Dining at the venerable Shang Palace is always an occasion, but on our most recent visit it felt like returning to a classic that’s been reinvented. Tucked inside Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, the restaurant has been serving refined Cantonese cuisine for over three decades. It’s long been a standard-bearer for Chinese fine dining in the city, and yet, with a refreshed menu under Chinese Executive Chef Keith Yeap, it manages to feel both steeped in history and strikingly current.
We arrived for dinner on a recent weekday evening, and stepping into Shang Palace was like entering another world. The dining room exudes understated elegance (particularly the entrance), with tasteful Chinese motifs, polished wood, and muted tones that. By day, the space is bathed in natural light and framed by lush greenery outside the windows — an almost unexpected view in central Kuala Lumpur. At night, the restaurant transforms into something more intimate, with the hum of quiet conversation and the steady rhythm of service creating a sense of ceremony.
From the start, the kitchen made its intentions clear: tradition honoured, but not without a bit of playfulness and surprise. The new à la carte menu admirably defers to Cantonese culinary heritage, but also boasts touches from a chef who clearly has a fun and irreverent side. There are classic roasts, nourishing double-boiled soups, delicate dim sum, and refined seafood dishes. But then there are creations that reveal Chef Keith’s creative streak and his willingness to experiment while still respecting the cuisine’s soul. Upon his visit to our table, it was easy to see the reason the food at Shang Palace is the way it is – this was a chef with personality!
Chef Keith began his tenure here just recently, with his appointment announced in late March of this year. Malaysian-born, he brings more than 26 years of culinary expertise to Shang Palace, including over a decade spent honing his craft in acclaimed kitchens in Macau, Dubai, Cambodia, and Saudi Arabia. His career has seen him take on leadership roles in prestigious five- and six-star hotels, where he earned accolades such as the 2023 Caterer Award for Hotel Head Chef of the Year and the 2024 Hotelier Saudi Award for Executive Chef of the Year. He also led Shang Palace in Saudi Arabia to consecutive wins as the nation’s Best Hotel Restaurant in 2022 and 2023. At Shang Palace, Chef Keith explains that he channels his respect for Cantonese tradition and flair for innovation into a menu that balances flavour, refinement, and storytelling. “We wanted to create a menu that captures the soul of Cantonese dining while allowing room for storytelling,” he says. “There’s structure and discipline in every technique, but also warmth, comfort and discovery.”
With that sort of an introduction, we were eager to get started, and the first dish not only set the tone for the meal, but set a pretty high bar for the subsequent dishes. It was that impressive! More on that later, because we want to first talk about the real showstopper of the meal rather than go in the order they were served.
The dish that absolutely floored us was the Smoked Wagyu Beef Ribs Infused with Jasmine Tea. It’s a dish that feels at once indulgent and beautifully refined. Chef Keith’s process is elaborate — the ribs are first stewed until the richly marbled beef yields at the gentlest touch, then smoked with jasmine tea leaves. The result is a cut of beef so tender it practically melts in your mouth, perfumed with a subtle floral smokiness that we loved, and adorned with a shower of tiny mushroom caps. The beef was so tasty, we couldn’t stop talking about it between bites!
Now back to that first dish, which competed with the ribs for our favourite of the night… If the ribs are a study in elegance, then the Silk Lava Shrimp Ball is where the chef lets his sense of whimsy shine. At first glance, it looks like a playful golden orb with a flurry of golden fried streamers, but bite into it and the magic reveals itself: fresh shrimp mingling with a molten centre of mozzarella, accentuated with a streak of mango sauce. It’s rich, crunchy, creamy, and just sweet enough — a surprising combination that somehow works brilliantly. It reminded us that fine dining doesn’t always have to be so serious; it can be fun, too. And in this case, it’s memorable in all the right ways.
Other dishes we sampled were equally thoughtful. We particularly enjoyed the soup course, which was called the Serenity Stew, a ficus root soup with chicken and an exemplary double-boiled broth. The Crab Meat and Ginger Seafood Fried Rice was also outstanding, but as with all multi-course Chinese meals, comes near the end when diners are quite full already. As we finished things off with the warm Steamed Bentong Ginger Milk Custard (which was lovely), we agreed that the shrimp ball and ribs still remained the stars of the night.
Shang Palace also continues to shine when it comes to dim sum, a tradition it has nurtured for decades, so if that’s your thing (and dim sum is definitely a favourite of ours), you can confidently add Shang Palace to your list of dim sum dining outlets. Newer items like the truffle garden vegetable roll and pumpkin duck harmony puff are clever updates that stand proudly alongside classics. And of course, the signature Peking Duck remains as much a showpiece as it is a dish — crisp, glistening skin carved with precision at the table, wrapped with pancakes and condiments that never fail to please. This will surely be on the list for our next visit!
Beyond the food, what has long made Shang Palace special is the way it blends formality with warmth. Service here is polished but it was never overbearing, attentive without being fussy. The clearly experienced staff move with quiet confidence, guiding you through the menu with helpful suggestions and timing each course with care. Our tea cups were always refilled at just the right time, too. The restaurant has managed to strike a balance that many fine dining spots miss — it feels sophisticated, yes, but it’s also inviting.
After more than 30 years, Shang Palace hasn’t lost sight of what makes dining memorable. It’s about flavour, of course, but also about storytelling, setting, and service. Under Chef Keith’s stewardship, we can’t help but see that the menu carries forward Cantonese traditions while daring to surprise diners with unexpected delights. And when you find dishes like those jasmine-scented ribs or that molten shrimp ball, you realise why the restaurant has endured: it continues to evolve without ever losing its heart. In a city with such a competitive and active food scene – and such discerning diners – evolving and improving is every bit as important as pleasing the palate.
We left the table that evening deeply satisfied, already thinking about that Peking Duck that we will have to order next time!
Location and Details
Shang Palace
Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur
11, Jln Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
T: 03-2786 2378
W: shangri-la.com/kualalumpur/shangrila/dining/restaurants/shang-palace
Reservations accepted
