Shanghai Terrace

This hotel restaurant in the smart Peninsula property is a little tricky to locate. It is reached by taking a lift from the hotel entrance up to the lobby level, then along a little corridor and down a flight of stairs. The dining room itself was quite smart, and there was an attractive outside terrace for use in good weather.

We had lunch here and mainly tried dim sum. Prawn balls came notionally flavoured with lemon and coated with toasted almonds. The prawn filling was reasonable but the lemon flavour was hard to detect, though the almonds were fine (11/20)

A set of four prawn spring rolls was the best dish, the encasing batter crisp and the filling pleasant (12/20). Chicken with lobster and black truffle dumplings had disappointing texture, and the truffle flavour was subtle to the point of invisibility (10/20). 

Pork buns were also a pale imitation of what they should be. They should have been fluffier in texture, and the filling itself was a thin layer lacking in flavour (10/20). Noodles with seafood including scallops, prawns and squid were disappointing. The first version that arrived had been left waiting and were tepid. The staff changed them without demur and the freshly made ones that came back were warm, but the texture was flabby and the flavour bland, though the scallops were at least cooked properly (9/20).

The waiting staff were courteous and efficient. The bill came to $34 (£22) a head with just jasmine tea (at a hefty $13 for a pot) and fruit juice to drink. A typical bill in the evening with wine would come to around £50 or so. I know that this was in a hotel and so prices would be a bit high, but I was expecting better quality dim sum than this. The noodles in particular were quite poor, even the freshly made second attempt. The terrace would be a nice place for a drink but I would not be tempted back by the food.