OCTOBER 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 77
MASTER CHEF:
CHINESE FINE DINING
By JEFF and VERA WURST
Fusing 5,000 years of Chinese culinary
arts with American culinary
preferences is Master Chef Best Chinese
Fusion Restaurant, which drew
a crowd upon its debut in Syosset last
month.
After valet parking, the elegance
continued as we stepped into the
opulent-yet-relaxing center hall
with marble floor and magnificent
appointments. To the left is the bar
area with tables and to the right is a
lovely themed dining area decorated
with ergonomic-backed silk-lined
chairs, silk drapes and silk placemats.
Tables are set with golden embossed
china, beautiful chopsticks, golden
napkin holders, and red napkins.
Patrons will be pleasantly surprised
at how good a spare rib can
taste, or how an egg roll shell can
be flakier than a croissant, or how
soup broth can be inside the wonton
instead of the wonton being in the
soup. The chef uses prime meats,
fresh seafood, market vegetables,
spot-made sauces, and only the finest
ingredients.
We were seated by the host/general
manager William Chin, a second-generation
former chef who was attentive
to each table. Owner Henry Liu hired
Chef Chung Fane Ho, who was trained
at a renowned culinary school in his
native Taiwan. He has been a chef in
the U.S. for more than 30 years, making
Cantonese and Shanghai dishes
that use less oil and grease.
At Master Chef, everything is
made to order. This establishment
takes diners to a new level of Chinese
dining where signature dishes are
created with a passion that makes
each plate special and unique.
An assortment of teas is offered.
We decided on Buddha tea, a combination
of black tea and jasmine.
Our meal started with meaty, juicy
spare ribs served with pickled cabbage
and radish slices. The dipping
sauce was a soy sauce with ginger.
The ribs, we were told, were cooked
for four hours in the oven, then
grilled with the marinade added only
at the end.
The marinade, as all sauces served
at Master Chef, is made fresh, not kept
in a bucket in the fridge. Each sauce
is different for each dish. Another
captivating dipping sauce was made
of black vinegar with ginger slivers.
Next came the soup dumpling, a
dish with influence from Shanghai.
Miracle wontons are served in a
steamer and taken out with a spoon.
Cut into the dumpling and, voila, the
soup leaves the dumpling and spills
out into your spoon.
After that came the crispy, flaky,
duck egg roll, with a hint of cilantro
and miso, black sesame seed, and
hoisin sauce, served over parsley
and cabbage.
That was followed by the Cantonese
style fried calamari prepared
with salt and pepper, red and green
bell pepper, onion and scallion —
crispy, flavorful crust on tender
pieces of calamari.
The main course was rack of lamb
grilled with cumin and garlic powder,
prepared medium rare, with a side of
radish and black vinegar and sugar.
We also had eggplant rolls stuffed
with shrimp and scallops topped with
shaved scallions in a garlic sauce, and
baby shrimp over pea shoots in a light
white wine sauce. The Taiwanese
rice dish was minced pork belly that
melts in your mouth over white rice,
enhanced with five spices and marinated
radishes.
Asian desserts are often heated.
Here the desserts are made by only
the best bakers in the tri-state area.
We sampled a cake made of many layers
of crepes with a green tea cream.
A perfect ending to this lavish meal
was the key lime cheesecake – decadent
and refreshing.
We had an aristocratic dining
adventure where detail matched the
quality, in a luxurous atmosphere
highlighted with beautiful illustrations
of real Chinese food.
Master Chef is a must-try. We
are confident that it will quickly
become one of the most sought-after
dining establishments. We
are pleased we were here to see it
spanking new.
Master Chef: 6600 Jericho Turnpike,
Jericho. 516-931-6222. Open
daily for lunch and dinner. Lunch
$9.95-$12.95, Appetizers $6-$12,
Entrees $12-$46, Desserts $6-$8
Jeff is a practicing attorney. Vera
is a retired schoolteacher. Both love
Long Island food and wine and
are delighted to share their discoveries
with you. Contact them at
lipressfood@gmail.com
BEST OF THE WURSTS
Shanghai soup dumplings has
the soup inside the dumplings
instead of the other way around.
Peking duck roll has the lightest, tastiest crust we have experienced.
The inside is just as good.
The baby shrimp with pea shoots special is a wow dish filled with flavors.
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