LOCATION: at Pudong Shangri-La Hotel (Click on LOCATION to go to full City Weekend Listing)

CITY WEEKEND GOURMET WEEK MENUS

available april 16-23

TIMES: All Day

Menu Set A

PRICE: RMB99/person (+15 % surcharge)

• Assorted Appetizers

• Soup of the Day

• Braised Shredded Beancurd with River Shrimps in Chicken Stock

• Stewed Pork Belly with Cutty Fish and Bamboo Shoot

• Baked Barbecue Pork Puff

• Sweetened Green Bean Cream with Fresh Lily Bulb

Menu Set B

PRICE: RMB199/person (+15 % surcharge)

• Assorted Appetizers

• Double Boiled "Loin Head" with Crab Roe

• Curry Prawn Served with Deep Fried Bun

• Sautéed Snapper with Asparagus and Black Bean

• Pan Fried Glutious Rice with XO Sauce

• Sweetened Green Bean Cream with Fresh Lily Bulbs

GOURMET WEEK EDITORIAL REVIEW

ON WEEKDAY afternoons, the Pudong Shangri-La's Gui Hua Lou bustles with a mix of hotel guests and office workers from nearby commercial buildings grabbing a bite of Executive Chef Ye Wen Chian's Chinese cuisine. The warm Singaporean chef, who occasionally makes rounds to greet his diners--as he does to us today--has worked wonders in the kitchens of five-star Asian hotels for the past 27 years. He's been based at the Pudong Shangri-La since March 2003, and gauging from the pleasant chatter and looks of pleasure emanating around the room, he's a more than welcome addition.

The mood created by both the smartly dressed diners and the red and black decor is hip and contemporary, with a sleek indoor stone fountain, marvelous chandeliers, walls of mirrors, and windows that look out over to Puxi. The restaurant, which was voted City Weekend's Best Chinese Cuisine by readers in 2006, offers two sets for Gourmet Week: a RMB 99 and a RMB 199 option. On this particular day, we tried both. The first course is a selection of cold dishes: bamboo shoots and pig's ear (this is supposed to improve elasticity in your skin) marinated in light sesame oil for the RMB 99 set, and asparagus, fresh shrimp, mushrooms and spicy beef for the RMB 199 set. Soup is the second course.

My companion and I fight over who gets more of the lion's head meatball with crab roe in the RMB 199 set, though the light seafood broth of the RMB 99 set is equally satisfying. Next comes the main courses. For the RMB 99 set, shredded tofu in a light chicken broth topped with fresh river shrimp; hongshao stewed pork belly, so succulent it melts in your mouth; a surprising pineapple dim sum bun filled with barbecue pork. For the RMB 199 set, sauteed snapper in black bean sauce served with asparagus, which the waitstaff serves to you; pan-fried glutinous rice with chicken and XO sauce. But the highlight is by far Chef Ye's signature dish: curry prawn served with a deep fried bun. The deep fried bun is actually a long fried bread stick that the waitress cuts with scissors into individual portions, and the curry sauce has the perfect creamy spicy bite. Our stomachs are delightfully satisfied, with just enough room left for dessert, which turns out to be a scoop of fresh mango ice cream relishing in a sago and grapefruit juice bath. We walk, not roll out, feeling absolutely 100 percent.

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