Dao Xiang at Nexus Bangsar South: Review

Dao Xiang, one of Bangsar South’s most elegant eateries, delves deep into the diversity of Chinese Shunde cuisine, a genre that’s not widely seen in KL but is worth hunting out for flavours that customarily channel the robust richness of freshwater fare.

Classic Cooking in Copper Pans

Classic cooking in copper pans is Dao Xiang’s distinctive delight – select the bounty of the rivers & the ocean to be braised in a lovely pork broth that’s nuanced with sun-dried tangerine peel. The choices prove sumptuously compelling, from fish like grouper, marble goby, tiger grouper, patin or catfish to pomfret, black tilapia, barramundi, sultan fish or salmon, plus everything from eel, squid, stingray, razor clams & sea cucumber to abalone, oysters, geoduck, lobster, mud crabs & tiger prawns.

We mixed & matched four components in our meal – each tasted resolutely fresh & memorably flavoursome, expertly cooked by the restaurant’s staff at our table. The serving is massive, sufficient to fully feed at least four people, even before vermicelli is thrown in at the end. The broth starts at RM18, while each selection of seafood carries its own charge. Perfect for fans of steamboat & hotpot-style recipes, but fabulous as well for anyone who’s seeking an interesting approach to enjoying seafood.

Dao Xiang’s Menu is Impressively Extensive

Dao Xiang’s menu is impressively extensive – one ingredient that pops up often is fish lips, which can be prepared with ginger (RM28) for a sweetly fleshy, gelatinous delicacy. Other steamed temptations include lusciously smooth egg with clams (RM20) & luffa that’s potently aromatic with garlic (RM18), blending wholesome, home-style traditions with a polished outlet’s finesse.

Other creations here range from the imaginative, like crunchy pan-fried lotus roots stuffed with savoury fish paste (RM23), to the comfortingly tried-&-tested, such as terrifically fragrant claypot rice with waxed meat, made with top-flight grains for close-to-certain satisfaction (RM33). And there’s still much, much more to sample here, from Shunde-style porridge hotpots with ingredients like chicken giblets & salted pork bones to fish head soup with tofu, salt-&-pepper frog meat to stuffed squid tubes.