Once again, the Chinese New Year – incidentally, this year is The Year of the Pig – will be celebrated at InterContinental Malta’s signature restaurant, Eastern Breeze from Sunday to 24 February. Chinese Chef and dim sum specialist Rui Shen, is flying over to Malta, with the support of Emirates, to treat Eastern Breeze patrons to her authentic delicacies.

Chef Rui has worked for nine years with InterContinental Hotels Group as unrivalled dim sum specialist. Her latest position has been with InterContinental Hotels in Kuwait at The Tang Chao restaurant serving Chinese cuisine to the high end of the Kuwaiti market: ambassadors, directors and executives of various companies and corporations.

“Dim sum” is a Cantonese phrase, literally “touch the heart” referring to the idea of a wide variety of small dishes. Traditional dim sum consists of a wide spectrum of steamed buns such as char siew, dumplings and rice rolls, from sweet to savoury and includes combinations of meat, vegetables, seafood as well as desserts and fruit. Among other methods, dim sum can be cooked by steamed and frying and they are usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate, depending on the type of dim sum.

While in Malta, Chef Rui will be demonstrating the art of making dim sum, among other authentic and interesting Chinese dishes. A special a la carte menu, with various types of dim sum as a main feature, will be available every evening at the Eastern Breeze throughout the Chinese Week, 18-24 February. Reservations are recommended on 2137-7600.