Feng Shang Princess

In the past few months I’ve dragged my family back and forth all across London in order to deliver some new and fresh material for this blog, so nowadays when it comes to special occasions like birthdays, it’s a bit difficult to find a novel place to celebrate at with the whole clan.  For this reason there will always be that rare gem saved for the one day, and that day it was Feng Shang Princess.

Feng Shang Princess is a Chinese restaurant situated on a floating boat. Yes, you read that correct; a floating boat. The beautifully crafted Chinese restaurant is found in Regents Park next to London zoo.

As we entered the boat the staff greeted us by opening the door and taking our coats from us. After showing us to the table they provided us with menus and gave us time to contemplate over the dishes. It was only then I realised why they had given us quite a while to choose the food, the entrees section of the menu was so overwhelming and packed with different meats in different sauces.

My family handed the menus to brother B and I to choose the food.  I felt so special that I had finally earned the privilege to decide on our meals.  We weren’t particularly adventurous as we had to cater to specific tastes, but everyone seemed satisfied with their choices.

[I actually visited this restaurant three months ago but was too mortified about the pictures I had taken to publish the post. However I couldn’t keep this place hidden from you guys!]

Deep-fried prawns with salt and pepper

These crispy prawns were sprinkled with handfuls of salt, pepper, garlic and chillies.   Perfectly crispy and tasty with the pepper providing a slight spice with every small bite.

Wasabi prawns
So I would say that these prawns were the marmite of the night. My oldest sister, M, refused to take another bite once tasting it and put it back instantly, whereas I ate 2 of these fat juicy shrimp doused in wasabi. Wasabi tends to be a strong condiment found in many Chinese and Japanese restaurants in which it can overpower the poor soul who by mistake puts a bit too much of the green devil on their food; however, when used in safe amounts it tends to make the dish that one notch better.  You either love it or you hate it so if you are a fussy one, then stay well away.

Crispy aromatic duck

I know there seems to be a general theme of ordering crispy aromatic duck at every Asian style restaurant, but I really do love this dish. It was crispy, sweet and salty – the perfect combination.

Vegetable spring rolls

I’ll save you guys time and tell you to avoid these spring rolls – they do not even deserve the space on this page.

Deep fried aubergine with salt and pepper

This vegetarian dish was surprisingly yummy with a soft aubergine centre and a salt and peppery coating.   I have never tasted aubergine like this and my senses were going wild with the soft and crispy combination.

Smoked Shredded Chicken

This dish is a hit in any Chinese restaurant. The juicy chicken shreds had a slight salty but crisp exterior with a subtle hint of smoke.

Hot and sour soup

It was okay and a bit thick with a jelly consistency, but it lived up to its name of being hot and sour.

Chicken and sweet corn soup
No restaurant can go wrong with chicken corn soup and this did live up to its legacy.  If you are a fan then you will for sure enjoy this bowl.

Crispy shredded beef
This was the best dish of the night. Strings of crispy fried beef smothered in a hot yet sweet sauce that we ended up fighting for the last shreds of beef.

Beef in black bean sauce
This dish had mixed reviews. Some received the chewiest pieces yet some of us were lucky and ended up with the soft juicy beef pieces. I surprisingly ended up being one of the lucky diners for once! The black bean sauce had just the right amount of beanyness (let’s not dwell too much into my English) with the soy sauce not being overpowering.

Chicken curry (Malaysian style)
Like I had stated above, we did not particularly try to be risky with the food, so we ordered chicken curry. I mean that was what it was called on the menu! Regardless of its unoriginal name, it really did taste very different from every other chicken curry I’ve tasted at any Chinese restaurant. The never-ending boneless chicken pieces were drowned in a bucket load of flavourful curry sauce; I can’t even describe what it contained as there was no description on the menu, but it was definitely tasty for an unoriginal dish.

I had called in advance to find out if the meat was halal and they confirmed that all meats at the restaurant were halal. However the restaurant serves alcohol at a bar and serves pork on the menu, so bear this in mind before you make a reservation at Feng Shang Princess.

With portions of egg fried rice, steamed rice and crispy vegetarian noodles to side with all of the above, the total bill came to £185 for 7 people.  I can’t disagree that it is quite overpriced for food that is just above decent, but I must say that the concept of a floating restaurant really does make it worth the visit.

Just a heads up to those who plan to visit, I was talking to others who have visited before and they recommended the fish main dishes plus the vegetarian lettuce wrap. So take a step out of your norm and onto a Chinese floating boat for that one special night.

Halal Status: Chicken, lamb and the crispy duck are halal. Pork and alcohol present. Last updated August 2022 
Website: http://www.fengshang.co.uk/
Address: Cumberland Basin, Prince Albert Road, Regents Park, London, NW1 7SS