Continuing my Shanghai Michelin Guide Scramble, I visited Le Patio & La Famille (one star) near the Bund. Why the French name, I have no idea. It is actually a restaurant serving Hangzhou specialties. There are two locations in Shanghai. Only the one near the Bund got the star award.
The visit
I first passed by on a Saturday evening but it was, understandably, full. So I arranged a table for lunch time on the next Monday with the receptionists. They did not speak English, so good luck trying to book on the phone if you do not speak Chinese.
Despite the small storefront, the restaurant conceals two intimate dining rooms with a retro decor (also VIP rooms are available). Luckily I was given a menu in English and this facilitated my order. I was the first customer arriving very early, but by noon the place became packed.
As a complimentary side dish I was offered a plate of chilled longan fruit which I believe grow in Hangzhou.
I ordered from the appetizer list some spicy roast beef. What I got was beef, but not really spicy, more a type of curated meat served cold. I was not thrilled by this dish.
Then I got eggplants in vinegar sauce with sea urchin. Even without the sea urchin, the eggplants were delicious.
Then the big ticket-item came in: called gold pork on the menu, this pork belly pyramid is a classic Hangzhou dish (actually I had it in Hangzhou once at the famed Hyatt restaurant). Also known as dongpo pork, this website provides a description of the cooking process (and the legend behind its invention):
Slow cooking for several hours allows the pork belly to absorb the wine and soy sauce breaking down the fatty meat to produce a “melt in your mouth” texture, also reducing the greasiness of the fat and leaving a deep vibrant chocolate brown coating. The meat is so tender one can simply nudge it with a pair of chop sticks and it falls apart.
The pork came with buns and the waitress showed me how to open one to slide in the pork and bamboo shoots taken from the base of the pyramid.
I finished the pork (it was oily but not terribly greasy) and just some bamboo shoots were left.
From the dessert list I ordered a longan fruit pudding. Very nice.
The check
This sizable lunch cost me 381 RMB (prices displayed on the menu were net, no additional tax or service charge was added). For a restaurant of this caliber and the quantity of food, it was a good value.
Even if the staff did not speak English they went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable and help me with my order.
The food was generally very good and I saw passing around many more delicious dishes that may warrant a second visit in the future.
Where in Shanghai:
216 Middle Sichuan Road
In Chinese: 四川中路216号
Nearest metro: East Nanjing Road Station, line 2 and 10.
I thought I would publish the first English review of this restaurant, but the FT beat me by 2 days.