This is what went down at the What's On Dim Sum Challenge: Shang Palace

A little dim summary of our adventures in dumpling…

On Wednesday, February 10, we hosted an elite team of 12 Asian food fans to try out the new all-you-can-eat dim sum menu, at Shang Palace, Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi.

The beauty of the artful new menu goes deeper than the pastry — they’re filled with authentic Cantonese flavour, carefully crafted by master dim sum chefs, and served in glorious abundance direct to your table. Putting the spiritual ‘yum’ into yum cha.

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Our dozen dumpling devotees got to try out the new menu for free, and were asked to share snaps of their instagrammable feast on social media, tagging Shangri-La and What’s On Abu Dhabi.

After some outstanding entries, and fevered deliberation — three winners were picked. @Gastronaut_UAE won a Dhs 250 dining voucher to use at Shangri-La outlets: Shang Palace, Hoi An, or Sofra. @Mahiblog won a trip back to Shang Palace for a dim sum lunch for two. @FlavoursofUAE won the star prize of a weekend staycation at the Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi.

We like to say a big thank you to our hosts for putting on a superbly executed and truly memorable display of dim sum excellence. And thanks to our guests, without you, there’d be no us.

Round 2

If you weren’t one of our lucky guests this time round, fear not, you can still win with Shang Palace’s dim sum deal.

The Shangri-La is currently be running its own month-long competition. Winners will be selected from photos of the new lunch menu on Instagram. You’ll need to follow and tag @shangrilaabudhabi in images featured on BOTH the feed and stories.

Dim snappers have the opportunity to win a staycation at the stunning Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi.

What’s On the new menu?

The new all-you-can-eat lunchtime dim sum deal, available daily from midday to 3pm, is just Dhs138. Or you can opt for the package with unlimited soft drinks for Dhs168.

Steamed, baked, sauteed and fried — the new Shang Palace dim sum line-up features a diverse range of juicy mouthfuls and refined taste. There’s the crispy beef wontons with chili vinegar dressing; steamed seafood buns; steamed cheng feng with crispy waffle scallop and shrimp rolls; deep fried BBQ chicken puff; baked walnut puff with roasted duck, lotus and black bean sauce; rainbow seafood puff; and steamed wild mushroom buns with chicken and oyster sauce.

And because life isn’t all dumplings and dipping sauce, there’s a range of new soups and wok-fried gastronomy too. On the same lunch deal, you can order unlimited plates of crispy river shrimps with teriyaki sauce; charcoal grilled lamb kebab with cumin; wok-fried noodles with chicken; and more.

You can end it all on a sweet note with traditional Chinese desserts such as the new deep fried seasame dumplings in a sweet soup.

Shang Palace, Shangri La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, available from Feb 8. Tel: (02) 509 8555, @Shangrilaabudhabi

Images: What’s On