One World Hotel – Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant

UPDATE: Chinese New Year 2011 at Zuan Yuan! Loved the Braised Diced Sea Treasure, Dried Oyster and Sea Moss in Golden Bag – (post HERE).

I was surprised to see the human traffic at One World Hotel on a weekday. Due to its close proximity to the popular 1 – Utama Shopping Centre, & partly due to the convenience of a walk-through passage to the shopping mall via the hotel & vice versa, the hotel was pretty crowded with office workers when I was there for lunch recently. And I was told this is the norm.

My lunch with Florence was at Zuan Yuan, One World’s innovative Cantonese restaurant. As I strolled in, I noticed businessmen in suits; deep in conversation & groups of office workers in private rooms sharing a few Cantonese dishes together.
Bamboo baskets of dim sum littered some tables, as Zuan Yuan offers halal dim sum during lunch.

Not bad, I thought to myself. A good place for a business meeting, over some good food, and it is discreet enough. Classy place too, for bringing clients & not having to worry about looking like a cheapskate. LOL.

Below: The beautiful Oriental decor. (I managed to get this shot before the office crowd swarmed in!)

There was only 2 of us for lunch, so we asked for our portions to be sized accordingly.

Everything is prepared in Zuan Yuan kitchen; from the chilli sauce, braised peanuts to the vinegared chillies. Hence the freshness of these little appetisers were evident.

Mixed Green Bean Skin with Shredded Roast Duck in Chef’s Specialty Sauce, (RM18++ per portion) started off lunch. A duck lover, I loved the tender slivers of meat mildly flavoured by the Chef’s sauce.

We skipped the rice, not willing to let carbs spoil our appetite. Next was the intriguing Chef’s Special Sliced Prime Beef with Shredded Onion, Coriander and Wasabi. (RM30++ / RM45++ / RM60++).

The name was such a tease, “prime beef”, “wasabi”.. Hhmm..

I certainly didn’t expect a soupy version! Oh my.. wasabi soup??

Anyhow, I’m game to try anything. Florence’s face got all puckered up after a sip. Hahaha!

I find this dish a bit Thai-ish. In actuality, it wasn’t meant to be so at all. At the 1st sip, it was mild-flavoured beef soup at best. Then a mild burn ensued, presumeably from the wasabi. The beef slices were tender but a tad gamey. Overall I find this dish lacking in character; stuck between spicy, tangy and plain stock.

I was appeased with the Honey Glazed Boneless Chicken topped with Crispy Ginger Flakes. (RM26++ / RM36++ / RM50++). Tender chicken chunks with sweet glaze and the most amazing slivers of fried ginger. The ginger were divinely crunchy, sweet but with a with a definate spicy bite. How I wish I could buy these in packets and snack on them like popcorns! Yes, I’m weird. 🙂

Then the quintessential fish dish was served. Braised Grouper Fillet with Mandarin Orange Skin in Spicy Sauce – (RM28++ / RM42++ / RM56++ (Large)) is a specialty here at Zuan Yuan. Again, it was the name of the dish that piqued our curiosity.

While it turned out to be Claypot Fish (hehe), this is a very well prepared claypot fish. The slivers of mandarin skin adds a bit of zing to the flavour but overall it wasn’t spicy as the name made it out to be. I still liked it though, for the firm sweet grouper was expertly fried and coated in the flavoursome sauce. The cloves of garlic, sweet peas & bean curd sheets (tau kan) happened to be my favourites as well.

Stuffed, we ended lunch with another interesting named dish; the Sugar Free Ginseng Panna Cotta, (RM13++) which proved to be a good choice though I had my reservations at first! I mean desserts – sugar free??? That’s blasphemy! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, it has “ginseng”. So it’s a sugar free & bitter medicinal tasting dessert… *faints*

But it was good. Very good. Heck, it was a significantly impressive creation. A beautifully Chinese -Italian fusioned dessert.
The firmness/wobbliness of the panna cotta was just right. It was creamy, with a hint of bitterness, not unpleasant but possessed an interesting aftertaste enough to tease the palate. I loved it.

Below: I unearthed some ginseng roots.. 😉

A pretty affordable business lunch for 2!

More pictures: The private rooms.

Stunning crystal chandeliers lend to the opulence ambience of each dining room while plush carpet adds on to the rich finishing of understated Oriental elegance.

Facing the main dining area is the open kitchen where guests can watch the master chefs in action while feasting on Zuan Yuan Cantonese dishes and dim sum.

Stunning artefacts of wine jars greeted guests as they walked in from the entrance. The decor really screams “Oriental” with the rich splashes of red and liberal use of gold for that air of luxury.

Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant @

First Avenue
bandar utama city centre
47800 petaling jaya
selangor, malaysia

Phone +603 7681 1111
Fax +603 7681 1188
Business hours:
Monday to Friday:
Lunch 12.00 noon to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday:
Lunch 11.00 am to 2.30 pm
Dinner 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm

For reservations or enquiries, please call (603) 7681 1159.