Summer Palace — Restaurant in Mandaluyong

I have had a few meals at Summer Palace in the past which is why we decided to have dinner here to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. My wife made the reservation in the morning; dinner for 4 pax, at 6pm.

When I got to SP, I informed the SP reception desk of my reservation. I was accompanied to my table at the “tea house” area and was showed a table seating for 2. I asked for a table seating 4 and this was immediately handled since it was about 6:15pm and there were several empty tables. I wanted to ask why we are not seated in the main dining area since we were having dinner and not dimsun but I withheld it. Our table had the usual settings but lacking napkins (where all other tables had, except ours) so I had to ask for them. Quite unusual.

I ordered 6 dishes not including an appetizer. The dishes were delicious and served well although our food server asked if all our orders were served. It’s unusual to be asked, since they should monitor the dishes that are served. The server usually states to the dining guests that “order is complete and should the guest have other request or needs assistance, to let the server know”.

Also, the acoustics in our area need to be improved as the area is a hallway between the main dining / kitchen and entrance / private rooms. [At the time of our dinner, there was a reservation at the function room which was not handled to the satisfaction of the guest , so the restaurant staff were hurried serving food and other requirements of the guest which made our are quite noisy.]

Overall, the dining experience was not good compared to my other dining experiences in other Shangri-La Hotel...

I am the first to admit that this restaurant is out of our league. But we had no choice when we ate their on Maundy Thursday while we were checked in Edsa Shangri-la for a Holy Week Staycation. Every restaurant is close, and it was this or the lounge, and we picked Summer Palace because it was offering some Holy Week promo of 20% off for in-house guests valid for room charge.

Summer Palace is a great elegant place to be inside Edsa Shangri-la. It's definitely catering to the A and B market as the price is exuberant.

We ordered Summer Palace Supreme Seafood Soup at P990, which is truly expensive for a soup. I honestly didn't like it on my first sip, but the dish grew on me as I kept on savoring its complex flavor. It's not your ordinary run-of-the-mill soup.

Speaking of ordinary, we also got Roasted Spring Chicken P620, which is a definition of ordinary. The taste is just ok, nothing to write about.

On the other hand, the Wok-fried rice with scallops and crab roe, priced at P740, is delicious and tasty. You can eat it without any viand, although I was expecting a bigger serving considering the price I paid.

Lastly, we got the deep-fried crispy sesame balls P330 for dessert, which is also good and one of the better sesame balls we tasted.

Staff are great. We came in almost at closing time but they are still accommodating while packing away and cleaning. The lady supervisor or maybe manager even came and talked to us. We're just happy we were able to get dinner while most restaurants are closed for...

First, the bad… We usually enjoy Summer Palace but this time around things weren’t as culinary satisfying. Service was good but getting things (like the bill) took forever. There was a mistake in the bill as well. The Hakaw was sour and the Birthday Noodles was salty in some parts… had to mix it to even out the saltiness. The clincher… they no longer serve service water. You’d have to buy really expensive mineral water which is served in a plastic bottle.

Now the good… The Double Egg Almond dish is still ok and so is the Har Gao. The Siomai is also good… served steaming hot! Dipped it in chili oil and had to take 3 bites to finish one. I have nothing bad to say about the ambiance… lighting was good and temperature was perfect. The table was nicely set. Tea was often replenished and the toilet was nice and clean.

Some things to remember:

Book a reservation. Check your bill to make sure they aren't charging something you didn't order and ask for it 15 minutes before you plan to leave so you don't end up waiting. Validate your parking. If you use valet services, you will still have to pay Php150 even if you get your ticket validated. They only accept cash for parking and there are ni ATMs in the hotel. Bring your water jug unless you don't mind paying though your nose for bottled water. Oh and a can of soda is something like...