If you've strolled past the sprawling Shang Social at Jewel Changi Airport but felt too intimidated to walk in — you're missing out on some good food. Shang Social is the Shangri-La Group’s first standalone dining establishment, and it serves three distinctive Chinese cuisines across three dining spaces (sadly, you cant cross-order stuff from the three menus): Cantonese, Huaiyang, and Sichuan (all three cuisine types are offered across the space). The three-in-one concept comprises 114-seat casual dining and retail space MRKT, 18-seat BAR, which serves cocktails accompanied by mod Chinese-inspired bites, and 88-seat DINING, the ‘formal’ space with cosy booths and a private room that gives you ringside seats to the HSBC Rain Vortex Light & Sound Show.

You’ll probably walk in thinking that Shang Social isn’t a Chinese restaurant. Its super glamorous interiors — think shiny brass finishing, low-hanging frosted orb lights, pastel pink suede banquette seats and taupe terrazzo counters — will make you feel like you’re in a hip private club, or atas Western restaurant. Oh wait, that’s because the interiors are done by Takenouchi Webb: the same design firm behind places like chic members-only club Straits Clan and classy modern Japanese restaurant Esora. The key difference here is that the entire 6,549 sq ft space is welcomingly open so that everybody and anybody can swan in and take a shot for the ’gram, on the pretext of dabao-ing some buns or perusing the edible merchandise.

And you might just find yourself buying stuff unintentionally once you stroll in, given the range of merchandise on sale here. From tea blends and soy sauce by local brands to chopsticks and designer coasters, everything is beautifully packaged and perfect for gifting.

Exclusive to this space is a sweet, sour and spicy hawthorn sauce, that’s actually made with the super retro hawthorn candy flakes (haw flakes!).

More than just a pretty space for shopping and Instagramming, Shang Social’s got a solid menu that has been curated by three of Shangri-La Group’s most highly acclaimed master chefs. Mok Kit Keung — the current Hong Kong-born Chinese executive chef for Singapore’s Shang Palace — was the man who took the hotel group’s Hong Kong restaurant to Michelin two-star status. From him comes fine Cantonese classics: from a simple bowl of noodles to decadent dishes of deboned and stuffed whole roast chicken. Chengdu native Rick Du, the award-winning Chinese executive chef of Shang Palance at Shenyang in Sichuan, presents a range of nuanced Sichuan dishes. And from Executive Chinese Chef Joe Hou of Jiangnan Wok at Shangri-La Hotel in Nanjing, comes stellar examples of Huaiyang cuisine, known for its refinement and an emphasis on ridiculously high-level knife skills. FYI: Joe is widely considered an authority of Huaiyang cuisine in China, second only to his revered master Zhou Xiao Yan, so you know standards are high.

While the few concoctions we sipped on, such as the Pandan Pandemonium ($20) with pandan-infused gin, lemon juice and egg white and Arranged Marriage ($14) with mandarin and lemon juice, hibiscus syrup and ginger ale, were a little on the sweet side and lack depth, the accompanying ‘Chinese tapas’ were perfectly on point.

Such as these addictive Smoked Onsen Quail Eggs ($8), which delights with its molten yolks and smoky flavours lifted by a spicy zing from finely julienned torch ginger.

The Signature Pan-Fried Bun with Pork ($2 each) is a fluffy, crisp-based bao with a juicy, well-marinated filling — perfect with a cocktail or even a $788-for-half-a-litre Guizhou Mou Tai. While the bar sits right in the centre of Shang Social’s open-concept space, it still feels suitably intimate, especially at the bar counter seats. Or if you wish to people-watch, perch yourself at one of the high tables placed along the periphery of the bar, facing the thoroughfare.

If the bar nibbles whets your appetite for more, hop over to MRKT, where you can order a plate of three pan-fried buns for $5.80. The casual dining side offers a pretty standard menu of dim sum and Cantonese-style barbecue items, but look more closely and you’ll spot a few unusual gems.

