Food Picks
A colourful man’s soup at Shang Palace
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- Shang Palace offers Double-boiled An Xin Chicken Broth ($48), a favourite of Hong Kong philanthropist Tang Shiu-kin, featuring honeydew melon.
- Chef Daniel Cheung has enhanced Shang Palace's menu with Hong Kong-inspired dishes like Baked Seafood In Cream Sauce ($38) And Pork Ribs ($60).
- The chef’s Signature Menu includes Traditional Stewed Pomelo Peel With Shrimp Roe ($20 a person), a dish rarely found in Singapore.
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SINGAPORE – Aside from being delicious, Shang Palace’s Double-boiled An Xin Chicken Broth With Fish Maw, Sea Conch And Honeydew ($48 a person) has a story behind it.
The soup was a favourite of Hong Kong philanthropist and entrepreneur Tang Shiu Kin, who co-founded Kowloon Motor Bus.
He almost died in the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941, when he and others were bayonetted and dumped in a ditch. Incidentally, one of his grandsons, David Tang, went on to start luxury fashion house Shanghai Tang.
In the 1980s, Mr Tang would send ingredients for the soup to Western Garden, one of his favourite restaurants, ahead of his frequent visits. It sparked off a trend, with other restaurants coming up with their own versions.
The soup has that double-boiled goodness of all well-made Cantonese soups, but really, it is the honeydew melon that sets it apart. It lends the soup a subtle sweetness and I love biting into the soft melon, soaked with umami-laden soup.
Shang Palace’s executive chef Daniel Cheung, 57, has retooled the menu and added dishes that are so Hong Kong. I love the signature Baked Assorted Diced Seafood, Sea Conch And Chicken In Cream Sauce ($38 a person), which reminds me of Portuguese-inspired cheese-topped creamy baked seafood rice in Hong Kong cafes.
This is a very luxe version, with no rice. Just seafood and chicken in a creamy sauce, served in a conch shell.
Baked Australia Pork Rib With Osmanthus Honey And Black Pepper Sauce ($60 for six ribs) is served with some ceremony. The ribs, meaty and with a caramelised crust, are torched tableside with rose wine. The aroma is intoxicating and I demolish the fall-off-the-bone meat in double-quick time.
Black pepper, if used without restraint, is almost always disastrous. Here, the play between heat from the pepper and sweetness from the fragrant honey pleases my palate without annihilating my taste buds.
I love that the restaurant’s menu has a section called Nostalgia. Offerings include a terrific Braised Boneless Duck With Eight Treasures ($78 for half) and Sauteed Fresh Milk, Crabmeat And Eggwhite ($32).
From the chef’s Signature Menu page, order the Traditional Stewed Pomelo Peel With Shrimp Roe ($20 a person). This dish is so hard to come by in Singapore. I am glad I can have it at Shang Palace.
Where: Lobby Level, Tower Wing, Shangri-La Singapore, 22 Orange Grove Road str.sg/3t882
MRT: Orchard
Open: Noon to 2.30pm (weekdays), 11am to 3pm (weekends), 6 to 10pm (daily)
Info: Call 6213-4473/4398 or go to
