Making the meanings count

IT’S NOT too late to celebrate the Year of the Golden Rooster with a feast of fortune at Chinese restaurant Loong Foong of Swissotel Le Concorde Bangkok.
The New Year banquet has plenty of auspicious ingredients symbolising good luck, though not shark fin. The hotel signed the Fin Free pledge in 2013 and has completely removed shark fin from its menu to alert consumers to the cruelty involved in the production of this so-called delicacy.

 Yee Sang

For centuries, shark fin has been a coveted speciality in Chinese cooking, extolled for its supposed ability to boost sexual potency, enhance skin quality and increase energy. For every bowl of shark fin soup, a shark is brutally hunted and its fins are sliced off while it is still alive. After the finning, the shark is thrown back into the ocean to bleed to death. 
The restaurant, which offers several alternatives to the soup, takes its name from Chinese holy animals. Loong means dragon and Foong refers to the swan and both these animal motifs dot the dining area. The elegant and spacious restaurant can accommodate about 150 people and boasts six private rooms for a more intimate dining experience.
Two eight-course Chinese New Year sets are being offered for lunch and dinner until February 5 at Bt10,888 and Bt18,888 respectively for a table of 10. Both sets start with the auspicious appetiser Yee Sang (Salmon Salad) that is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigour. It’s also available a la carte in medium and large portions at Bt588 and Bt888.

 Shrimp and Crabmeat Dumpling with Dried Bonito Flakes and Pork Dumplings with Black Caviar and Tobiko

The platter has raw slices of salmon, representing gold, sea bream for good health and tuna for prosperity while the other platter has a five-hued array of shredded and pickled papaya, radish, seaweed, ginger, carrot, garlic, ginger and pomelo. On the side are crushed nuts, crispy wonton, small, crunchy and sugar-coated Chinese-style breadsticks as well as nut and sesame oils, lime juice and plum sauce. 
An ang pao (red envelope) contains crushed pepper and cinnamon to drizzle over the dish. 
Tradition has it that the host or family head mixes all the ingredients – fish, crispy chips and sauces – on the same platter while calling out certain auspicious words as each ingredient is added. One of those words is “yu”, which is uttered when the fish is added. Yu is the Chinese word for both fish and abundance and thus signifies an abundance of happiness and prosperity.

“Nut and sesame oils are poured around the ingredients to encourage the flow of money while crunchy crackers signify a flourishing business. Lime juice and plum sauce symbolise prosperous living. Diners will stand up and use their chopsticks to toss the shredded ingredients as high as possible while saying various auspicious words out loud,” says chef Aumnard Chaowanklang.
Though the kitchen is not under the baton of Chinese chefs, Aumnard has more than 20 years of experience in Cantonese cuisine and knows well how to please Thai palate.
Included in the swan set priced at Bt10,888 is Double Boiled Lotus Root Soup (Bt450 for a la carte) that is made from lotus root, pork tongue, pork rib, chicken leg, seaweed and mung bean for a truly flavourful taste.

Double Boiled Lotus Root Soup

Next up is Sauteed Pork Tongue and Dry Oyster with Lotus Roots in Brown Sauce (also Bt450 a la carte). Pork belly (prosperity), angel hair seaweed (wealth), dry oyster (flourishing business), pork tongue (art of speech), and lotus root (offspring) are slowly braised together then sauteed with oyster sauce and fried garlic before serving.
In the dragon set (Bt18,888), the Yee Sang salad is followed by braised abalone and sea cucumber in fish maw soup, barbecued suckling pig, sauteed prawn, steamed black garoupa, stir-fried noodle with crabmeat and a choice of dessert.
If you’re not numerous enough for a a feast, Loong Foong offers a delectable “all-you-can-eat a la carte” buffet priced at Bt790. The buffet here is in a hassle-free setting. You don’t have to queue to fill your plate but instead order from a 76-dish menu that includes cold starters, barbecued items, soup, wok-fried, rice and noodle, steamed and fried dim sum, and dessert. The dishes will be served at the table.

A platter of Roasted Pork Belly, Roasted Duck and Barbecued Pork with Honey Sauce

Among the signature dishes is Roasted Pork Belly. Aumnard carefully selects the meat with five alternating layers of skin, fat and flesh. The pork belly will first be steamed and soaked overnight in water, salt, bay leaf, cinnamon and star anise then allowed to dry, again overnight, before being roasted three times to ensure it’s crispy on the outside but soft inside.
For his dim sum, Aumnard uses Western and Japanese ingredients like foie gras, truffle, black caviar, cheese, zucchini, shimeji mushroom, dried bonito flakes, and salmon roe. The delicious bites nclude Crispy Taro Puffs with Diced Chicken and Foie Gras, Shrimp and Crabmeat Dumpling Topped with Dried Bonito Flakes, Pork Dumpling Topped with Black Caviar and Cheese Spring Roll stuffed with seafood, mozzarella and parmesan.

Shrimp Dumpling with Squid Ink, Steamed Crab Paddleleg with Curry and Steamed Duo of Snow Fish and Salmon in Soya Sauce
The best-selling dish is Shrimp Dumpling Topped with Edible Gold Leaf that is black thanks to a dough mixed with squid ink. The stuffing is shrimp and scallop mixed with XO sauce for a lightly spicy kick.
Diners can cleanse their palates with Chilled Lemongrass Jelly with Aloe Vera in Lime Juice, Chilled Mango Pudding or Orange Jelly. They are refreshing and make you want more. 
  

CHINESE CREATIONS
>> Loong Foong is on the second floor of Swissotel Le Concorde Bangkok on Ratchadapisek Road (MRT: Huay Kwang station). 
>> It’s open daily from 11.30am to 2.30pm and again from 6 to 10.30pm.
>> Call (02) 694 2222 ext 1540 or visit www.Swissotel.com/bangkok-leconcorde.