Very seldom do you get a family oriented Chinese restaurant that makes dining into an occasion rather than just a primal need. More often than not, you get a generic-looking restaurant crammed full of tables covered in red cloths, creating an ambience so uncomfortable that you just want to finish your meal quickly and leave.

In that case, Reunion has created a noteworthy Chinese restaurant, boasting western-style fine dining alongside contemporary oriental designs, ambiently lit in a classy and modern surrounding.

It’s the kind of restaurant that coaxes you into enjoying your meal at a more leisurely pace.

Even though it is located in a mall, the clever set-up shields diners from the prying eyes of nosy window shoppers so that you eat in privacy. While the décor is impressive, there’s nothing revolutionary about the menu. However, where it excels is serving classic Chinese dishes done in a wholesome homey way.

The Peking duck is a clear winner. While many restaurants serve this traditional Chinese dish in three ways, Reunion only serves it in two — the crispy skin is rolled up with cucumber stick in a thin pancake (this acts wonderfully as an appetizer) while the meat is made into a bean curd skin roll. The bones, which are usually made into a savoury soup, however, are not served here. But when we enquired, the waitress informed us that the kitchen could easily prepare the soup if we wanted.

We also ordered the suckling pig combination, which is a choice of three roast meats. We selected the barbecued honey pork, crispy skin roast pork and roast suckling pig. This particular dish has been hailed by many as the house specialty and it rightfully lived up to its reputation.

Both the barbecued honey pork and crispy skin roast pork were just perfect — fresh and succulent with excellent marbling. The skin of the roast suckling pig however just crosses the border from crispy to tough. Many traditional Chinese dishes that are slowly disappearing from our home dinner table, such as steam minced pork with salt fish, and pig stomach, tofu and salted vegetable soup, can be found on the menu here. I only have two reservations about Reunion. One, the vegetable dishes are too pricey (RM32.80 for a large portion of stir fried kangkong with belacan).

And secondly, the restaurant serves a small selection of shark fin dishes, which will not go down well with animal lovers and many modern-thinking diners.

Rating: 4/6