Grand Imperial 喜粤 @ KL

I like Chinese restaurants in Malaysia because the chefs are bolder in flavouring and many stick to tradition. Fine dining, however, is another story.

Many years ago, I went to attend my nephew’s wedding at Sunway that was catered by Grand Imperial. My daughter (then 4 yo) was startled by the lights and music and could not stop crying, so we had to retreat back to our room and ordered room service. Luckily they served to the rooms the steamed grouper and some vegetables.

This time I was in KL, and we had a VIP that we needed to meet over lunch. My business partner recommended that we meet at this upmarket Cantonese restaurant that turned out to be another Grand Imperial. I was full of praise of his choice and he was pleased to get my gourmand approval.

The otoshi that they served was not the usual pickles or braised peanuts, but a very crunchy and sugar coated sesame walnuts. As our guest was fashionably late, we munched through three of these while my partner ordered lunch.

冰烧脆皮烧腩肉、掛炉吊烧密汁叉烧 Crispy Roast Pork, Barbecue Pork “Char Siew” with Honey Sauce

The first course was a combination of two Hong Kong-style BBQ meats that have been done in a very KL-way. 冰烧脆皮烧腩肉 Crispy Roast Pork was sub-par, very dry and not the standard I was expecting. However, 掛炉吊烧密汁叉烧 Barbecue Pork “Char Siew” with Honey Sauce was very well done despite using the same lean meat.

花胶丝鱼唇四川酸辣羹 “Szechuan” Hot and Sour Soup with Shredded Fish Maw and Fish Lips

花胶丝鱼唇四川酸辣羹 “Szechuan” Hot and Sour Soup with Shredded Fish Maw and Fish Lips is not your typical Szechuan sweet and sour soup, not if it cost 10x more. The same formula had shredded fish may and fish lips, which made it really delicious and an inspiration for my next kitchen adventure.

广式点心 Cantonese Dim Sum

The Cantonese dim sums were on point but only their siewmai left us with the deepest impression. Sliced meat (not minced pork) was used in the siewmai and the texture was firm with the addition of crunchy shrimp.

古法柱侯牛腩煲 Beef Brisket in Claypot

As one of the guests does not eat pork, we had to cater one more item for him, and it tuned out he does not eat beef as well. 古法柱侯牛腩煲 Beef Brisket in Claypot was nice but too heavy for lunch and needed some steamed rice to accompany the rice sauce. I took a piece of tendon, it was melt-in-mouth texture with all the flavours of the braise.

低温姿造东星班 Coral Trout Poached with Low Temperature Organic Oil

I thought we were having Shunde raw fish salad, but it was their specialty – 低温姿造东星班 Coral Trout Poached with Low Temperature Organic Oil. A whole live coral trout is deboned and the fillet is sliced to thin slivers. Hot oil is then poured over the fish to poach it a la minute.

While the technique was unique (the first time I tried this way of eating a perfectly fresh fish), I was not impressed with the final result. Since this was my VIP’s favourite dish from the restaurant, I reserved my comments.

石锅啫啫油麦心 Leaf Lettuce Sautéed with Salted Fish served on a Hot Plate

石锅啫啫油麦心 Leaf Lettuce Sautéed with Salted Fish served on a Hot Plate was the saving grace after the dish debacle. 啫啫鍋 Tzetze casserole is style made popular in Guangzhou in recent years, named after the sound made by ingredients meeting the sizzling hot casserole and oil. It results in instant caramelised and Millard effect on everything the superhot surface touches. Delicious.

及第福建面 Stewed Hokkien Mee

How can you go to KL and not eat the Hokkien Mee. Chocked full of deep fried pork lard, the noodles had wokhei in excess and a savoury, deep soy sauce with the udon-like noodles. What a way to end the lunch time on a high. I need a proper nap after this meal.

雷沙汤丸 Glutinous Rice Ball with Peanut

I was surprised they still had room for dessert, and 雷沙汤丸 Glutinous Rice Ball with Peanut was alright but very filling.

水果盘 Fruit Platter

This was a much better ending in my opinion.

It’s with good reason that Grand Imperial remains one of the city’s best choices for traditional Chinese cuisine. Grand Imperial has established itself well in the Chinese fine-dining space with elegant and private rooms, and an intimate service. Food was good, but not the best in town, and the price wasn’t value for money. But I wouldn’t go anywhere else if I have an important guest to entertain.

Grand Imperial Restaurant @ Level 6, Pavilion Lot 6.39.00,
Level 6 Pavilion Kuala Lumpur 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : +60 (03) 2110 2913 / (016) 219 2913

Visited Jun 2025