Chinese New Year Buffet @ BCCK

Celebrating Chinese New Year? And you're sick of the same old locations for Chinese New Year feasting and want something new, something fresh, something a little more than what you've been having for the past few years?

Here's a suggestion: Borneo Convention Centre Kuching, which has been very much promoting their Raintree Cafe, coming up with lovely themed offerings in keeping with the season. I managed to attend the food tasting for their Chinese New Year buffet recently, after missing their Chinese New Year set meal (check out Eve's and Chris' posts on that), and as much as not being that much a fan of the cuisine commonly served at Chinese New Year (I blame jaded palate syndrome), this one actually gave me sufficient reason to get excited at some of the offerings.

First off, we started off with a messy beginning, together tossing one of the most uh... vigorous dishes I know - the multi-coloured Yee Sang offering. Supposedly the higher you toss the ingredients, the better your fortune in the coming year.

We watch with an almost predatory air, as the nice lady adds the salmon to the yee sang for us...

Preparing to toss it as dramatically as possible...

Here's how our table looked after we were done:

Yep, we're definitely going to be on the receiving end of some REALLY good fortune this year. =)

I have to confess here that I *gasp!* am not a big fan of Yee Sang. I generally found the flavours rather uninteresting and the general texture of the dish somewhat like a rather dry salad. I actually heaped on an extra serving of this version though - I rather enjoyed how wonderfully zesty and tangy it was, because the chef had made sure to add a little more dried oranges and pickled ginger in it, to make it taste really refreshing on the palate. The salmon was really fresh... and yes, this one wasn't anywhere near being too dry. I wouldn't mind a few extra portions of this!

Next up was the Chinese Popiah Roll, which is a little bit like a burrito thingy but with mostly shredded yam bean (jicama) and other vegetables, and definitely more sweet than savoury. I have this one occasionally as a bit of a lazy-day breakfast-on-the-go, so being served this at a dinner was a bit strange, for me. And then I dipped it in the sauce that was served together with it, and put it in my mouth...

OK, I'll grant this one as much - it is NOT your standard popiah. This one is extremely flavoursome, with plenty of ground dried shrimp in it. And the sauce was pretty amazing on its own, with belacan added to it for an extra dimension to it. I liked it, but I probably wouldn't binge on this one, as the intensity of flavours might be too overwhelming for me.

Next up, we were served a Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup:

I remain rather undecided on this one. On one hand, this dish really did make quite an impact on the taste-buds. Then again, I found it a tad too spicy, and maybe slightly too salty. I'm not a fan of bland food, but a overwhelming gustatory experience isn't really all that pleasant either. Or maybe after the intense tastes of the previous dish, this was a bit too much. That said, this soup would taste really good if it was tuned down by a notch. Spoke to the chef and was informed that they use Szechuan sauce in this for authenticity.

And then we move on to a sampling of four of of the main courses available over the course of this buffet.

The Baked Snapper in Lemon Sauce was nice enough, with a tangy, buttery sauce to counteract the fishy flavour, but paled in comparison to my two favourites of the night: the Braised Three Mushroom with Garden Green Vegetables and the Chicken with Golden Mushrooms (金针 or golden needles actually, a form of dried edible lily).

These two dishes were cooked to perfection, with the mushrooms and chicken being thoroughly infused with the salty and umami flavours of the gravy.

However, I particularly favour the three mushroom dish (no pictures of that one because I stupidly deleted all copies of the pictures I took of it), possibly because I enjoy varying textures in my mouth, and the chewiness of the shiitake mushroom and the meaty texture of the abalone mushroom really appealed to me. Personal preference, I reckon.

The Home-Made Beancurd (actually fish cake) was made with squid paste, which was alright but got eclipsed by the other dishes.

However I'd give props to the chef just for trying out something different with this one...

 Finally we were given a sampling of the dessert platter, which consisted of fresh fruits, French pastries (your standard Black Forest cake and cheese cake - the former which I really enjoyed), and the true star of the show: Deep-Fried Nian Gao.

OK, My mother makes this every year, around Chinese New Year... she fries up the traditional sticky nian gao or New Year cake in batter, and serves it as a snack. But the chef took this to a whole new level by sandwiching the nian gao between a slice of yam and a slice of sweet potato before frying it up, and then topping off the entire thing with a light vanilla sauce. We were all extremely impressed by this particular creation! =)

These are just a fraction of the items available for the Chinese New Year buffet, which runs from Chinese New Year eve to the 6th of February for a value-for-money price of RM68. Bloody worth it! Do call 082-392988 to make reservations... and do make haste, as I hear that it's getting pretty fully-booked for the up-coming festive season.

 Happy Chinese New Year all! Just eat all you want to first, and think about your exercise regime after it's over. It's the season to indulge in gluttony!