Polux is a new project headed by Paul Pairet, the chef extraordinaire behind Ultraviolet and Mr & Ms Bund. It is named after the cat of an old French cartoon and is located in the pedestrian area of Xintiandi, Shanghai.
If you are not familiar with Shanghai, you need to know that Xintiandi is a shopping and entertainment district with reconstituted traditional mid-19th century shikumen houses on narrow alleys. It is a very popular area, but I never associated it with good food (you might disagree if you are a fan of Wolfang Puck).
The visit
I headed to Polux on a Sunday for brunch meeting a friend, just one week after their opening on 14 March 2019. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (all day dining) with different menus. Initially they were open 7 days a week, but at the time of this post they have instituted a day off on Mondays.
The staff had my reservation on the books and escorted me to a table. I liked the cloth towels, a small luxury these days.
By the way, even if the place was rapidly filling up, the staff noticed that the table was wobbling and they promptly offered me and my friend another table.
I recognized many faces among the staff from Mr and Ms Bund and Ultraviolet. These are incredibly professional people. (Including the marketing team: by the time of my visit Polux was correctly indicated on all social media, including Facebook and Google Maps; contrast this with the Bulgari Hotel for example…) By no accident, in their second week of operations, everything was running remarkably smoothly.
Bread was complimentary, as it should be in French eateries.
While I was waiting for my friend, I ordered their sardines, a simple dish, but it was nice that they included in the menu some small snacks.
I and my friend shared a steak haché with mash and eggs. A steak haché is basically a French hamburger. I found it very good, with the beef juice adding some flavor to the mix.
Then both I and my friend had the signature Polux burger coming with fries.
It was a relatively small burger (or I should say “compact”), with bacon and a good amount cheese melting around the patty. I think that some sauce was dripped on the buns as well. But there was a twist (in what I would call Pairet’s style): the lower bun was “excavated” to firmly accommodate the beef patty and some extra condiments (asparagus?). The overall flavor was on the spicy side.
We drank the namesake iced tea, that was not regular iced tea (again one of those twists that made Pairet’s cuisine a favorite of mine): it was a concoction with verbena, orange, lemon, apple, cucumber, and mint. The result was quite pleasant.
The check
Total check was 528 RMB (or 40 USD per person). Was it worth it? Wast it good? Will I go back?
To answer context is important. 40 USD for some regular cafe food may seem pricey, but this is Shanghai, where Western food, good one, is hard to come by at this price point. From this point of view, the final check was more than fair.
In an interview that I read (sorry, I cannot find the link) Pairet explained that they intended to offer good unpretentious everyday food, something that could be the second best for many diners. I think that they delivered what they promised and even more. Polux is good comfort food with a twist here and there (and to be fair, the brunch menu was quite extensive and I wish I had tried their cheek beefsteak, their croque, and some of the egg dishes).
Finally, you have to consider that you are in Xintiandi, an upscale district not famous for its gourmet food. Polux from this point of view is a game changer.
I totally see myself going back and digging into their menu. And that Shake Shack is just around the corner is another big plus.
Where in Shanghai: No. 5, Lane 181, Taicang Lu, by Huangpi Nan Lu In Chinese: 太仓路181弄5号, 近黄陂南路 Nearest metro: two blocks south of Huangpi South Road (line 1). Note: close to Xintiandi number 1 heritage house.
My visit was extemporaneous. I was in the area at the right time on a Saturday evening and I decided to give it a try even if I did not have a reservation. But this was not an issue and I was promptly seated. Most of the other diners were young – very young – Chinese couples.
I was served the bread and I ordered a couple of dishes. They also had an interesting tasting menu, but I was not that hungry. And the chair was also a bit uncomfortable for a long session.
The appetizer was memorable: crab meat with burrata cheese, asparagus, and a herb-flavored “granita”. This I guess is the kind of dish that wins you a star on the Michelin Guide. It was not only creative, but really delicious.
My main was a white fish, toothfish, with basil and other condiments, including a couple of ecargots. I was expecting more from this dish. Also the sauce, yuzu-based if I am not mistaken, was at times too strong.
T had a sidedish in the form of a French ratatouille: the portion was quite big and the dish well executed.
That’s it. I had a couple of complimentary sweets when I asked for the check.
The check
After adding tax, service charge and a 90 RMB bottle of water, the check was 699,60 RMB or 104 USD. Considering what I got, that’s a hefty sum of money. Let’s be honest, that’s terrible value for money.
If you go, I would probably recommend the tasting menu that after taxes and a drink will set you back for around 1100 RMB.
I think I am now done with this restaurant.
Where in Shanghai: 2/F, 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Xi Lu 常德路1号璞麗酒店二楼, 近延安西路
I have already reviewed Le Corto, a fine French restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City and I have praised the creativity and substance of its dishes. The weekend brunch warrants a separate review.
The visit
I had booked my spot for the brunch a couple of weeks in advance (exchanging a couple of messages through the restaurant’s Facebook page). Since the main dining room is not huge, spots are limited.
The brunch included a spread of appetizers, cold meats, cheese, seafood and the possibility to order a selection of dishes. In a nice contrast to other buffets following this format, guests are allowed to order as many mains as they wish.
Oysters and prawns.
Boiled vegetables and slow-cooked chicken breast.
Some salads.
Cheese and smoked salmon.
The cold meat section including Serrano ham.
Some of the desserts,
Above pictures some of the dishes I enjoyed from the buffet.
From the dishes on demand, I had the gratinated lobster.
The poached egg.
The check
The price of the brunch is 650,000 VND net. Since drinks are not included, the real price is a little bit higher. My check was 720,000 VND (31 USD) that was an absolute bargain.
I really appreciated the balance between the buffet quality selection and the hot dishes on demand. Service was good and the atmosphere was pleasant. This may well be the best brunch deal in Ho Chi Minh City at the moment.
Le Corto opened in 2016 and has made a name for itself as a premium French restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City. The name is an homage to Corto Maltese, the fictional adventurer coined by Hugo Pratt (Corto Maltese is from Malta and Pratt was Italian, not sure the link to a French restaurant, but it does not really matter). I also reviewed their weekend brunch deal.
The visit
They have a great deal for lunch, but I ordered a la carte (the full menu was available).
The bread basket was promptly served.
A particularly striking dish was a mille-feuille with marinated salmon heart, foie gras, and raw sea Scallops, sliced with avocado and guacamole and presented with wasabi espuma. This is a good epitome of what I like about Le Corto: creativity but not for creativity’s sake, the dishes are delicious and substantial. The wasabi espuma was quite spicy, I did not find it necessary to enjoy this great dish.
Foie gras ravioli were very well executed.
Finally, I had a tuna steak with kampot pepper, warm vegetable tabbouleh, citrus and coriander jus.
The check
Final check was 1,110,000 VND (around 58 USD). For a trio of high cuisine dishes like these was a very good deal. Le Corto is one of the best French restaurants in Saigon in my opinion.
Was it a fine dining event? Or was it a movie? Or an ASMR experience? Or an artistic performance? A dinner at Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet is all of this and more. It is difficult to label Ultraviolet because Paul Pairet created a new genre by fusing innovative food and multi-sensory cues.
Ultraviolet is the only triple-starred restaurant in the 2018 and 2019 Shanghai edition of the Michelin Guide (oddly it had only two stars in the 2017 inaugural Shanghai edition). Three stars, in the Guide’s jargon, mean “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey”. Is Ultraviolet worth a special journey? Absolutely. If you were to travel to Shanghai just for this, it would make perfect sense.
I have dined at Ultraviolet in December 2018 as part of the ongoing Shanghai Michelin Guide scramble, and I have given a lot of thought on how to put together this write-up. Initially I thought to provide a very detailed account of the experience, but I will not do that. It would be like writing a review full of spoilers. Rather, I will focus on the dishes and give a general idea of what I experienced.
The visit
I had been eyeing the Ultraviolet calendar since early 2017… it took me a while before I could find an available slot in a day fitting my schedule. The website worked well and I was able to make my reservation and pay the 50% deposit.
Ultraviolet only seats 10 diners per evening from Tuesday to Saturday and spots at the table are booked quickly.
Since my booking, I was contacted by email a couple of times to confirm the menu and to be reminded the time for the meeting. At the time of my booking, Ultraviolet was sporting 3 multi-course menus, mine was B (the second in chronological order to be introduced… the first one is A and the latest one is C). Menus come with drink pairings, including an option for a non-alcoholic pairing that I chose
The meeting point for the guests is the other Pairet’s restaurant in Shanghai, Mr and Ms Bund. The exact address of the dining room is a well-kept secret and I will not disclose it. Before leaving, the two hosts (Ms Kim and Mr Colin) briefed the group both in English and Chinese.
By 7pm our group was on the mini-bus heading to the secret dining room and by 7.30 we were seated. Not only the address is secret, but to step into the dining room a secret door had to be revealed.
I will say upfront that the pictures that I will include in this write-up do not do justice to the experience.
By the time the first dish was served, the tone of the evening became clear: every second of the dinner was perfectly choreographed in terms of lights, sounds, music, movements by the staff, images projected on the walls and the table. And everything had the quality of a high value movie production: it was not a flimsy video projector; every image and sequence had been meticulously edited to seamlessly fuse with the surroundings.