One example is Chef Mok’s signature Cantonese classic of Bamboo Noodles with Dark Soya Sauce and Lard. The Hong Kong-imported “bamboo noodles” are actually thin egg noodles traditionally used in wonton noodles. To ‘knead’ it, the noodle makers sit on an end of a long bamboo pole like a seesaw, using the pole to compress the dough through a bouncing action. The result is super springy strands that we just cannot get enough of. While a bowl of the noodles simply tossed in dark soy and topped with lots of lard makes a hearty snack, those looking for a more substantial meal can opt for bamboo noodles with beef brisket ($12) or prawn and conpoy dumpling in XO sauce ($14). The space at MRKT is decidedly casual with the stools and plastic service ware, but remains beautifully stylish, kinda like a posh canteen.

But the real stars of Shang Social are the dishes from the DINING menu. A Cucumber Peel Roll ($12) might sound unexciting, but arrives as beautiful little thimbles that pack a mix of radish and carrots marinated with organic apple cider vinegar, and julienned as fine as vermicelli — a perfect showcase of Huaiyang cuisine’s emphasis on excellent knife skills. It is a thing of beauty to behold, and also a fresh, crisp and tangy starter that whets the appetite. But if you're a carnivore, go straight for the Spicy Sichuan Chicken ($12): a dish of succulent poached chicken slices bathed in a nuanced chilli oil with a slight peanut butter-like creaminess.

Save the chilli oil to go with a sharing portion of the house-made savoury tau hway called the Eight Treasures Tofu Pudding.

This wobbly, delicate tau huay is served with savoury condiments such as sakuri ebi and pork floss, and house-blended soy dressing. Yum.

One of Chef Mok’s signature dishes at Shang Palace SG — the Deep-fried Whole Boneless Chicken Filled with Fried Glutinous Rice — makes an appearance here. The succulent chicken is stuffed to the tips with glutinous rice that has been wok-fried with lap cheong, dried shrimp and other umami-packed ingredients, brushed with malt and red vinegar, air-dried, and then basted with hot oil to make the skin crisp as wafer. It is pretty much like an OTT one-dish meal, complete with deep-fried kailan at the bottom. Quite good.

The absolute highlight here for us is this dish taken from Jiangnan Wok at Shangri-La Hotel in Nanjing’s menu: the Braised Black Marbled Pork ($26). The meltingly soft pork belly braised in a fragrant braising liquid laced with subtle hints of beer usually comes with radish. However, because he feels the pork in Singapore isn't fatty enough to deliver the desired level of unctuousness in the dish, Chef Hou swaps the tuber out for chunks of fresh house-made nian gao — the white, unsweetened kind that's more like mochi than the CNY confection. Tender, stretchy, and deliciously toothsome, the fine-textured rice cake is a genius addition that elevates the dish from good to great.

There are traditional desserts on the DINING menu, such as a Double-Boiled Snow Pear with Peach Gum and Aloe Vera ($8), but if you are feeling adventurous, get yourself a Soft Serve ($8) from the takeaway counter as you’re heading out. Working with local ice cream makers Tom’s Palette, Shang Social has created ice creams flavoured with Chinese ingredients like Yunnan Pu Er tea and Yunnan Ham — the latter curiously tastes like salt-laced Horlicks. The texture of the ice cream is nicely thick and creamy, though we probably will just skip over to Birds of Paradise instead, if we feel like having ice cream.

The solid food at Shang Social is proof that classic Chinese food can be exciting without outlandish mod plating, fancy molecular techniques or gimmickry. That, combined with accessible prices and a cool interior design, makes this the most interesting modern Chinese restaurant we’ve visited in a long time. The two master chefs from China have since left the restaurant in the hands of the local team (supervised by Singapore-based chef Mok), but we’re happy to report that the standards are still high. The dishes here are not as luxe as that at Shang Palace in Shangri-La hotel, where one can find offerings like a $98 single serving of soup, but they're finely-executed and comforting. Most of the memorable dishes we had are from the Dining Room’s menu. However, our fave items such as the tofu pudding and braised pork are often sold out — we schlepped down on another visit only to walk out after finding every single dish we wanted unavailable. So call ahead to pre-order.

Shang Social is at #01-219 to 222 Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Boulevard, S819666 . Tel: 6346-0260. Open 9am – 11pm daily, last orders at 10pm. www.shangsocial.com.

Photos: Alvin Teo/8 DAYS