Dimsum: Elle:The dimsum wrapper was so shiny, glutinous and gummy…I loved it! Super chewy and delicious! No scrimping on ingredients here. Hakao had a ton of shrimp inside, siomai was real pork and not just pork fat. They were fresh off the steamer and bursting with aroma and flavor! My first favorite would have to be the Steamed crystal dumpling with vegetable. The shiny wrapper was glistening with freshness! One bite had a lot of textures- crunchy, soft, jelly-like. It had cilantro in it which added a certain freshness to the dish. The deep fried seafood with mango in rice wrapper was also delicious! The delicateness of the seafood was contrasted by the crispiness of the rice wrapper and the mango sauce gave it a nice twist.
Cody: This is the pinnacle of dimsum eating here in Manila. Everything was done to near perfection. From the skin to the filling. Everything was made using high standards. It is like you were eating in Hongkong and not in Manila. My favorite was the Hakao, delicate skin yet it holds everything inside. Inside was plump prawn pieces that I could eat everyday. My least favorite was the hong kong style fried roll. It was a bit oily.
Soup: Elle: The hot and sour soup had loads of mushrooms and it was heartily-good! It was not as spicy and it was really good that way because it wasn’t the kind you’d get sick of after a few spoonfuls. The corn soup tasted like fresh corn chucked off the cob. It was not creamy which I also liked because the corn can get a little overpowered by the cream. It was a light and refreshing soup. Something to clean the palate with after a few servings of dumplings.
Cody: The soups were sad to day, for me, just ordinary. It wasn’t as outstanding as I would hope for.
Vegetables: Elle: We ordered the Steamed Mui Choy with sliced bean curd. I was a bit disappointed because the bean curd didn’t taste so good. It had a slightly sour unpleasant taste to it that just made the dish taste a bit off. Bean curd is one of my favorite things on the planet and this dish didn’t live up to my expectation.
Cody: This dish was presented beautifully but tastewise, it wasn’t a hit for me. I like the tofu and the vegetable, but the sauce on top of the tofu wasn’t really to my liking. It tasted like fermented veggies that I think is more of an acquired taste than anything else.
Main dish: Elle:The sauteed scallops with broccoli in X.O. sauce was a winner. The scallops were sautéed in a lot of green onions which gave the dish so much flavor. However the picture was so different from the actual serving. The actual scallops were so much smaller and a bit “drier” in texture than the ones on photo the menu. Slightly disappointed by the size but it was still delicious.
Cody: Scallops was cooked perfectly, the veggies was also done right, the problem here was the size, they slice the scallops very thin. Too bad, the sauce was also great.
Elle: The fish fillet in orange sauce was another disappointing dish. I found it too sweet and too orangey that I couldn’t really understand if it was supposed to be savory or not. The fish pieces were soft and had a creamy texture but it was overpowered by the sauce. A little sauce does go a long way.
Cody: It was nice that they used real lapulapu fillet. Size was good. Fried perfectly. My rant here would be the sauce that tasted like SUNQUICK.
Dessert: Elle: Mango sago puree had bits of mango in it. The sago was a bit too overcooked and had that melt in your mouth texture. I like sago that kind of fights back when you bite into it. I was also disappointed with the almond jelly with fruits because it did not have the almond taste I was looking for. The almond-taste was very mild you’d miss it even after a few bites.
Cody: Here is were all the Chinese restaurants fail and falter. And Shang Palace didn’t fare better. It could be done better and I hope they can improve. The mango sago lacked in taste. The almond jelly was just ordinary.
wow, you got me craving for dimsum!!
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