings, rice cake and baked peony lotus seed paste. The fish rice cake so cute!

Golden Phoenix Ala Carte Offerings

The crown jewel of the 2023 lunar new year menu is the premium abalone Chinese casserole, known as poon choy. This sumptuously layered dish is served to signify wealth and abundance, and the Golden Phoenix version ticks all the boxes for luxury and extravagance, with ten-head abalone, Japanese dried scallops, tiger prawns, smoked duck, steamed chicken, sea moss, dried oysters, sea moss, baby cabbage, mushrooms, white radish, gluten, oyster mushroom, yam, and ‘money bags’ compacted into one delicious, luxurious dish. Priced for dine-in at RM588+ and for takeaway at RM688+, the portion serves six.

Another Chinese New Year favourite, traditional roast duck, is also available this year. Priced at RM288+ per bird, the duck is served two ways, sliced crispy duck skin, wrapped in crepes, with cucumber, spring onions, and sweet bean sauce, with the meat then served sautéed with spring onions and ginger, stir-fried with asparagus and fresh fungus, with supreme scallop sauce, sautéed with bell peppers, onions and black bean sauce, or fried with rice or noodles.

This year’s other offerings include baked pomfret with sakura ‘melazhan’ sauce and fragrant onions (medium portion RM348+, large, RM688+), steamed, sliced dragon tiger grouper with abalone and mushrooms (medium portion RM248+, large, RM488+), baked king prawns with sea salt and Mexican pepper (medium RM108+, large, RM208+), and stir-fried Hokkaido scallops with asparagus in supreme dried scallops paste (RM188+, medium; RM368+, large).

Also available will be the boneless farm chicken with sliced abalone, mushrooms and baby “kailan” (RM148+, medium, RM288+, large), and traditional roasted chicken with fragrant onion sauce priced at RM68+ for a half bird, and RM128+ for a whole.

Braised home-made tofu with dried turbot and mustard vegetable (RM48+, medium; RM88+, large), braised dried scallops with Chinese cabbage (RM58+, medium; RM108+, large), and chilled sweetened rainbow pearls with panna cotta and avocado cream for dessert, priced at RM18+ per person rounds up the Golden Phoenix selection.


Prosperity Toss

Yee Sang, the hallmark of Chinese New Year, will be available from 5 January to 5 February 2023. The most extravagant version is the premium abalone Yee Sang with fish roe (RM188+, portion serves four to six; RM368+, portion serves eight to ten), followed by the Hokkaido scallop Yee Sang with fish roe (RM188+, portion serves four to six; RM368+, portion serves eight to ten). 

Other options include crispy white bait and fish skin (RM118+, portion serves four to six; RM228+, portion serves eight to ten), smoked salmon with soft shell crab (RM168+, portion serves four to six; RM328+, portion serves eight to ten), and the Korean snow pear variant (RM108+, portion serves four to six; RM208+, portion serves eight to ten). Additions range from extra crispy fritters from RM8+ per portion, jelly fish (RM28+), Korean snow pear (RM28+), crispy fish skin (RM38+), salmon (RM58+), whitebait (RM78+), 10 pcs of 20-head whole abalone (RM148+), 4 Hokkaido scallops (RM138+), and soft shelled crab (RM68+).


there’s also the Oriental Splendour Afternoon Tea at Bottega. You can indulge in an Oriental-themed afternoon tea set to welcome the lunar new year. The unique and modern twist of the bite-sized delectables includes Smoked Duck Egg Crêpe Roll, Lantern of Fortune Goji Berry, Red Cracker Black Sesame and more. Price is from RM99+ per pax or RM198+ per set for two.

The details on the red cracker is just fantastic!

Gifts and Sweet Things

EQ’s specially designed festive items make perfect corporate or visitor gifts. They include beautifully moulded Chinese Zodiac Pralines for RM288+, rice cake (glutinous sticky rice cake) priced at RM88+ for six miniature koi, and nine mini home-made baked peony lotus seed paste for RM88+. The pear crisp pandan paste with chicken floss retails at RM128+ per box of nine miniatures.

An extra special addition to these lunar new year offerings is the signature sauce range which is made up of three specially-formulated Asian sauces designed to impart authentic flavour to home-cooking. These are the “Royal Premium Scallop Sauce”, RM88+, “Sakura Prawn Belacan Sambal”, RM58+ and homemade “Kam Heong Sauce” for RM58+. All variants come in 250 gram glass jars, and can be purchased individually, or as part of the EQ “Trio Premium Sauce” which retails at RM238+ per set.

Do check out their many more offerings at EQ KL website here.

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.: Peace Out :.

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