Juniper
Nestled within the lush surroundings of Saujana Golf & Country Club is the newly refurbished Chinese restaurant, Ti Chen. Saujana Golf & Country Club has been named one of the world’s top 10 toughest courses on CNN’s lifestyle website, CNNGo, one of only two Asian courses, the other one being the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club in China.
Ti Chen which has a breathtaking view of the fairway, has been open since the Saujana Golf & Country Club was open which is 25 years ago but refurbishments to the restaurant were completed after Chinese New Year 2012. With its rich black and red tones, it’s a favourite wedding dinner venue as it can accommodate up to 140 tables.
Now Ti Chen offers a fusion Chinese menu of Malaysian Chinese and Cantonese with two new chefs at the helm : Chef Lai Ching Seng & Chef Yau Kim Yew. Chef Lai has 19 years of experience and is now the Chinese chef for Ti Chen. All the items in the a la carte menu are created by Chef Lai, the new a la carte menu was introduced on 11th September 2012. Chef Yau is the Dim Sum chef of Ti Chen bringing with him close to 12 years of experience in dim sum making.
Chef Lai’s specialty dishes include Deep Fried Seafood Roll with Mango, Stewed Baby Spinach with Dried Scallop and Wolfberry, Baked Tiger Prawn with Cheese, Sizzling Scallops with BBQ Sauce. There are set menus ranging from RM788 (minimum of 5 persons) to RM1398.
The Dim Sum menu is extensive and prices range from RM7 to RM26 (shark fin dumpling with superior soup). Chef Yau has modified the conventional Dim Sum by using beetroot extract (blended beetroot) for the skin of some Dim Sums so they take on a striking reddish hue.
With a group of media, I had the pleasure of dining at Ti Chen a few days ago and what a sumptuous and unforgettable spread it was. I didn’t even need dinner that day as there was so much that was irresistible!
Duck Salad with Mandarin Oranges
A fusion dish at its best! The duck salad was so colourful with the addition of mandarin orange slices and cherry tomatoes. The duck was tender and went very well with the vegetables. The dressing was made from the juice of mandarin oranges so it was zesty and tangy.
Homemade tofu with crabmeat, mushrooms & edamame
The sauce looks rather creamy and thick, it’s very rich too. It’s a combination of pumpkin puree, hence the golden colour and shiitake mushroom. I’ve never had edamame before till this dish and at first, I thought it was like some kind of peas. The tofu was firm and did not crumble even when picked up with chopsticks and chewed into. It would have gone so well with rice and I was wishing there was some bread or “mantao” I could dip into the sauce.
Steam Cod Fish with Green Ginger Sauce
Cod fish or “shuet yee” in Cantonese is delicious and best when steamed. The green ginger sauce is a blend of spring onions and ginger. The fish melted in my mouth and the sauce was sublime. Everyone loved this dish and it didn’t take long before all 3 big pieces were finished. Chef Lai also has a variation of this dish with steamed prawns. The cod can be replaced with other fish such as siakap, garoupa, pomfret and sea bass.
At first, I was hesitant to try this dish of noodles (“yee mee”) as generally, noodles become quite soggy and soft when they have been immersed in sauce for some time. Due to everyone busy taking photos, we didn’t try this dish until it had gone a bit cold. Surprisingly, the noodles were still springy and didn’t taste like they had been in the sauce for some time. Baby abalone is the key ingredient in this sauce. I had 2 bowls of this and would have had more if there had been space in my stomach!
Steamed Custard Buns with Charcoal (RM8)
The Charcoal Buns were soft and there isn’t a strong scent or taste of charcoal. The custard filling wasn’t too sweet. The charcoal powder is expensive (RM25 per 100gm) as it’s been imported from Japan. Chef Yau informed us that 5g of charcoal powder is used for eachkg of ingredients.
Steamed Pumpkin Dumpling with Prawns (RM10)
Ti Chen Prawn Dumplings (RM11)
The skin of the dumplings is made from the juice of beetroot. Chef Yau is very creative with his Dim Sum. This is the first time I’ve eaten Dim Sum made with beetroot extract and it’s certainly more tasty than the conventional type of Dim Sum skin.
Baked Charcoal Mini Egg Tart (RM8)
The crust isn’t crumbly, less butter is used for this than the normal egg tarts. It’s not too sweet so you can actually have a few of this without feeling like you’ve had too much.
Deep Fried Beancurd Roll with Cheese (RM10)
Crispy on the outside but not at all oily, the filling is shrimp with mozzarella cheese. What a combination, love anything with cheese filling.
Ice Mint Lychee with Melon
We didn’t taste this dessert so I can’t comment on it but it sure does look good.
Generally the food, whether from the a la carte menu or the Dim Sum, was excellent. Well, it has to be as a majority of the diners there are very discerning golfers. My favourites from the a la carte menu were the Steamed Cod and braised noodles in baby abalone sauce. The Dim Sum were all sizable with plenty of ingredients so they are definitely worth the price. It’s a very spacious restaurant with areas that can be partitioned off for privacy. Chef Yau is so innovative that I’d be the first to sign up if Chef Yau was to ever hold a Dim Sum workshop.
Ti Chen is open everyday except Mondays. Dim Sum is only available during lunch time. For reservations or enquiries, call 03-7843 1234 ext.6122/4717. Ti Chen is pork-free.
