Rediscovering an old favorite
MILLIE: Since January this year, Makati Shangri-La has been secretly working on a revitalized menu for Shang Palace. None other than general manager Jonathan Reynolds handpicked the two new chefs designated to manage the Shang Palace kitchen with specific guidelines to keep the dishes as authentic as possible. Karla and I were delighted to have been invited to the lunch preview to taste-test the delicate culinary masterpieces of chef Damon Ge, executive Chinese chef, and chef Mark Zhao, a dim sum master par excellence.
Chef Damon Ge is known for his vast experience specializing in Cantonese and Huaiyang cuisines, the latter known as the preferred cuisine of scholars and officials and is the favorite choice for Chinese state banquets because of its exquisite presentation.
Chef Mark Zhao has a passion for preserving the authenticity of Chinese culinary traditions and renowned for his expertise in meticulous dim sum craftsmanship.
Chef Marks‘s opening numbers were a trio of dim sum selections composed of premium xiao long bao crafted in a black and white ensemble; an unusual stone-patterned light ham puff; and crystal dumplings stuffed with mushrooms and vegetables. I was quite amused realizing that even before lunch was served, I had done my Chinese meal ritual of readying my light soy dip and never got to dip the dim sum at all as the flavors were exquisite. The sea moss and shiitake soup with silky egg white was deliciously delicate and served in a beautiful porcelain tureen with cover.
KARLA: For the main course, we started the lobster in mapo tofu. A whole Boston lobster plated in a big bowl of minced beef mapo tofu featuring soft and silky tofu with a thick sauce that was only mildly spicy. Next was the braised green grouper served with deep-fried dough sticks, which we used to swipe remaining sauce off our bowls. The course we enjoyed the most was the wok-fried Angus beef tenderloin with homemade rice cake in black pepper sauce. The beef was very tender and the rice cakes were pleasantly soft and had the right chew to it. We also had the Jiangnan Style crispy fried bean curd roll stuffed with prawn paste and topped with caviar. The vegetable course was the sauteed local kailan with garlic followed by the dried scallop and egg white fried rice.
For dessert we were served a traditional ginger milk pudding. I never knew that it could pair so well together. A delicate taho-like texture with milky taste was finished with zing from the ginger. Lunches like these are usually jam-packed not only with great food but a whole lot of interesting conversations—also about food.
Shang Palace aims to offer an authentic experience for the diners as possible. Dim sum is made fresh daily and is served until supplies last.
