Shang Palace

Authentic Chinese and an incredible view!

So, Colombo has a Shangri-La now, have you heard? Of course, like the rest of Colombo, we too were eagerly awaiting an opportunity to dine at their restaurants and give you a full review of how our meals went. After a few weeks of trying to get a table at Shang Palace, we were finally able to score one and here’s how our experience went!

Shang Palace is a fine dining venture with incredible interior, the designers have really paid attention to every detail. From the gigantic metallic light fittings to delicate china and the occasional pop of yellow, it’s one of the most beautiful fine dining restaurants the country has. That being said, this place is VERY hefty on the wallet, it cost us close to 15k for a meal for 2, so I’d suggest you go here on special occasions. A plus here is also the view, it overlooks the sea and port. A meal here is completely worth it, coupled with the incredible food and view.

Drinks

Shang Old Fashioned – LKR 1400

The Shang Old Fashioned is a heavenly mix of bourbon, rich brown sugar syrup and house bitter. Out of the two cocktails we had, we like Shang Old Fashioned the best. Like a classic Old Fashioned would, it had the right punch and kick of alcohol.

Road to Shangri-La – LKR 1650

This cocktail was a mix of Hendrick’s gin, Aperol infused with rose, lemon juice, pink salt, passion fruit puree and champagne. This was a cocktail with much more finesse and layer than the Old Fashioned and was much smoother. Alcohol concentration wise, the Old Fashioned was a quick win. But since we at lunch on a Sunday and were enjoying the view and the food, the Road to Shangri-La cocktail was the idea one to sip to throughout the meal.

Dim Sum Theatre

Minced Duck Meat with Black Pepper Sauce in Glutinous Rice Dumpling – LKR 1000

This was a pear shaped dumpling with a thick layer of glutinous rice. It wasn’t your average Zongzi wrapped in a flat leaf either, this one seems to have been mildly fried because it had that sort of texture and crunch on the outer layer. What was also remarkable was the contrast in the flavours of the outer layer and the minced duck meat filling inside. The filling was softer, and had an ‘oyster sauce’ taste to it, whereas the outer dumpling was sweet and a bite of both together was the perfect combo.

Crispy Chicken and Water Chestnut Wonton – LKR 850

This was one yummy fried wonton. Three perfect wontons layered the plate, and in each, the water chestnuts and the chicken filling were delicious.

Soups

Sweet Corn soup served with asparagus, crab meat or chicken – LKR 850

Hands down, this was one of the best sweet corn soups I have ever had. I usually keep Tsing Tao’s sweet corn soup on the top of the bar, but the one at Shang Palace was of a completely a different dimension altogether. The soup was thick, but not too thick and was the right consistency. The meat, the sweet corn and the egg drop were in abundance, but I wasn’t quite sure I tasted ay asparagus. A dish of this soup is enough for two (although you are told otherwise by the waiters).

Mains

Braised Pork Belly – LKR 1350

We ordered the Braised Pork Belly only because the menu had a photo of it and it looked amazing. Needless to say, our dish did live up to expectations. The only downside to this dish being the fact that for LKR 1350, we only had a few cubes of pork belly. The pork was smooth, the gravy was yum and the glaze was super shiny and photo-worthy. A few sprouts of broccoli also accompanied the pork, and they too were bathed in the same gravy – yum!

Yangzhou Fried Rice with chicken, prawn and egg – LKR 850

This fried rice was not mediocre, at all. It wasn’t oily, it was light and the meats and the garnishing veggies like the peas, carrots and sweetcorn were in plenty. That being said, it wasn’t out of the world either. But there’s only so far you can go with fried rice, isn’t there?

Stir-fried Kangkung with garlic and chili – LKR 850

So out of all the dishes we tried, I guess the kangkung was the one that least stood out. It wasn’t anything out of the box, like we expected from Shang Palace. The kangkung was fresh, but it was a little hard and crunchy and perhaps a few more minutes of boiling may have done it more good.

Desserts

Deep Fried Double Chocolate Ice Cream with star anise and stewed lychee – LKR 850

I was quite eager to try the fried chocolate ice cream just because I thought it sounded incredibly cool. In terms of plating, it looked Michelin Star worthy, but in terms of actual taste and content, we thought it was lacking. For starters, the deep fried double chocolate ice cream was nice, but I think it was a hint of star anise on it didn’t work well with the ice cream. I’m not quite sure if this was where they used the star anise, because although the name of the dish has “with star anise” I didn’t see any visible star anise, and since the batter around the ice cream had an unusual tang to it, I assumed it was due to this spice.

Shang Palace Dragons Breath Mango Sago with coconut – LKR 900

When this graceful cocktail looking dessert was served, I wasn’t too eager to try it because it looked like a juice and I wasn’t willing to have one for dessert. Lo and behold, I was taken aback by how great this mango sago tasted. Although liquid-y in form, it was so good. The latte art with coconut cream gave it its star stopping oomph.

Have you been to Shang Palace yet? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below! Is there anything we’ve missed?

Tip: When making your reservation, ask the hostess for a table with a view. They have some great tables overlooking the port and the sea. This view is incredible and would absolutely complement your meal.