Experience at The Peninsula Chicago’s Shanghai Terrace

For my birthday, my husband thoughtfully (☺️☺️) made a reservation a month in advance at Shanghai Terrace in The Peninsula Chicago. Here’s a little review! Overall, I’d give it 3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐✨—worth trying once, but probably not a place I’d revisit. Besides my husband and me, everyone else there was Caucasian 😂. Probably most long-time Chicago residents would agree it’s not a must-revisit spot... They just started their Christmas set menu today, so we ordered that. We also added black truffle scallops and red rice fried rice (almost every Xiaohongshu review raved about their fried rice, so we skipped the braised pork tower—turned out we had plenty of rice this meal 😂). Dim Sum: Pretty good! Definitely not frozen supermarket reheats—quite refined. Though the walnut shrimp felt very Americanized (still tasty!). Duck Roll: The duck itself was nice, but the wrapper was like KFC’s “Old Beijing Chicken Roll” skin instead of traditional thin pancake—big minus. Black Truffle Scallops: Not bad, but the black truffle sauce could’ve been blended more evenly—some bites were too salty. Sea Bass: The star of the meal! Excellent quality fish, steamed perfectly—not fishy or overcooked. Really skilled preparation! Lamb Chops: My husband isn’t a fan of fermented black beans, but he praised the lamb itself. I felt the black bean flavor clashed with the lamb, but yes—the lamb was delicious! Red Rice Fried Rice: Maybe I haven’t tried enough fried rice, but this was my first time seeing pistachios and broccoli in it… You could tell the stir-fry technique was top-notch. Regular Fried Rice: Also expertly cooked—each grain separate, with delicate strands of egg! Dessert: Chocolate mousse, slightly bitter but paired with banana ice cream—pretty good. The complimentary birthday cake was not too sweet but a bit dry. Service was, of course, excellent. The décor felt a bit… unsettling, like a Chinese restaurant in a small Eastern European city (and that’s not a metaphor, just an honest observation 😂). But The Peninsula Hotel itself was beautifully decorated for Christmas—lots of festive touches everywhere! Took plenty of photos~ 🎄 #ThePeninsulaChicago #ShanghaiTerrace #ChicagoDining #BirthdayDinner #ChristmasMenu