A royal feast at Shang Palace

When on holiday, it makes perfect sense to indulge a little and check out some of the delicious fine dining options available. Before Jeremy and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, we undertook some research into places we could try to eat at. Unfortunately we didn't make it to Sage at Garden Malls since they were all booked out, but instead we tried some of the restaurants in our hotel which had rave reviews. 

One of those places was Shang Palace. I had a bit of a headache that night so it was the right time to make our way to the Chinese cuisine restaurant that is known for delicious, traditional fare. We arrive without a booking but the venue is huge so that's not a problem and we're seated immediately with a complimentary cup of the house's specialty tea presented to us. 

The menu has many delicious sounding offerings and I have to admit we're both a little stumped on what to order - too many things are appealing to us. We both love peking duck but the idea of just having that is a bit too much so our extremely helpful waitress suggests to us that we order a serving of roast duck and they'll make them into pancakes for us. So we get one course, without the second. Sounds good to us as that means we can order other items!

While we're waiting for the arrival of our entree, we're presented with a range of complimentary condiments including chilli sauce, pickled vegetables and some hot, hot green chillis. Yum! We also have some Chinese green tea (which I drink at home all the time so I'm feeling rather comfortable) to get our stomachs ready for the feast that awaits.

It doesn't take long for the duck to come out and the service is of such a level that they actually prepare the pancakes for you on a side table. We get about five each which is a really decent quantity!

The duck meat inside is succulent and juicy; well seasoned and complimented by the hoisin sauce slathered over the top. The cucumbers and spring onions inside are juicy and fresh; and the pancake itself is light and flaky. It tastes freshly made, unlike those packet ones you can buy and do yourself at home.

After every last morsel is finished for our fantastic entree, a small break takes place and then our mains are unveiled. We pick the Fried Prawns with Green Tea Mayonnaise as the first item to share. It comes out sitting on top a bed of steamed broccoli and with crushed peanuts scattered over the top. I love the batter, it's very much like the traditional Taiwanese dish which is similar though uses normal mayonnaise, and the batter is made with custard powder.

The prawns are cooked perfectly; steaming hot and so moorish to eat. The green tea mayonnaise has the most amazing flavour and thickness, coating my mouth with sweetness.

To go with our serving of plain rice, we order a Braised Pork Clay Pot and boy am I happy we did! It is without a doubt, the dish of the night. Sweet pork that falls apart with the prod of the serving spoon, it's fatty and gooey and completely jam-packed with flavour.

I can't actually get past how good this was. In a city where pork is not overly prevalent, this satisfied so many cravings for me, and had me swooning!

Accompanying our clay pot came four mantou bread buns.  I crave these sooooo much! They're the perfect vessel for scooping up saucy goodness when eating Asian food. These buns are lightly fried giving them a crispy outside and a soft, fluffy inside. I can eat these on their own, but with the pork sauce, it is a match made in heaven!

At the end of the meal my headache has nearly cleared and my stomach is protesting a little too loudly! Was I greedy? Most definitely, but with food like this I couldn't not be. Every bite was heavenly, a luxurious bouquet of flavours that has me still smiling as a result. Fantastic, and highly recommended because while it was an 'expensive' night out by Malaysian standards, it probably only cost us about $70AUS. And I would definitely pay for that again!