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| Dry Bamboo Noodle with Dark Soya Sauce and Crispy Pork Lard |
Shang
Social at Jewel is the Shangri-La Group first venture in standalone dining
establishment outside of a hotel setting. The
menu is curated by three Shangri-la’s Master Chef, specialised in Cantonese,
Huaiyang and Sichuan cuisine. Shang Social is divided into three sections:
formal DINING space, the casual MRKT and BAR to cater to every dining occasion.
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| Shang Social MRKT |
LD
and I have eaten at DINING and MRKT a few of times. This review is focused on
Shang Social MRKT (‘MRKT’). Our last visit to MRKT is during the last week of
March 2020, where MRKT is offering 50% discount for dim sum and dessert.
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| Shang Social MRKT |
MRKT
is focused on casual dining and retail market place. The menu consists of dim
sum menu, Cantonese Roast, Comfort food of noodle, congee and rice.
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| The Menu Part 1 |
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| The Menu Part 2 |
Let’s
begin the review from the dim sum selections:
Har
Gow ($5.80, 3 pcs) & Siew Mai ($5.80, 4 pcs). The har gow has a nice
crystal skin, supple with refreshing crunchy shrimp. For current restaurant
standard, the size of the har gow can be considered small and it is easily
consumed with one bite. The Siew Mai is juicy and succulent, topped with tobiko
like the traditional way.
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| Har Gow |
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| Siew Mai |
Char
Siew Bao ($5.80, 3 pcs). Fluffy bao with juicy and sweet char siew fillings.
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| Char Siew Bao |
Pan-Fried
Turnip Cake with Chinese Sausage ($5.80, 3 pcs). Crispy externally, moist
internally and bursting with flavours from the lap cheong.
Pork
Rib and Taro with Black Bean Sauce ($5.80). The pork ribs are tender and tasty,
while the taro has a slight crunchiness to it. The black bean flavour is very
subtle, you won’t notice it unless you see the black bean on top.
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| Pork Rib and Taro with Black Bean Sauce |
Chicken
Feet with Bean Sauce ($5.80). A well balanced marinated which is sweet with a
hint of spicy. The skin easily comes off the bones, allowing you easy access to
devour it.
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| Chicken Feet with Bean Sauce |
Pan-Fried
Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawn ($5.80, 3 pcs). A thin layer of beancurd skin,
filled with prawn paste. The prawn paste is bouncy and tasty; however, I find
the beancurd skin is too thin & light, and it was slightly burnt for my
liking.
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| Pan-Fried Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawn |
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| Pan-Fried Beancurd Skin Roll with Prawn |
Signature
Pan Fried Bun with Pork ($2.50 per pc) and Suzhou Baked Minced Pork Bun ($2.50
per pc) are supposed to be the signature dim sums here. However, during our last
visit, both these dishes were disappointing. The baked pork bun filling is
sticky and lumpy. The skin is thin and fluffy, almost like tau sar pia. For the pan-fried bun, the fillings also
lumpy, missing the bursting meat jus. It seems the buns are overcooked and the
jus dissipate.
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| Signature Pan Fried Bun with Pork |
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| Signature Pan Fried Bun with Pork |
Beng
Hiang Kong Bak Bao ($7.60 for 2 pcs). The lotus bun is soft and fluffy. The
pork belly is well seasoned and braised till fork tender. The ingredients for a
delicious Kong Bak Bao is there, however, my peeve is with the size of the pork
belly. Usually, the thickness of the pork belly should be the same as one side
of the bun. This time around the pork belly is very thin, the thickness is less
than one side of the bun. It is so thin, easily fall apart and easily cover by
the lotus bun.
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| Beng Hiang Kong Bak Bao |
Moving
on the rest dishes and noodles.
Four
Treasures – Meat Ball, Pig Liver, Intestines, Stomach ($18.00). The first time LD
and I tried this; we were impressed. The liver is smooth and velvety, the meatball
is tasty and crunchy, the stomach and intestines are clean. The superior soy
sauce and spring onions are simple yet produced an excellent taste of the four
treasures. Impressed with the taste during the previous visit, we order the
Four Treasure again during our last visit; but we were let down by it. The
liver is stiff and hard, while the meatball is tasteless, pale in comparison to
the previous visit.
