Shang Palace welcomes Chinese New Year in style

THE PLACE

Shang Palace is Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo’s signature restaurant – a fine dining venue that serves up traditional Chinese cuisine in a plush setting. 

The warm and welcoming stylish interior and comfortable seating elevate the dining experience here, enveloping diners in anticipation, while the open kitchen area shares exciting insights into the food preparation process.

Shang Palace is celebrating the Year of the Golden Rat with exclusive gourmet set menus from 20 January to 8 February.

THE PERSON

Head Chef Bun Boon Hoe is the man behind the culinary magic at Shang Palace. With close upon three decades of experience to his credit, he has worked in Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines and curated concepts at several famed restaurants within Shangri-La’s hotels and resorts.

Given the many customs and feasts to mark good fortune and ensure prosperity in welcoming the Chinese New Year, Master Chef Bun Boon Hoe is taking Shang Palace diners on an extraordinary culinary journey featuring a selection of carefully crafted dishes.

Our evening began in authentic style, with the famed ‘Yu Sheng’ or ‘prosperity toss’. The ‘Yu Sheng’ was beautifully arranged on a large platter in bursts of colour and comprised 17 ingredients. Commencing the toss, Chef talked us through the process and invited diners to participate in the fun by tossing the salad simultaneously using chopsticks.

Taking the star factor to the next level are the staff at Shang Palace, who are extremely attentive, impressive in their knowledge of the menu, and carry out their duties to perfection, making this restaurant shine.

STARTERS

First up was our platter of appetisers, which together made up a serving that could easily pass for a main dish. Beautifully presented, the five appetisers – four happiness dumpling, squid ink truffle prawn dumpling, deep fried bean curd roll with prawns, okra salad with soya vinaigrette, and marinated cucumber with vinegar and chilli – were outstanding.

The deep fried bean curd roll with prawns is a must-have here, chewy, crunchy and cheesy at the same time. The okra salad with soya vinaigrette was crisp and yummy and the marinated cucumber with vinegar and chilli coated in sesame seeds carried a super spicy kick and was surprisingly crunchy too. Chinese preparations of okra and cucumber taste so very good!

The squid ink truffle prawn dumpling was nothing short of meaty perfection; and the four happiness dumpling tasted like an explosion of happiness in my mouth, especially as the caviar popped and released its flavour.  Then came the sweet corn soup with fish and bean curd, served up steaming hot in a little pumpkin shaped bowl.  Spicy, chunky and heart-warming, this is a soup to remember and can be effortlessly made even better for spice addicts with the addition of some of the delicious chilli paste that Shang Palace serves. Despite being someone who doesn’t really care for fish, this soup still did the trick.

DESSERT

Bringing the rich spread to a close was the deep fried pineapple with vanilla ice cream and honey and a beautifully presented fruit platter. We were stuffed by then but could not resist a few mouthfuls of the exquisite ice cream and pineapple, followed by some steaming hot green tea to ease the guilty pleasure of indulging in so much good food!

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS'

The gourmet set menus to celebrate Chinese New Year at Shang Palace are priced from Rs. 7,488++ per person, with the Yu Sheng, prosperity toss at Rs. 1,888++ for two persons.

The Ang Pao Wishing Tree on the third level lets guests experience the tradition of the ‘red envelope’ – a festive gesture of appreciation. Guests can dine at Shang Palace for lunch or dinner, and select an Ang Pao voucher from the tree when they reach a bill value of Rs. 10,000++ or more.

Continuing Shang Palace’s fine offerings through this time of celebration, the hotel will hold its much-loved Weekend Yum Cha Lunch featuring signature regional dishes from Canton, Sichuan, and Dongbei. Guests will certainly be spoilt for choice with an assortment of intricate Chinese delicacies including dim sum, meats, seafood, rice and noodles, priced at Rs. 4,488++ per person. 

These special promotions are available from 20 January to 8 February.