Hand-pulled noodles to pull in customers

Shangri-La Hotel Dubai is set to bring not only “the ultimate in Chinese comfort food” to its guests, but also an authentic dining experience.

Shang Palace — the hotel group’s signature restaurant — will run a special promotion throughout May on Lamian hand-pulled noodles, as made by guest chef Yan Huan Ying, who normally works in the hotel’s all-day dining outlet Dunes Café.

According to Ying, who learned his culinary talent from award-winning Chinese chef Long Wei-Yan, the art of making Lamian noodles requires “a lot practice and skill”.

“From the mixing of ingredients to kneading of the dough, it requires precision in both quantities and timing,” he explained.

“Once the dough is of desired consistency, the next step follows exactly as the name suggest: ‘pulled noodles’.

“[The dough] is continuously twisted and pulled in a way until it parts into strings and finally noodles,” he said.

With displays of authentic cooking methods proving popular with guests, Ying admits he could be tempted to try promotions involving other traditional dishes.

“Chinese cuisine reflects a lot of diversity with each region,” he noted.

“While some dishes are more well-known than the others, one of my favourites is crystal dumplings, made of ingredients deliciously wrapped in semi-transparent sheets, or the imperial cuisine like marinated shredded cucumber, pear and haw, yellow bean and hoisin sauce that is reminiscent of traditional royal feasts.

“Being an authentic Cantonese restaurant, Shang Palace already offers many dishes that are iconic of traditional Chinese cuisine,” he added.

“Most popular is the Beijing duck, prepared and hand-carved before being wrapped in pancakes.

“Other favourites include steamed dumplings and dishes made of ingredients mixed and cooked in Szechuan style, such as deep-fried diced chicken with Szechuan dried chilli, served with traditional green tea.”