Di Wei Chinese Cuisine @ Empire Hotel Subang

I’ve never heard of Di Wei Chinese Cuisine, until my friend suggested dinner there. Located on the Level 1 of Empire Hotel Subang, the restaurant boasted a chic decor and modern Chinese cuisine. The place had plenty of mirrors and a walkway that looked like a rnuway — good for vainpots like me.

Private room

Spicy tofu starter

Lor Mai Fun

For someone who’s partial towards glutinous rice dishes, I enjoyed this. The rice tasted very ‘ch’ng’ and the combination of pork belly, mushroom and abalone worked nicely. You’ll have to call them to pre-order this.

The perfect drink to start the night. And good timing too — my day had been a pretty rotten one. Prior to dinner, I was sorely tempted to strangle a few people but after a few glasses of champagne, I felt much better (and happier).

This was the Chinese version of bacon wrapped mushrooms, lightly coated with Marmite sauce. The mushrooms added a nice crunch to the tender pork strips. I also liked the broccoli; lightly blanched and delicious when eaten with some of the sauce. Good stuff!

Pardon my lack of knowledge in wines. I could only tell that this Shiraz was earthy and easy-drinking, with a smatter of spices I failed to identify. That aside, this paired well with the meat dishes we ordered, especially the tofu.

Another simple and ‘ch’ng’ dish, the pork ribs were meaty and tender with a nice amount of fat. The gravy was subtle in taste but strong enough to complement the pork, while the peas were sweet and crunchy.

This dish packed a wallop of flavour from the savoury minced meat and crunchy pork lard. Such delightful toppings that perked up the otherwise bland tofu. White rice would be perfect with this, but we decided to replace the rice with a noodle dish.

Somehow, the wat tan hor didn’t quite hit the spot. I found the gravy bland and the rice sheet noodles lacked wok hei. I wouldn’t recommend this one — Hokkien mee might have been a better choice.

Between the two desserts, I liked the glutinous rice ball (tong yuen) better. They were pretty generous with the black sesame filling and the spicy ginger syrup was most refreshing. The steamed layer cake could have used more filling and a fluffier texture.

Dinner is never complete without my favourite Moscato, a sweet and fizzy dessert wine. My friend picked up the tab (thank you!), so I’m not quite sure how much each dish cost. But the bill was approximately RM140 for two of us (excluding alcohol). Service was attentive and the food was quite decent. If you like your food simple with clear flavours, you would probably enjoy Di Wei.

Ambiance: 7/10
Price: 5.5/10
Food: 6.5/10 (non halal)
Verdict: Flavours were kept simple, and the food was tasty on a whole.

Di Wei Chinese Cuisine
Level 1,
Empire Hotel Subang
Jalan SS16/1, 47500 Subang Jaya