New Chef at Xin Cuisine, Concorde Kuala Lumpur: Review

It’s always a pleasure to return to Concorde KL’s Xin Cuisine, one of the city’s most reliable Chinese establishments, where the long-entrenched sculpted-dragon pillars mark a reassuring reminder of this venue’s heritage. This year, Xin welcomes a new chef, Soo Kok Lam, whose decades of experience underscore the restaurant’s determination to preserve its proud reputation.

Chef Lam’s versatility ensures that whether you’re having meat, seafood or rice, everything’s worth sampling. Our favourite has to be the mighty pork rib braised with red yeast rice – vividly rich-tasting & aromatic, a sacrament of succulence; this needs to be pre-ordered one day in advance, but it’ll reward the extra effort. RM46.65, served with steamed buns to mop up the sauce.

Steamed chicken & prawns also take centre-stage, displayed in delicately nuanced recipes designed to delight – tender, smooth chicken with pork wantans & Chinese cabbage in herbal broth (RM46.65 for half a chicken, also requires pre-order) & massive, fleshy prawns in spinach puree with Chinese wine (market price), both showcasing pleasingly wholesome flavours.

Chef Lam’s repertoire is deep & wide enough to cover many well-executed classics – stewed pork belly to salt-baked chicken, fried rice with caviar & diced seafood to luscious noodles with mixed vegetables. And while you’re here, explore the refreshed walls, which now feature pieces that Concorde’s team secured from China. Many thanks to Xin Cuisine for hosting this lunch.