We have been to several places to dine in the past, but very
few of them actually give their guests a royal feeling. There is big difference
in behaving courteously and literally royal treatment! There are places which make you feel
comfortable, some make you feel like you are in a homely environment and there
are places like the Shang Palace situated in the 3rd floor on the
Shangri-La hotel in Bangalore!
As soon as one enters, a big gong is struck repeatedly to announce
the entry of a guest and combined with the luxurious setup it is guaranteed to
make anybody feel special!
People call a special setup as red carpet treatment, so let
us tell you that the entire restaurant floor is carpeted maybe
because of the same reason.
Overall, the hotel as well as the restaurant setup is
luxurious and grand and if you are visiting for the first time like we visited,
you are bound to be impressed.
We were invited to try out the new launch of dim sum and BBQ
at the Shang Palace and it was sure a grand devouring session!
They are also introducing their executive chef, Chef Lin from Beijing who specializes in Chinese cuisine.
There is one thing which deserves mention: the tables were
decorated so beautifully that will help one gear up for a hearty meal!
There were so many varieties in the dim sums that we lost
track of them! On the same page, the barbeque items were also of large variety.
We were served some iced tea followed by red/white wine to
drink and the feast started.
First let us talk about the dim sums: They were delicate,
piping hot when served and very impressive taste wise. We found the prawn
hargau to be the best dim sum. It had a whole prawn as its stuffing, which was
perfectly cooked and soft. The sweetness of the prawns really heightened the
experience.
The mushroom bao had a thick and soft outer covering with
cooked mushrooms inside. It was similar to the char sui bun and this was also
slightly sweet. The mushroom stuffing was well cooked, slightly spicy and very
tasty.
The radish buns were unique and pretty amazing. Highly
recommended for vegetarians as it was well cooked, had equal consistency and
the bun was well baked.
The veg and corn dumpling was very well crafted to say the
least. It had a transparent coating which was negligibly thin and the stuffing
was well balanced. This was very light on the stomach as well.
The lamb pancake was decent, but could have been a lot
better. The lamb stuffing was tasty and was minced properly but the cakes were
perhaps over fried and the essence of lamb was killed.
We were also served a chicken bao preparation. The chicken
stuffing was ample and this was also good to have, although some of the other
preparations were better.
There were some more varieties as well but these were the
highlights and must haves!
Moving on from the dim sums to the BBQ preps and snacks:
There were a couple of varieties of snacks which were served
out of which the Chongqing chilli chicken stood out. This was an authentic
style chilli chicken without the usage of much sauce which is normally
available in restaurants. The preparation had a fresh fragrance of coriander
and the chicken pieces were bite sized. This was really something different
from what is normally available so a must try!
Apart from this, the grilled items were on skewers and there
was a pure bhetki grilled fish preparation which was wonderful! There were also
some other varieties and they were pretty good too!
The best of the lot were the lamb skewers! They were juicy,
had the same great essence of lamb and there were traces of fat which after
grilling made it even tastier. This was truly delightful. The chicken one on
the other hand was not so special. The chicken was soft and well cooked but the
taste could have been better. The fish was brilliant. The skin was intact and
probably the fish was grilled on the skin which imparted a slightly burnt
flavour which was excellent. Most importantly the fish was fresh, juicy and
grilled perfectly. Normally bhetki does not have great taste by itself but this
prep was great! Moreover, this is a big attraction for Bengali’s since Bhetki is
loved by almost all Bengali’s.
On the vegetarian side: the silken tofu skewer was
definitely something! It was chewy with mild sweetness and the smoky flavor.
Even a non vegetarian would love this. The oyster mushrooms were great too.
They were so juicy that it proves the person grilling them had a different
level of expertise!
A special mention would be the chicken wings served which
were delicious indeed. Slightly smoky and spiced and mouth watering! These were
one of the highlights of the BBQ menu.
There were also veg fried rice and veg noodles which were
normal as they were served as accompaniments. The noodles were quite tasty
nonetheless. The rice used was sticky rice and it was very mildly flavored and
a treat for your palette.
Lastly, this memorable feast ended with a unique and mildly
sweet marvel. The honey comb cake turned out to be something unexpected. It was
served steaming hot and the porous cakes had a beautiful glaze to them. The
pores were similar to a honeycomb and hence the name. It had great consistency
and sort of a muffin like texture.
Overall, this experience was nothing short of awesome!
We would definitely recommend this to both non vegetarians
and vegetarians as they have almost equal varieties for veg and non veg, which
is pretty rare as normally non veg dominates the scene!
The ambiance, soothing tunes, royal treatment and the food
of course contribute to making ones dining experience special!
We will be posting about our other similar experiences as
well so stay tuned ;)
And do try and visit this place and let us know how you
feel!
Till next time—bon appétit!
- 21:54
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