Shang Palace
Wow I've really fallen behind my blogging, haven't I? Life's been a whirlwind of travel, mixers, and zombified couch potato-ing, so you get an insight as to how lazy I've gotten with blogging. heh
This was a meal I had a couple of weeks prior, where we double-dated with andmorefood, at Shang Palace.
A venerable Chinese oldie in Singapore, Shang Palace is one of those grand 'ol restaurants that relies more on its lauded history than the quality of its food. The Cantonese fare was far from shabby, but it's definitely lost its competitive edge. And in the sea of Chinese offerings inundating our little red dot, being merely pedestrian marks a death knell to a restaurant. The less-than-stellar dinner may be why the restaurant was a virtual ghost-town when we visited on a Friday night. Many other restaurants would have been packed.
On second thought, the dinner didn't resonate for a couple of reasons. Each dish was almost on point, with just a little something lacking, and to be honest, there are more impressive options for Chinese food elsewhere.
The Stewed Lobster Noodle ($38 per person) punctuated with lashings of sliced ginger and wilted spring onions, was quite excellent, but for the tepid serving. This would have been more compelling piping hot.
The Baked Miso Cod ($26 per person) was a beautiful plate of meltingly tender fish, draped with a torched miso sauce to counter the fatty meat. I liked the caramelisation of the miso on this.
The Claypot Beancurd with Prawn ($30) loaded with black fungus, roasted pork belly, mushroom, was drenched in mellow brown braise. This was a hit-and-miss, primarily due to the overwhelming alkali taste of the prawns.
The Peking Duck ($48 for half) was lackluster, with gamey meat and the requisite crisp in the skin found wanting.
I didn't quite like the thick floury pancake skin either, I wanted it thinner and more delicate.
The gaminess of the duck really came through the second style of cooking. Suffice it to say, we didn't finish the Deep Fried Duck with Salt & Pepper.
The contemporary desserts were a-ok, and I liked the Mango Puree with Lemon Sorbet ($11), bracingly refreshing in that grimacing way that I relished.
The Chilled Sesame Cream Pudding ($12) was commendable as well, the custard was smooth and soft in texture, and wonderfully nuanced in flavour.
A slightly overpriced but yummy appetizer ($2.50) of diced long beans, beancurd, corn, carrots, and radish, to quell hunger pangs while waiting for our mains.
Shang Palace
22 Orange Grove Road
Shangri-La Hotel Lobby Level Tower Wing
Tel: 6213 4473 / 4398
Open weekdays from 12noon to 2.30pm for lunch; 6pm to 10.30pm for dinner;
weekends from 10.30am to 3pm for lunch; 6pm to 10.30pm for dinner
Website
This was a meal I had a couple of weeks prior, where we double-dated with andmorefood, at Shang Palace.
A venerable Chinese oldie in Singapore, Shang Palace is one of those grand 'ol restaurants that relies more on its lauded history than the quality of its food. The Cantonese fare was far from shabby, but it's definitely lost its competitive edge. And in the sea of Chinese offerings inundating our little red dot, being merely pedestrian marks a death knell to a restaurant. The less-than-stellar dinner may be why the restaurant was a virtual ghost-town when we visited on a Friday night. Many other restaurants would have been packed.
On second thought, the dinner didn't resonate for a couple of reasons. Each dish was almost on point, with just a little something lacking, and to be honest, there are more impressive options for Chinese food elsewhere.
The Stewed Lobster Noodle ($38 per person) punctuated with lashings of sliced ginger and wilted spring onions, was quite excellent, but for the tepid serving. This would have been more compelling piping hot.
The Baked Miso Cod ($26 per person) was a beautiful plate of meltingly tender fish, draped with a torched miso sauce to counter the fatty meat. I liked the caramelisation of the miso on this.
The Claypot Beancurd with Prawn ($30) loaded with black fungus, roasted pork belly, mushroom, was drenched in mellow brown braise. This was a hit-and-miss, primarily due to the overwhelming alkali taste of the prawns.
The Peking Duck ($48 for half) was lackluster, with gamey meat and the requisite crisp in the skin found wanting.
I didn't quite like the thick floury pancake skin either, I wanted it thinner and more delicate.
The gaminess of the duck really came through the second style of cooking. Suffice it to say, we didn't finish the Deep Fried Duck with Salt & Pepper.
The contemporary desserts were a-ok, and I liked the Mango Puree with Lemon Sorbet ($11), bracingly refreshing in that grimacing way that I relished.
The Chilled Sesame Cream Pudding ($12) was commendable as well, the custard was smooth and soft in texture, and wonderfully nuanced in flavour.
A slightly overpriced but yummy appetizer ($2.50) of diced long beans, beancurd, corn, carrots, and radish, to quell hunger pangs while waiting for our mains.
Shang Palace
22 Orange Grove Road
Shangri-La Hotel Lobby Level Tower Wing
Tel: 6213 4473 / 4398
Open weekdays from 12noon to 2.30pm for lunch; 6pm to 10.30pm for dinner;
weekends from 10.30am to 3pm for lunch; 6pm to 10.30pm for dinner
Website
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