Shangri-La Hotel, Qufu Culinary Roadshow Journeys to Six Shangri-La Hotels Ahead of the Hotel's Opening in March 2013

HONG KONG, Jan. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will open Shangri-La Hotel, Qufu in the hometown of the famous Chinese philosopher Confucius in early 2013.  To celebrate the hotel's imminent launch, Shangri-La is leading a Qufu culinary expedition across Asia with a team of Lu cuisine chefs and service professionals from Shangri-La Hotel, Qufu bringing Kong family cuisine to six selected Shangri-La hotels in January and February.   

Qufu's cuisine flourished under the Kong family, the descendents of Confucius.  Unique in style, Kong family cuisine features creative presentations of skillfully combined ingredients that express the four most important elements in the art of Chinese cooking: colour, aroma, flavour and texture.

At each of the six Shangri-La hotels offering the "Kong Family Cuisine Menu", guests will have the opportunity to enjoy hot and cold selections from an a la carte menu or banquet menu sets for tables of six, eight or ten people.  Specially chosen tea and wines that complement the unique style of food will also be served.

Shangri-La's Qufu culinary roadshow will visit the following hotels:

• Shangri-La Hotel, Qingdao from 11 to 14 January 2013
• Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore from 18 to 24 January 2013
• Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong from 28 January to 3 February 2013
• Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei from 27 February to 5 March 2013
• Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok from 9 to 15 March 2013
• Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta from 19 to 25 March 2013

Influenced by the imperial Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, Qufu cuisine centres around elaborate banquets, royal commemorations and religious ceremonies.  The delicacies, a combination of Shandong regional Lu methods and Su cuisine from the south of China, are prepared with unsparing attention to the ingredients, appearance, taste and shape.  The names of the dishes allude to auspicious meanings.

Shangri-La's "Kong Family Cuisine Menu" embraces tradition with items such as Kong Mansion's "Six Art" Cold Appetisers (spiced beef shanks; sea whelk jelly salad; scallops and lettuce salad; jelly fish salad; spiced duck tongues; and baby celery with sesame and olive oil) and Lu Wall's Hidden Collection (prawn roll wrapped in crispy vermicelli) and auspicious sounding dishes such as Wisdom Frees Perplexity (braised pork ribs stuffed with spring onion stalk) and Confucius "Four Supreme Bowls" -- Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity and Happiness (braised chicken, braised fish, braised pork and meat roll of minced chicken breast and prawns wrapped with seaweed).

For more information and to make dinner reservations, please contact a participating hotel directly.

Image links:

Exterior of Shangri-La Hotel, Qufu
http://www.shangintranet.com/Guest/Photos/SLIM/SLQF%20exterior%20shot.jpg

Wisdom Frees Perplexity
http://www.shangintranet.com/Guest/Photos/SLIM/Wisdom%20Frees%20Preplexity.jpg

The Kirin Imperial Book
http://www.shangintranet.com/Guest/Photos/SLIM/The%20Kirin%20Imperial%20Book.jpg

"Gingko" Poetry Rites
http://www.shangintranet.com/Guest/Photos/SLIM/Gingko%20Poetry%20Rites.jpg

Shangri-La Hotel, Qufu will debut in early 2013 in the historical and cultural city of Chinese educator Confucius.  The hotel is within walking distance to the Temple of Confucius -- a UNESCO world heritage site -- and a 20-minute drive to the Qufu high-speed train station.  The hotel's guestrooms overlook a traditional Chinese landscape garden and the old town, and are the city's largest.  Among the hotel's dining and entertainment options are Cafe Kong serving international fare, Shang Palace offering authentic Cantonese cuisine and Kong family dishes, the Lobby Lounge and a bar.  The expansive property features a spa, swimming pool and fitness facilities, and offers the largest meeting spaces in the city, including a 1,600-square-metre, pillar-free Grand Ballroom and a Confucius Cultural Centre.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts (www.shangri-la.com), one of the world's premier hotel companies, currently owns and/or manages 78 hotels under the Shangri-La, Kerry and Traders brands, with a room inventory of over 32,000.  Over four decades the group has established its brand hallmark of "hospitality from the heart."  The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in mainland China, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Turkey and the United Kingdom. 

For digitised pictures of the group's hotels, please go to http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary.