Yes, you read it correctly, we met with Jackie Chan. He is the Head Chef of the Shang Palace Chinese restaurant, located in the heart of Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok. Note that the same name was chose for Shangri La Paris, but we have not tested it yet.

Yes, but no thank you.

It was supposed to be great though, as the Shangri-La Bangkok is located along the river, not far from the Mandarin Oriental and near the skytrain of Bangkok, which is a major asset during rush hour. The hotel is divided into several wings which we cross rapidly: between the modern “business” and more traditional touches, we are far from our preferred luxury universe, but let’s go ahead anyway towards one of the hotel most famous restaurants, the Shang Palace.

Shangri La Bangkok lunch at Shang palace Chef jacky Chan

Shangri La Bangkok lobby

Shangri La Bangkok lobby 2

So we went on a beautiful day of January 2012. First surprise: the restaurant room is a bit creepy, compared to the entrance of the hotel and the corridors we went through to join it. A little empty even , but no hesitation, we have an appointment.

We are moved into one of the private rooms that surround the restaurant: you can sit down up to 8 people without depriving anyone of space (or benting to reach the dishes that rotate on a circular plate, according to the Chinese tradition)

Shangri La Bangkok lunch at Shang palace salle

The Ice Age. Wait a second, is it not 35 degrees outside?

Oh yeah, it is, close to Sweating Age actually, with a touch of “dripping”. But what do we do there, you say? We were invited to visit the hotel (meaning “getting an invitation does not mean buying positive feedback”) and therefore had lunch with the public relations manager of the hotel.

How can we put it. It may be that things have gone bad.

It’s just the two of us, you know.

Shangri La Bangkok lunch at Shang palace veloute asperge

So as cute as those dishes are, between the lack of discussion and disturbing silences ( we tried everything: the weather, Bangkok traffic jams, Paris, Shangri-La Hotels…) and super-fatty food dishes that pass before our eyes, when we understand after the 8th giant bowl that we haven’t even reached main courses, we give up. The number of dishes, why not, even though it may seem disturbing that a restaurant does not anticipate a minimum how much customers can take, but still, everything is bathed in fat as to kill most of the flavors. It is not possible for a restaurant which is supposed to be the gourmets flagship of the hotel.

Oh yes, the soup has come through.

Shangri La Bangkok lunch at Shang palace shrimps

Shangri La Bangkok lunch at Shang palace amuses bouche

Shangri La Bangkok lunch at Shang palace amuse bouche 2Sometimes you cannot fight: we’re full already, main courses are not even there yet, and frankly… ew.

Aesthetic quest maybe? We politely decline and ask for dessert. That never happens

Shangri La Bangkok lunch at Shang palace tofu asperges

Scandal in the kitchen (we can actually hear it). It is official now: we have just pissed off Jackie Chan.Ouch, we all know how that ends up, right? It’s on many DVDS, and we start to wonder how we are going to end. Cooked and boiled then deep-fried, I guess. And boneless.

Our time has come

* Sound of gong *

As convicts to a certain death, we go smoking by the Shangri-La pool. 10 minutes after that, Jackie Chan in person comes to get us. OK, just to speak to us.Too bad, he seems like a really nice guy in the end.

Sex & the City Verdict

We went to Shang Palace and all we got was this lousy experience.

Let’s go back home, meaning St Regis Hotel Bangkok.

Still want to go there? Here’s the website

Shangri-La Hotel Bangkok

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