In 1930, Shanghai entered its most prosperous era – The Golden Age. It was a vibrant cosmopolitan metropolis and people then lived with a modern spirit. Shook! in Starhill Gallery allows you to relive this unique experience from those bygone days where people – elegantly dressed – socialized in an elegant place with old jazz music, oldies and a variety of dim sum. Think Marilyn Monroe, Shanghai version.

Every Sunday, you can tuck into a variety of cuisines and free-flow of champagne at the Shanghai Brunch at Shook!. rif and I were there recently and choices were aplenty. From Shanghainese cuisine, a Rotisserie of roast meats to Japanese fine-dining, we didn’t know where to start.

Waiters dressed in samfu with big bamboo baskets went around tables offering diners assorted dim sum, pizza and tandoori. I really enjoyed the chicken gyoza – juicy and generously filled – but unfortunately for me, everyone else did too. This was my first and last piece. :(

The Cheese and Savoury Bar was impressive; it included the deliciously creamy Brie de Meaux, also known as the king of cheese. This was a perfect match with Champagne! The oysters from Pacific Ocean were adequately fresh and the sashimi was of premium quality. But it was really the roast lamb that knocked my socks off. I almost sang “Amazing Grace” when I bit into the crisp, terrifically flavourful skin, tasty layer of fat and tender flesh. I ate three servings of this.

You get to pick the types of seafood you want from the Seafood Bar and let the cook know your preferred cooking method. I asked for my seafood to be cooked in white wine butter while rif opted for the tomato basil sauce. I didn’t care much for either because some of the clams had a strong briny flavour. rif however, thought they were alright.

Diners have a choice of one main course from the Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Grill station so I had the Dancing Prawns and rif, the Beef Cheeks. The latter was nothing spectacular, but the prawns – batter fried and coated with mayonnaise – were succulent and delicious. I only wish there were at least five prawns because three pieces were not enough.

The assorted dim sum were decent and the pizzas were well-prepared. I found both the chicken and beef tandoori dry, so either skip these or pile on the sauce. The antipasti selection was impressive; even I couldn’t try everything. I liked the marinated olives, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini slices and grilled eggplant.

Besides champagne, the buffet also includes house pouring wines (Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc and Hunter’s Pinot Noir) and signature cocktails such as Dragon Sunrise and Fire Ong – I had both the cocktails. From the dessert selection, I enjoyed the chocolate pralines, hazelnut cheesecake, chocolate cake and sugared sesame pavlova best. The macarons were pretty to look at but unfortunately, dry and crumbly.

On a whole, there was a good selection of food and a lot of emphasis went into ensuring the quality is good. Service was friendly, but with a few misses as some of the staff seemed a bit unsure. The Shanghai Brunch at Shook! starts from 12noon to 3pm on Sundays. It’s RM268++ per person with free-flow of champagne and RM168++ per person without alcohol.

Ambiance: 7/10
Price: 5/10
Food: 6.5/10 (pork free)
Verdict: Good spread and the food quality on a whole is commendable.

Shook!
LG1 Feast Village Starhill Gallery
Starhill Shopping Centre
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2719 8330

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