Gong & Ting!
Dinner and Drinks at the Shangri-La London
Drinks at the Shard has been on my to-do list for months, in fact I think I have not so subtly hinted about it to everyone I know in London.
Wine’s Eye View
I’ll admit my main reason for wanting to go was to snap a cool Instagram…
Goal achieved! If I do say so myself 😉
The bar at the top of the Shard is called ‘GONG’ and it is part of the Shangri-La Hotel.
It operates on a first come first served basis so you are better off heading there early. We had drinks at 6pm, which was perfect as the bar wasn’t crammed with people and we managed to secure ourselves a wonderful spot by the window.
I spent my usual 15 minutes debating what cocktail to get before final deciding that when in doubt champagne is the way to go!
Mum was far less confused in life than me and instantly decided on a vodka tonic.
After taking countless photos of our drinks from all possible angles (and then of course drinking our drinks!) we made our way down to Ting on the 35 floor.
Ting serves a mix of British and Asian fusion cuisine with a focus on Chinese flavours in particular.
If you read my blog on the reg you will know I am crazy about risotto, I legit stop reading the rest of the menu as soon as I see it on there.
Ting Restaurant – photo credit by the Shangri-La
Ting’s take on Risotto was unique, the paprika and chorizo gave a spicy tangy taste to the rice but it worked well and turned out to nicely complement the creamy parmesan taste.
My mum had the Dorset Crab, which was lovely and fresh as it was served with cucumber, mango, tomato, and passion fruit – perfect summer dish!
Dorset Crab with cucumber, mango, tomato, and passion fruit
For the main course I had Lamb Loin done with an Asian twist as it was cooked with sake, soy, eryngii mushroom, apple and shiso.
Rhug Estate Lamb Lion with sake, soy, eryngii mushrooms, apple, and shiso
I couldn’t get enough of the mashed potatos, they were so creamy and soft! The tiny amount shown in picture gives a false perception, I helped myself to plenty more on the side.
How the Chef managed to present the Dover Sole in an almost cylindrical shape is beyond me, no hunks of fish thrown onto a plate here.
Dover Sole with wild garlic, edamame, and lemon
By the time desert came around my mother abandoned ship complaining she was too full so I had to carry the flag all by myself and order the ominously named “Chocolate and Cherry” dessert.
Chocolate and Cherry – chocolate curd, cherry compote, cherry beer sorbet, cocoa crumble
A tough task, but of course I couldn’t leave you hanging without letting you know what the desserts were like!
I am still not entirely sure how to describe the “Chocolate and Cherry” dessert. It came out looking like a very pretty flower pot and it had a bizarre almost crunchy chocolate texture with a soft cherry mousse centre.
Chocolate in all forms is fine by me so I was happy, plus I felt like I was a foodie insider trying out this cool new dessert form that I had never heard of before.
We somehow managed to crawl back to our room after our epic meal… If you missed out on all the room deets then you can check out my post here.
Just to wrap up this post I have to tell you that I also met the lovely Ania during my stay who gave me a sneak peak at the Shangri La’s ‘London Suite’.
The room should be a lotto advertisement. It’s ridiculous!
It reminded me about a conversation I once overheard in a coffee shop about someone’s uncle who worked in quality control in the Shangri-La. From what I gathered his job consisted of flying around the world and making sure all the Shangri-La Hotels were up to scratch…
Well when the rooms look like this all I want to know is where do I sign up?
If you want to find out more about Ting and Gong you can check out their website here. Happy Travels!
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