Shangri-La is the first luxury-standard international hotel in Qufu. Provided to China Daily

Kirin Flsh.[Photo by Cang Lide/China Daily]

Three-Ingredient soup.[Photo by Cang Lide/China Daily]

It is an easy train ride to Qufu now that it is one of the stops along the Beijing-Shanghai high speed rail. By 10 am, we were there.

As our little coach sped along the spanking new highway that connects the high-speed rail station to the town, rows of gingko trees flashed by, interspersed with magnolias. Soon we were passing by the magnificent yellow-roofed building of the city council office, and right opposite, the twin towers of the Shangri-La Qufu rose, still veiled in parts by scaffolding, like a new bride peeking out.

We are about to get a preview of Qufu's first luxury-standard international hotel.

Ng Kok Leong,executive chef of Shangri-La Qufu.

The highlight of the one day trip for two groups of journalists - from Beijing and Shanghai - was to be lunch at the Shang Palace where executive chef Ng Kok Leong was to show off his team's rendition of Confucius Family cuisine.

It had taken time and effort for the Malaysian-born chef, who was also on site for the opening of another Shangri-La in Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia, on the borders of China and Russia.

Life of luxury