On a recent trip to Paris, we decided to visit the wonderful Shang Palace, which can be found located inside the Shangri-La Hotel. This restaurant, similarly to the hotel, boasts luxurious interiors and intriguing decor, that really sets the scene for a fabulous dining experience. It’s ideally located in the heart of Paris, which holds a very special atmosphere indeed and only adds to the feeling of opulence.
Shang Palace offers a menu full of authentic Southeast Chinese dishes, and boasts one Michelin-star. Having visited before, we were very excited to return, and our evening certainly didn’t disappoint. When we arrived, we were greeted warmly and shown to our table. We decided to begin our evening with two fine glasses of Bollinger Rosé, which was nothing short of enjoyable as we made our menu choices.
To start, we opted to share their poitrine de porc croustillante, which is crispy pork brisket served as 12 individual pieces garnished with a fresh flower. The presentation of this dish was simply beautiful and the flavour was divine with the pork simply melting in the mouth.
“We were left wanting for nothing from the moment we arrived to the moment we left.”
For our main courses, I opted for the wok-fried charol beef with potatoes in a honey pepper sauce. The meat was so tender, and the sweetness of the honey paired with the pepper was a real highlight of a flavour combination. My partner opted for the classic sweet and sour pork - which is hard to beat at Shang Palace - this was served with fresh pineapple, onion and peppers. We also added a side of their impressive fried rice chef style, which saw fried rice with egg, shrimp, chicken, barbecued pork, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, green peas and ham. Each and every element of these dishes was executed to perfection, and we were delighted with our choices.
To accompany our meal we chose a bottle of the 2015 Domaine Saint Prefert, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone, France. This was a delicious wine, full of classic slate flavours and deeply concentrated dark fruits. It made the perfect addition to our meal.
One thing to note is the standard of the service at Shang Palace, which is consistently faultless. We were left wanting for nothing from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. For us, this is truly the sign of a superb restaurant.
Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Shang Palace and would highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in the city of Paris. Although you won’t find any traditional French fare here, you will find some of the most delicious flavours and some of the finest presentation that we believe the city has to offer. We are excited by the anticipation of our next visit, and cannot wait to return.
The Bill: £98 per head
