Lunch at Shangri-La Singapore – Shang Palace Dim Sum and Chef’s Signature Dishes

It has been a while since we had lunch at Shang Palace the Chinese restaurant at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.  Shangri La Hotel Singapore is located near Orchard Road but it is not really close. Perhaps it is a case of ‘out of sight out of mind’. The last time we had Shang Palace dim sum was some years ago and we thought that the (then) new dim sum chef had done a great job. We returned recently for a long overdue lunch of the Shang Palace dim sum.

The hotel lobby area of the Shangri La Singapore is probably the grandest in the Lion City. The huge space was spruced up recently, giving it a touch of modernity to balance the heavy marble clad surfaces.  The Shang Palace Chinese restaurant however remained largely the same. The main difference that we spotted was the addition of a wine display area.

The rest of the dining area has the grand hotel look of the 80s. By comparison with the bright and simple looks of contemporary restaurants, Shang Palace looks heavy and dated. The private rooms are really serious and are probably good venues for hosting a foreign dignitary.

Shang Palace Dim Sum Menu

Here are pictures of the Shang Palace dim sum menu, the $56 business dim sum set lunch and random pages from the a la carte menu.

Shang Palace Dim Sum

We ordered a selection of the dim sum dishes. Each dish cost on average $8 for three pieces, which is on the higher end of dim sum prices in Singapore.

The BBQ pork pastry ($9, above picture) was one of the better dim sum items we had that day. The XO turnip cake ($10, picture below) was average.

The steamed pork ribs ($8, above picture) had layers of steam rice dough under the pieces of pork. That was an interesting touch.  We had mixed feelings about the Teochew steamed dumplings ($7 pictures below). The skin was too soft and mushy. It was hard to handle the dumplings without breaking them. The fillings were delicious.

The item on the  Shang Palace dim sum menu that had the most interesting name was the Thousand Layer Radish Puffs with Parma Ham ($9 above picture). Despite its long name, it was quite a plain dish. The best dim sum of the day was the xiao long bao ($8, picture below). The skin was soft yet tough enough to withstand the handling. Each of the dumplings contained a good volume of broth which was very tasty. We thought this was better than the other xlb outlets in town, including the famous one from Taiwan.

Chef Mok’s Signature Dishes

In addition to Shang Palace dim sum we also tried a couple of items from the Chef Mok’s Signature Dishes section of the menu.

The sautéed king prawn with ham and black truffle paste ($22 each, pictures above) looked impressive. Each prawn was very big.  However we thought that the extra flavour of truffle paste did not go well with the seafood taste of the prawn. The best part of the prawn was that small bit that was still inside the shell of the head.

The braised spare ribs with Chinkiang vinegar ($15 each, pictures below) was a better dish.  According to Wikipedia, Chinkiang vinegar is a type of black vinegar that “takes its name from Zhenjiang, a city on the Yangtze River between Nanjing and Shanghai”. The texture and taste of this braised pork dish was very good.

The last dim sum dish was the pumpkin pastry ($8). It was a sweetish dish which was useful to bridge the transition from savoury to the desserts.

Shang Palace Desserts

The desserts that we had that day were the baked pudding ($10, picture above) and avocado milkshake ($12, picture below). Both the desserts were fine but not memorable, both in terms of looks or taste.  The milkshake was the better choice.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 4
Value: 2
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs 

22 Orange Grove Road
Lobby Level, Tower Wing
Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore
Singapore 258350

Mon-Fri: 12-2:30pm, 6-10pm
Sat, Sun & PH: 11am-12:15pm, 12:30-1:45pm, 2-3pm, 6-10pm