This new restaurant sets the table with cuisine from China's mountainous mainland province of Hunan, where the Xiang River runs from south to north, where the capital of Changsha prospered for centuries as a major rice market.
With a kitchen helmed by three chefs from Hunan with decades of experience, Xiang Yu in Sunway Velocity Mall showcases the distinctive delights of Hunan cooking, revered as one of the Eight Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine.
Hunan fare is rich in flavour and history, flaring with chilli-fuelled spiciness, fragrant with savoury, tangy sensations. Xiang Yu pays tribute to that heritage with a menu of many intriguing temptations, from authentic summertime braised crayfish with garlic to steamed pearl meatballs in glutinous rice, the famed farmhouse stir-fried pork with green peppers to hot, hearty wild pheasant.
True to its name, Xiang Yu strives to be the perfect place for gatherings - you'll find multiple private rooms catering to tables of eight, 12 or 18 patrons, with various tables in the main restaurant having sheer curtains for some privacy. The venue is spacious.
One of the most renowned Hunan recipes is Mao's Braised Pork, believed to be Chairman Mao's favourite fare. True to tradition, this is red-cooked pork belly, chunky and full-bodied, with generous portions of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chillies, sugar, star anise, light and dark soy sauce, and rice wine.
The belly is beautifully tender, with the perfect proportion of gelatinous glory, not greasy at all, buoyed by braising that lets the meat soak up all the seasoning in its succulence, balanced for broccoli for a dish that the entire family will devour ecstatically.
Hunan cuisine is also known for unconventional combinations of ingredients - Xiang Yu's 'Trotter In Love With Chicken' is an excellent example, bringing together pork trotters with poultry in a soulful, satisfying stew.
The chefs perform masterful magic - the meat is juicy and clean-tasting, going gorgeously in a garlicky, gently spicy broth that feels nourishing to the final spoonful. The chilli-fuelled heat is tolerably enjoyable, not tongue-numbing like Sichuan cuisine.
There's much more to explore at Xiang Yu, a restaurant that merits repeat visits. Here are highlights from the menu below:
Signature Braised Crabs with Shallots
Old Changsha Style Crayfish, Braised with Minced Garlic
Farmhouse Fried Pork
Steamed Dragon Tabby
'Fat Intestines In Love With Frog'
Pearl Meatballs
Pork With Preserved Vegetables
Xiangyu Black Goat
Abalone Braised Pork Ribs
Big Bowl Winter Melon
Perilla Bullfrog Clay Pot
Healthy Deer Antler Fungus
Dry Roasted Yellow Croaker
Sizzling Pan Crucian Carp
Crispy Bamboo Shoots in Chicken Sauce
Sizzling Hot Plate Beef
Sizzling Griddle Mushrooms
Scallops with Garlic Vermicelli
Bottled beers from across the world, spanning Germany to Japan, are available to accompany your meal, as well as other liquors to keep spirits high.
Xiang Yu
V05-01-01, Sunway Velocity Mall, Kuala Lumpur.
Enter the mall through the Peel Road entrance, take the escalator to the first floor, walk out to the Nanjing Street precinct and keep walking to the end.
Daily, 11:30am-10pm. Tel: 03-92028080 or 010-6562632