Celebrations almost never stop in multicultural Malaysia, where you have some sort of festival every other month. Now that the (Western) New Year has passed, it’s time to gear up for the next – Chinese New Year, which falls on January 25.

Celebrate the reunion dinner differently this year with a vegan or vegetarian meal at the Chin Swee Vegetarian Cuisine Restaurant in Genting Highlands. Located within the Chin Swee Temple, mid-hill to Resorts World Genting, the restaurant offers scrumptious Chinese dishes, with stunning views of the surrounding mountains and lush virgin tropical rainforest.

For CNY, the restaurant has rolled out their Prosperous Golden Rat Year set menus, catered for two or more people. The couple set consists of herbal steamed soup, Chinese yam, brinjal and organic ladies’ fingers in ‘san bei’ sauce, prawn with crispy oatmeal, special pumpkin rice and luxurious Tieguanyin Chinese tea.

Larger set meals begin with vegetarian yee sang and include the special pumpkin rice. The set for three to four persons (RM368 nett) features vegetarian sharks’ fin soup, stewed tofu, claypot lotus root with dried tofu, mixed vegetable curry, and homemade dessert, while the RM568 nett menu for five to six diners will have stir-fried black fungus with Chinese yam, stir-fried lily bulbs, broccoli and lotus root, sea cucumber and scallops with ‘san bei’ sauce, and fried knuckle with house sauce.

The seven to nine-person menu, priced at RM738 nett, will serve up claypot chicken with herbs, steamed organic ladies’ fingers with pumpkin, sea cucumber and scallops, deep-fried wawa yu with XO sauce, mixed vegetable curry and Wuyi narcissus tea.

The most exquisite of the set meals is the RM798 nett menu for ten to 12, featuring yam basket with kung poh hericium, stir-fried lily bulbs, broccoli and lotus roots, Chinese yam, brinjal, and organic ladies fingers with ‘san bei’ sauce, ‘cod fish’ with creamy sauce, ‘fried knuckle’ with house sauce, ‘claypot chicken’ with herbs, green tea pudding and Wuyi narcissus tea.

Other items to look out for are the little dim sum and dessert sets, clay pot and hotplate selections, herbal soups, rice and noodles.

Exuding Chinese tradition and elegance, the restaurant is situated on level 12 – the same floor as the Goh Tong Hall residence or the main lobby of the temple. Diners can opt for a tour around the temple followed by a meal, or vice versa.

Make it a weekend getaway with the extended family with a trip up to Resorts World Genting, as the temple is easily accessible by cable car and hourly shuttle bus. Alternatively, accommodation is available on the Chin Swee Temple grounds.

Full menu here: 

Reservations: website or call +603-61011613.

Opening hours: 8.30AM – 8.30PM

*Photos courtesy of Resorts World Genting