Subtle Sichuan: Chengdu chef goes gentle at Shang Palace

At Shangri-La Makati’s Shang Palace, Master Peng Yong’s 10-day culinary showcase, “A Sichuan Experience,” aims to challenge the fiery misconceptions often associated with the famed Chinese cuisine.

Master Peng Yong. Jeeves de Veyra

Chef Peng, whose western name is Benson Peng, Shangri-La Chengdu's in-demand head chef of Sichuan cuisine, has done guest stints in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates to promote Sichuan food.

Chengdu is in the heart of the Sichuan region in Northern China where heat- and spice-defined dishes are considered comfort food because of its cold climate. I was expecting the spice level to be turned up to 11. But I was pleasantly surprised with Peng’s restraint with the heat, yet still delivering exotic flavors, even bringing in ingredients from Chengdu to ensure authenticity.

Shang Palace hosted a special preview of Peng’s menu. All throughout the dinner, Peng subverted expectations, presenting dishes that were red with the sheen of chili oil, indicating dangerous spice levels. My dining companions ordered a cup of rice even before the meal started thinking that we’d need something to tone down the heat.

By the end of the meal, the cups of rice were barely touched. The flavors were there with the spice at approachable, even pleasant levels, allowing different flavors to shine. 

The cold appetizers were the warm-up for the meal. Both dishes added an element of sweetness to balance out the spice.

Chengdu Bo Bo Chicken. Jeeves de VeyraOne could think of Chengdu Bo Bo Chicken as a cold soup. This set the tone for the rest of the dinner where the dish was nowhere near as spicy as it looked.

Shrimp with Garlic. Jeeves de Veyra

The lightly cooked shrimp peeking out of the chili garlic sauce was sweet, firm and fresh. I thought this was the dish that had the least heat among the courses.

Chicken Mousse Consomme. Jeeves de VeyraThe Chicken Mousse Consommé was a low-key flex of Peng’s technique. At first, I thought the cloudy component in the clear soup was tofu. Instead, it was a delicate chicken breast mousse which explained how such a light soup could be so packed with flavor.

Kung Pao Shrimp. Jeeves de Veyra

The first of the mains were the kung pao prawns. There were hints of Sichuan peppercorn but was in no way overwhelming. This was served with fluffy egg white wok hei in the middle with bits of salted egg with a wall of bok choy and peas to make a stunning plate.

Chicken with Chili. Jeeves de Veyra

The next dish was chicken with chill, which should really be called chili with chicken. These were fried chicken bits hiding inside mounds of dried chili. Surprisingly, the chicken was spicier than the sliced dried chilies. I was even able to eat the dried chilies on their own as they were more smoky than spicy.

Multi Flavored Beef. Jeeves de Veyra

A favorite was the multi-flavored beef that’s coated with different kinds of chili powder and sesame seeds. A bite of the tender beef pieces was like starting a brawl of flavors inside your mouth, but it never gets out of hand. This was my favorite dish for its complex flavors from the different chili powders and sesame seed coating.

Mapo Tofu. Jeeves de Veyra

Peng’s Mapo Tofu was the dish I really wanted to try. It’s a dish often served at Chinese restaurants across the country, so I was eager to try one made straight from the source. It was oilier, much redder, smelled of aromatics, used chunks of beef instead of ground pork. This was easily the most potent of Peng’s dishes — and exactly how I imagined real mapo tofu should taste.

Chong Qing Noodles. Jeeves de Veyra

The last hot dish was Chong Qing spicy noodles. The noodles were of the softer variety with crunchy fried peas in soup that was light and spicy.

Master Peng’s Sichuan comfort food is just that -- a comfortable introduction to Sichuan cuisine that has those Northern Chinese flavors but wisely pulls back on the heat to let the Sichuan flavors shine. 

“A Sichuan Experience at Shang Palace” featuring an a la carte menu of Master Peng Yao’s Sichuan comfort food will run until July 14.