Abu Dhabi Week hankers for some good, authentic Chinese cuisine – and finds it at the Shangri-La Qaryat al Beri

The Shangri-La in Abu Dhabi is certainly not short on good restaurants to dine in. But if you’re after the whole package – good decor, great ambience and outstanding cuisine (especially authentic Chinese) – it’s the Shang Palace that really stands out.

This is a cosy restaurant, an ideal spot for a quiet business lunch or an intimate dinner. Huge red and cream lamp shades suspended from the ceiling help to create a chic yet dramatic setting; the additional outdoor seating offers an impressive view of crystal blue waters and – from a slightly neck-craning angle – the Grand Mosque.

We’re at the restaurant to try the Yum Cha Festival menu, an all-you can eat lunchtime selection. Over the sounds of soft melodic Chinese music, we debate food choices with the helpful staff while we’re poured Chrysanthemum tea in little thimble cups – a refreshing change from the usual sweetened green or ginger tea that so often seems to be served in Chinese eateries.

While our tea is topped up (almost instantly after the first sip), our first dish arrives; braised Sichuan hot and sour soup with seafood. Spicy is perhaps a better choice of word over sour – the first spoonful fills our mouth with heat. But it’s on the right side of hot – even for our sensitive, spice-shy mouths. The broth is swimming with a variety of seafood to ease the tingle in our mouths and it’s quite possibly one of the nicest Asian soups we’ve had in a while.
None of the other dishes that arrive in wooden bowls disappoint. We opt for fried chicken rice to complement steamed shrimp dumplings, deep-fried black pepper beef buns, vegetarian spring rolls, pan-fried bean curd skins stuffed with seafood and Singapore-style wok-fried radish cakes among the bite-sized delicacies. Despite the odd ‘deep-fried’ reference, it’s all rather healthy. It’s all rather delicious too.

The dishes arrive in stages, rather than all at once – and we find ourselves having to wait quite a while for the vegetarian spring rolls. But the quality of the food compensates for that; while the spring rolls were perhaps the least spectacular of the dishes we ordered, they were still tasty. We loved the bean curd skins, which to our surprise turn out to be tofu sheets. We’re not the biggest fans of tofu, but the ‘skin’ is much more appetising – especially fried. Crammed with seafood, these little parcels were our favourite – and despite us being very full by the end of the main course, none of them went uneaten.

Dessert again took a little while to arrive – and as the chrysanthemum tea was the only thing on our table during this time, we were feeling more than a little full by the time the final dishes arrived. Note to visitors: it may be an idea to politely decline some of the incessant offers of tea – we were audibly sloshing from the amount of liquid in us as we walked out of the restaurant!

But before leaving we sampled two desserts; crispy sesame seed [whoops!] with lotus paste and egg custard tarts. We admit that we were feeling a little devil-may-care when we ordered the sesame seed dish – and with one bite, we realised our mistake. It’s an acquired taste – and although it’s good to reach for an authentic Chinese dish when eating in a Chinese restaurant, this one didn’t appeal to our taste buds. With a slightly doughy consistency, the small, not-so-sweet dessert lingered in our mouth for too long and we were glad of the tea to wash any sticky traces away.
Luckily the egg custard tarts redeemed points, and though we didn’t realise quite how hot the mini tarts were (burning our fingers a little!) the simple dessert won our favour. A biscuit base encased a small spoonful of a mix of egg yolk with sugar to sweeten: just right as a taster to end the meal.

Our only grumble at Shang Palace is the service, and that’s simply a matter of speed – the staff are polite, knowledgeable and charming. Dark, welcoming interiors make for a pleasing ambiance; the food is an interesting and diverse range of traditional foods, and at really a rather good price too. Just pick your selection carefully – while it may be all you can eat, a small selection will fill you up quickly. But then that does mean you can dodge the sesame seed dessert.

What? Shang Palace
Where? Shangri-La Qaryat al Beri
Cost: From AED 138 (all you can eat lunch)
Why? Wholesome and healthy choices all offering a taste of Chinese food at its best
Why not? Service can be a little slow; and if you’re not brave, some desserts are best avoided
Rated: 8 out of 10    
Contact: 02 509 8888

Charlie Kennedy

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