THE Westin Kuala Lumpur’s Five Sen5es goes all-out in the pursuit of perfecting its Chinese New Year dishes this year. From imported wax meats and salmon to the traditional delicacies that the Chinese restaurant’s chef has tailored specifically to suit the taste buds of many a Chinese dining aficionado, it certainly looks like Five Sen5es has truly invented a menu fit for ushering in the Year of the Goat.

The food served pays homage to the five human senses: sight, taste, touch, scent and sound; thus, the kitchen staff of the restaurant strive to keep these senses in mind when preparing, cooking and presenting dishes. Sporting an open kitchen concept, Five Sen5es is a reflection of a modern day culinary adventure rich in the heritage of Asia.

This Chinese New Year, the restaurant is offering four scrumptious meal sets that feature a variety of traditional Chinese and Cantonese dishes. live it! was invited to taste its Chinese New Year dishes which included: Norwegian fresh salmon yee sang with spring abalone, Five Sen5es big bowl feast “poon choy”, stewed tiger grouper with superior soy, stewed baby cabbage with dried scallop and silvered garlic, slow boiled claypot rice with assorted wax meat, Japanese sweet potato gold coin Chinese New Year nian gau, and sweetened ginseng soup with glutinous rice dumplings.

Starting off with the Chinese New Year’s signature dish, the yee sang was made to perfection — from the freshness of the Norwegian salmon to the crisp crunchiness of the crackers. Attention was paid to every aspect of the dish, even the sauces.

Some of the more notable main course dishes were the stewed baby cabbage and the Five Sen5es big bowl feast. Although the baby cabbage doesn’t necessarily sound very appetising, the dish itself was superbly cooked. Tasty and succulent, the cabbage was paired perfectly with the seasoning and scallop.

The Five Sen5es big bowl feast — better known as “poon choy” in Chinese — is a mammoth pot of deliciously slow-cooked jumbo prawns, abalone, roast duck, scallops, pork trotter, chicken, stuffed inari bean curd, shiitake mushrooms, black moss, sea cucumber, top shell abalone, Chinese cabbage and white radish.

Finishing off the meal with a sweetened ginseng soup paired with a glutinous rice dumpling seemed like a respectable way to end the feast. The bitterness of the ginseng was nicely evened out by the sweetness of the soup and the dumpling filling.

The Five Sen5es Chinese New Year set meals start at RM1,388 for a table for 10. A la Carte dining is also available. The restaurant is located on the first floor of The Westin, in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. For reservations or inquiries, please call (03) 2778 8338.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 16, 2015.