Ellen Chew opens second Shan Shui restaurant at Heathrow Airport Terminal 2

12 January 2022

On 25 January, restaurateur Ellen Chew will be opening the second location of Shan Shui at Heathrow Airport. The first site opened at Bicester Village.

Shan Shui is a Chinese restaurant, inspired by 1930s Shanghai, which was its most glamorous era. The new restaurant located at Heathrow Terminal 2 will double as a private viewing gallery with panoramic views of the runway.

At its heart, Shan Shui will be all about serving day-to-night meals that celebrate the authentic craft of time-honoured Shanghainese and Southeast Asian recipes. The menu at the UK’s hub airport will showcase speedy and delicious ‘10-minute meals’ with many options including 2-Day Dry-Aged Cantonese Roast Duck, Slow-Cooked Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice and Canton Vegetable Fried Vermicelli. There will also be a succinct Dim Sum menu, offering widely-known yum cha favourites.

For the morning crowd, the restaurant will serve East-meets-West breakfast items, such as Katsu Sando Sandwiches, refreshing Beetroot and Pine Nut Salad with a yuzu dressing, and Shan Shui’s take on an English fry-up. At the front of the restaurant, there will also be pastries and a breakfast bar counter, which will serve Allpress Coffee and a selection of pastries such as Croissants, Pain Au Chocolates, and Vegan Orange Crown for passers-by.

Throughout the day, passengers can expect to find a mix of contemporary cooking and beloved family favourites, all to be paired with an exquisite selection of Asian teas from around the globe or a cocktail from the Old Shanghai-inspired 1930s cocktail list.

Working collaboratively with interior design studio Sherliker Design, the inspiration for Shan Shui came from 1930s Shanghai, which in its heyday was the place to be for art, architecture, dance halls and glitzy restaurants. Shan Shui Heathrow T2 is reminiscent of this old-world Shanghai, blending elegance and extravagance with contemporary touches, to offer diners a dynamic and exciting dining experience. The restaurant will also double as a private viewing gallery with epic panoramic views of the runway.

The Shan Shui kitchen team only uses the highest-quality halal ingredients, from authentic East and Southeast Asian dried and preserved staples to fresh produce sourced locally from the surrounding areas around Heathrow. The restaurant located at Terminal 2 will also have a carefully-curated retail store, selling items such as Shanghainese tea sets and Shan Shui merchandise, along-with bespoke products from like-minded businesses based in the UK, such as BRIK Chocolate.

Ellen Chew, Founder and Director of Shan Shui restaurant, comments: “I am very excited to be bringing our Shan Shui concept to the people flying out of the UK to faraway destinations at Heathrow Airport T2. Shan Shui is a very special and nostalgic concept for me, evoking memories of being in the kitchen with my mother, observing and learning traditional techniques as she toiled for endless hours to feed us. We believe our offering at Shan Shui will be the perfect new addition to the dining experience at Heathrow to compliment the lively, dynamic floor of Terminal 2.”

Fraser Brown, Heathrow’s Retail and Property Director, added: “Heathrow strives to provide passengers with the best airport service in the world and we are delighted to welcome Shan Shui into Terminal 2 ahead of the festive period. This exciting new restaurant will allow our international passengers to experience authentic Shanghainese and Southeast Asian meals, all while enjoying the panoramic views of the runway.”

A nod to the classic, distinguished aesthetic of old school Shanghai tea houses, the narrative of timeless authenticity is reinforced through the aesthetics, from the retro family photography lining the dusky pink floral chinoiserie wallpapered walls, to the shelves filled with vintage collectables and artefacts. The bright daylit space softly transitions to a cosy, intimate atmosphere towards dusk, as warmth and comfort circulate the restaurant, through the soft lighting, tongue and groove panelling, white marble-topped tables and mismatched seating, to create a relaxed and welcoming space.

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