Michelin stars are all the rage these days, and there is scarcely a top-ranking hotel in Taipei that has not splashed out to bring starred European chefs over to display their skills and give the kitchen teams a sharper edge. While the stars of the recently introduced Michelin guides to Asia’s restaurants might not have the same luster as the Gallic ones, they still manage to put a shine on a restaurant’s reputation among serious foodies looking for something a little more creative than shark fin soup.
After two of Shangri-la’s Hong Kong hotel restaurants were awarded stars in Michelin’s Hong Kong guide, Shangri-la Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei is bringing the Michelin-star battle to Taiwan, with a substantial revamp of both the dining area and menu at its popular Shang Palace restaurant.
The neo-oriental design includes elaborate cloud patterns coffered into the walls and ceilings and blown-class teardrop door handles on artfully distressed tea cabinets. The restaurant exudes an understated opulence that is attractive but does not manage to wow — despite the NT$60 million price tag.
Photo courtesy of Shangri-la Far Eastern Plaza Hotel
The food is quite a different matter. Plenty of old favorites remain on the menu, but the sophistication has been upped with the addition of dishes created by Shangri-la’s Hong Kong establishments.
According to executive chef Choi Io Man (蔡耀文), the distinguishing feature of many of the new items is their complex preparation.
“Many of these dishes have been dropped by restaurants in recent years because they are just too labor intensive,” Choi said. Under his direction, Far Eastern revived the dishes and aims to introduce them to Taiwan’s diners.
Photo courtesy of Shangri-la Far Eastern Plaza Hotel
The new dishes are culinary art with a capital “A,” and whether through elaborate presentation, laborious preparation, costly ingredients, or simply the experience of unusual flavors and textures, Shang Palace’s revamped menu is impressive.
A dish such as almond soup with swim bladder (杏汁煲花膠, NT$650) looks simple enough. With a subtle hint of almond sweetness infusing a broth flavored with both meat and fish — all carefully reduced and strained into the finest of soups — drinking the liquid is like savoring a fine wine. Many hours of preparation are required to make this dish, and it is a fine example of the elaborate soups that Cantonese cuisine is famous, but which are now rarely found on menus.
Another preparation is scrambled egg with caviar, crabmeat and bird’s nest (魚子醬燕窩鮮蟹肉炒金銀蛋, NT$1,500), a dish of separately fried egg yokes and whites. The yokes are mixed with crab and the whites with bird’s nest. They are then put together, topped with caviar and served immediately.
The dish requires two chefs to work simultaneously, and the result — bright yellow, translucent white and deep black — looks like a work of pop art. This exotic twist on a homely Cantonese dish does not only look spectacular, it also plays exotic games with the taste buds.
It is with dishes like these, where creativity and presentation are as important as flavor, that Far Eastern hopes to bring some Michelin luster to Shang Palace.
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