A palate of different flavors touches the senses - Shanghai's eagerly anticipated dining experience opening soon
YTL Hotels will open the much anticipated Shook! Shanghai in November. Located in Shanghai's Swatch Art Peace Hotel, formerly the iconic Palace Hotel, the perpetual motion restaurant Shook!, along with The Time Bar and The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Terrace, will be among contemporary Shanghai's most unique and compelling dining and entertainment addresses.
This ultra chic Renaissance style 1906 colonial heritage hotel and landmark is located on Nanjing Road at the Bund intersection, overlooking the Huangpu River and the Pudong skyline.
Shook!'s international fame hails from Shook! at YTL's Starhill Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. This became Nick Hayek's favorite restaurant when he visited Kuala Lumpur and asked Tan Sri (Dr) Francis Yeoh if YTL could bring Shook! to Shanghai at The Swatch Art Peace Hotel.
Perched in a space of symmetry and proportion, Shook! Shanghai – the first outpost outside of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, features the skills of 4 epicurean chefs with 4 distinct cuisines. A show kitchen – dubbed the 'Ferrari' of kitchens, is the ultimate culinary vernissage, where its signature dishes are created around the senses. The menu flirts with seasonal trends and boasts an adventurous journey of East and West, from Chinese, Japanese and Thai, to French Provençal. The culinary team is helmed by YTL's corporate chef Kevin Cape, hailing from the United Kingdom. He is assisted by executive chef Jacqueline Qiu, one of Shanghai's most recognized Chinese culinary experts. Chef Cape also played a pivotal role in the success of Shook! Kuala Lumpur. An open theatre to farmers' market freshness, some notable nosh includes the stir-fried prawns with hot mayonnaise sprinkled with honey-glazed walnuts, the succulently fresh seafood and the carpaccio of Australian raw wagyu beef.
Lining both walls of the entrance hallway leading to the restaurant are the beautifully designed wine cellars, showcasing some of the world's finest wines and champagnes. The centerpiece of the wine cellar is made up of two rare vertical collections of Bordeaux's elite estates - Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau d'Yquem. Each collection offers vintages from 1945 through 2008.
The play begins at The Time Bar, accented with tints of dark wood and black stone dressed in cream- colored crocodile leather. It is an endless noble balance between sphere and setting, where elongated glass windows illuminate the spectacular views along the Huangpu River. The partitioned dining frame is a mix of Chinese and colonial tradition. Rich textures and sumptuous fabrics provide an eternal contrast between the past and present that is distinctively Chinoiserie in style. Beverages are an eclectic mix of innovative and classic cocktails. The Time Bar uses molecular mixology technique to create its signature Caviar Royal – a show of Moët & Chandon Vintage 2003 and 'pearls' of Crème de Cassis.
Pre-dinner cocktail or after dinner drinks on the roof terrace – opening Spring of 2011, with stunning view of the Bund and the endless skyscrapers from across in Pudong - makes for a perfect backdrop. Purest design, with white couches and discreet touches of black and red, makes it a mesmerizing experience shared with the movers and shakers in this celebrated city.
Adjacent to Shook! Shanghai on the fifth floor, the stylish multi-media banquet hall La Gallerie des Sens is the perfect venue for concerts, private film screenings, press conferences and private receptions. The Hotel's two defining domed towers on the roof terrace, Corner Tower and Blancpain Room, both with high-ceilinged elegant décor are ideal for intimate candlelight dinners. Just steps away, is one of the city's most historic private meeting rooms, the Chiang-Soong Room, which has been restored to its original elegance. The Chiang-Soong Room is the very same venue where the First International Opium Conference was held in 1909. It is also where Chiang Kai-Shek and Soong Mei Ling of the storied Soong Sisters celebrated their engagement.
YTL Hotels has set a pendulum in motion which swings between East and West, old and new, at Shook! Shanghai.
About YTL Hotels
YTL Hotels is the hospitality arm of YTL Corporation Berhad. The Company owns and manages a prestigious award winning collection of individually unique resorts, hotels and spas including the world's no. 1 resort, Pangkor Laut. With their global expansion in 2010 in Saint-Tropez, Niseko Village, Shanghai and Borneo, YTL brings a natural essence of culture, character and tradition to each destination embracing different luxurious experiences.
For reservations and enquiries, please contact YTL Travel Centre at +60 3 2783 1000 or email: travelcentre@ytlhotels.com.my or visit http://www.ytlhotels.com/.
To know more about Shook! Shanghai, please visit www.shookrestaurantshanghai.com.
Shook! Shanghai will open in November.
Shook! Shanghai is located in Swatch Art Peace Hotel, a landmark heritage property on the Bund.