
Long before there were fancy fine-diners and multi-cuisine restaurants in the city, there were a handful of standalone Chinese restaurants. Popular among them was Shangri La. There will many of us who would have fond memories of this place. Birthday treats, family dinners and friendly get-togethers more often than not took place at Shangri La. There were many outlets around town and the one in Sector 35, now christened Shangri La Plus, has stood the test of time. But, you can see that it is now in desperate need of a makeover. The interiors are quite uninviting and you notice that it is popular more for takeaways rather than dine-ins. We found ourselves a seat on the ground floor and were quick to reach for the menu. Even though it packs in a sizeable line-up of Chinese dishes, they walk a familiar Chinese-meets-Punjabi route. The starters section includes their famed 'Dragon Rolls' and 'Spring Rolls' apart from their signature 'Chicken Lollypop'. The latter was a bit of a disappointment. The batter it was dipped in was too thick and the result was a chicken lollypop that was too oily. Looking to play safe, we opted for ‘Chowmein’, ‘Sweet and Sour’ and ‘Chopsuey’. Even though the portions were very generous, it was a greasy affair here too. The ‘Sweet and Sour’ was overly sweet but the 'Chowmein' was passable. The service could have been more enthusiastic too. Not sure if it is a good idea to go looking to relive old memories here. The Indian touch to the Chinese fare is hard to ignore. The portion size in the gravy dishes is very generous.