Carol Leach, Courier-Post, March 1991
There isn't a single Oriental lantern at Shangri La, the new Chinese restaurant at the Shops of Holly Ravine in Cherry Hill, and that's just the way co-owner So Ho planned it.
The 99-seat restaurant is in a large, open room that is very bright and contemporary. Natural tones, predominately tans and browns, abound. Crisp white cloths cover the tables.
Yet, even though the restaurant doesn't look typically Oriental, Ho says the menu is as authentic as it gets.
"Most of our dishes are done Szechuan-style, which is mainstream Chinese food," he says. "Until Richard Nixon made his historic tip to China in 1972, most Americans were only familiar with Cantonese food and there were no Szechuan restaurants on the East Coast."
The lengthy list of house specials include Shangri La chicken in which marinated breast meat is sautéed with baby corn, snow peas and broccoli in a slightly spicy sauce. Champagne chicken, a banquet dish originally served to Chinese aristocracy, combines the breast meat with snow pea pods, water chestnuts and a wine sauce.
There also are several spicy beef dishes, ginger pork, a variety of shrimp preparations and black pepper scallops.
Hunan flower basket is an elaborate presentation in which shrimp, scallops, chicken and Chinese vegetables are sautéed with a special sauce and served in an intricate edible noodle basket.
Ho also is proud of the vegetarian choices on the Shangri La menu. They range from bean curd Szechuan-style to sautéed bamboo shoots with black mushrooms.
Of the eggplant with garlic sauce Ho says, "The dish uses Chinese eggplant, which, 10 years ago, we couldn't get. Now it is actually grown in North Jersey and we're proud to serve it year round. It tastes better than regular eggplant."
Ho says that health consciousness is integral part of food preparation at Shangri La. Requests for low sodium dishes are happily honored, he says, "and a customer can get something like white meat chicken steamed with assorted vegetables."
Ho says that Chinese restaurants in New York City set the standard for Oriental cuisine in this country.
"That's why four of the guys in my kitchen are originally from New York City," he says. "But the standard of Chinese food in this area is also very good."
Take-outs are available and patrons may bring their own spirits; there's no liquor license. Reservations are recommended for groups of five or more.