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| Four Treasures - Previous Visit |
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| Four Treasures - Last Visit |
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| Pork Liver |
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| Meatball |
Soya
Sauce Chicken ($16). The soy sauce well infused into the succulent flesh. The
skin is glistening and bouncy, while the ginger spring onion oil dip is very
solid. The crunchy peanut served with the chicken provided a contrasting texture
compare to the chicken. A superb soya sauce chicken.
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| Soya Sauce Chicken |
Drunken
Chicken with Yellow Wine ($10). This entrée dish is served chilled, packs with
succulent meat infused generously with the yellow wine. On the earlier visit, it
was lacking the wine flavour; however, during the last visit, the wine taste just
hits you. Yum.
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| Drunken Chicken with Yellow Wine |
Another
entrée that we tried is their Jellyfish and Cucumber Salad ($9.80). We like the
crunchy, clean texture from the cucumber and jellyfish. The touch of tanginess together
with a mini kick of chilli helps to open up your appetite.
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| Jellyfish and Cucumber Salad |
Dry
Bamboo Noodle with Dark Soya Sauce and Crispy Pork Lard ($5.80). This simple
version of egg noodle is just delicious. The noodle is thin, springy, seasoned
with superior dark soy sauce and pork oil. This type of noodle can be dry and
difficult to swallow, but the version here has the moisture spot on. It is
topped with pork lard, spring onion and some kai lan. I just wished that they
were more generous with the pork lard.
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| Dry Bamboo Noodle with Dark Soya Sauce and Crispy Pork Lard |
The
same noodle is also used on their version of wanton mee. Dry Bamboo Noodle with
BBQ Honey Pork Belly and Shrimp Wanton ($13.80). The shrimp wanton is juicy and
crunchy, while the delicious fatty pork belly is a #Porkgasm experience.
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| Dry Bamboo Noodle with BBQ Honey Pork Belly and Shrimp Wanton |
Moving
to desserts, we tried Soft Serve Ice Cream Yunnan Pu Er ($5) previously. The
tea flavour is strong, yet delightful. We wanted to order it during the last
visit, but it is disappointing unavailable.
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| Soft Serve Ice Cream Yunnan Pu Er |
We
then decided to order Chilled Wolfberry Osmanthus Layer Jelly with Coconut
($6.80, 3 pcs). The layer of Osmanthus jelly is sweet and flowery, while the
coconut layer added a rich creamy texture to the dish. The wolfberry added the
distinct oriental sweetness to this dessert.
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| Chilled Wolfberry Osmanthus Layer Jelly with Coconut |
Traditional
Almond Cream with Peach Gum ($6.80) is just awesome. The hot thick almond cream
is tasty and packs of almond flavour, while the mini bits of peach gum gave a slightly
crunchy texture and vegetarian collagen benefits to our body.
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| Traditional Almond Cream with Peach Gum |
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| Traditional Almond Cream with Peach Gum |
For
the drinks, do try their signature iced tea. It is light, with a floral taste
and refreshing.
Service
is very good. The service staff are friendly and knowledgeable. We were politely
informed on the dishes that are on promotion and those that are not. On our
last visit, the food came very fast as it was during office lunch hour. The décor
of the restaurant is casual, yet classy at the same time. We were seated facing
the Shang Social Bar. It is unfortunate that the Shang Beer is also not
available currently, as one of our “makan kakis” was looking forward to trying
it.
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| Part of Dining Area at Shang Social MRKT |
Overall,
the food at Shang Social MRKT is very good. There is some consistency issue
that needs to be iron out, especially those dishes that are not up to Shangri-La
standard. Hopefully, they can do it soon. The noodles, soya sauce chicken, entrée
and desserts are exceptionally good. LD and I will definitely come back in the
future, but not sure when. Need to support other F&B as well. Cheers!!
Food & Drinks: 7.25/10
Value: 6.5/10
Service: 8.25/10
Ambiance: 7.75/10
Budget per Person: $26 - $50
Shang
Social
78
Airport Boulevard
#01-219
to 222, Jewel
Singapore
819666
T:
+65 6346 0260
IG:
@Shangsocial
OH:
MRKT
11.30 – 22.00 (LO 21.30)
DINING
11.30 – 14.30; 18.00 – 22.00 (LO 21.30)
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