The first dish, pictured above, was made of bits of pomelo and grapefruit fused together by using dry ice or some similar component: the fruit was immersed in the cooling agent in front of the table and the dish was literally created on the spot. I must confess that I do not crazy about the outcome of this process, but the creativity and the showmanship was mind-blowing.
The next two dishes were inspired by Pairet’s early years in France where, like in many Southern European countries, children were entitled an afternoon snack before dinner. Specifically, the dishes were inspired by yogurt and a chocolate tartine (but with foie gras).
Next, the scene moved in a busy fish market with some seafood dishes. The first was a delicious oyster with caviar, pepper and lemon, then a dish based on crab and finally an homage to France and Japan fusion: a piece of tuna steak and deep fried whitebait. For all the dishes we received instructions on how to eat them to taste them better; usually, the suggestion was to eat all the ingredients together.
Then we had a slice of meunière truffle bread. The dish is also available from Mr and Ms Bund and is one of my favorite dishes in Shanghai. It is a slice of toasted bread soaked in meunière sauce, a very traditional French sauce made of brown butter, chopped parsley, and lemon (usually used for the sole fish). Then the bread is covered with truffle flakes. However, there was a twist. The bread was served under a glass cover containing some cigar smoke. The cigar odor was distinctive and added to the tasting experience of this great dish. Around us the images of a foggy forest completed the experience (I swear I could smell the fog… not sure if something was released in the air or if the sensory component was just so good to activate some memories of this kind of environment).
Then we were served a delicious egg with truffle and taleggio.
The last dish before the break was clearly designed to play with the audience. We were asked to prepare our own noodles using a set of surgical-like instruments. The noodles were made of coconut paste and obtaining them was part of the fun of this dish.
At this point we were invited outside the dining room for a break. Needless to say, even during the break something happened…
Upon our re-entering the main dining room, we found that the table and the imagery had been reset to look like a meadow ready for a pic nic. We were presented the next dishes including cod, chicken and veal.
We were given a chance to look at the main ingredients of the next dishes before they were finalized in the kitchen. They were presented with the right theatrics and they were not just cod, chicken, and veal, but cod cooked with a jelly cover, chicken in a jar with aromas, and “beggar’s veal” cooked in a clay container full of herbs.
The final dishes were the cod with rice and condiments; a piece of chicken with foie gras; and a glorious piece of veal with sauces. These were substantial dishes.
Next was a very creative dish called “mozza and again”: mozzarella with condiments in two seemingly identical dishes. I will not disclose more, but this dish was clearly meant to engage not only with the palate but also with the brain of the guests.
The truffle bread was presented again, this time in a “sweet” version with peanut butter. I prefer the original one, but it was a nice variation.
At this point the dinner was starting to come to an end. The last dish on the menu was a “Montblanc snowball” dominated by a scoop of Yakult ice cream. It came with orange blossom water with a polar bear on an ice cube.
But no, actually the dinner was not finished yet… there was a “coda”: we were invited to have an American breakfast! With eggs, bread, frozen passion fruit and more.
By this time I could see I was full… I enjoyed every single dish throughout the dinner and, even if I am not a chef, I could appreciate the sophisticated techniques used to prepare the dishes in which not the slightest detail was overlooked.
I also appreciated the non-alcoholic pairings that came in the form of various delicate infusions. But of course, the food was only one component of a sophisticated multimedia performance where the guests were both users and actors.
Before leaving, a final coup the theater was the opportunity to meet the kitchen staff and Paul Pairet in person. It was nice to have a chance to interact with the staff because all the staff showed an incredible degree of professionalism. In the kitchen Paired welcomed us with a final delight and some champagne. Time to celebrate.
At the very end we were asked to pay the check and the shuttle bus brought (part of) the group back to the Bund (others chose to take a cab).
We were back by 11.45. Overall, the dinner lasted around 4 hours. I cannot say that I was bored for a single instant. Every second there was something happening absorbing my attention and filling my senses.
The check
Dining at Ultraviolet cost me 4,000 RMB (around 580 USD). This is the price for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. the other days usually cost 6,000 (with a more prestigious wine pairing). They also have some special evenings priced 8,888 or 10,000 RMB.
Clearly, at this price level it not just about the food. The dishes are masterpieces and the ingredients are top-shelf, but you pay for the whole experience and for being part of a unique performance. Is it worth? Personally I think so, especially if you consider that in China you could easily end up spending that sum of money for some lobster and abalone. The creative investment behind the performance in my opinion justifies the price point.
As I wrote at the beginning, Pairet created a new genre and enriched Shanghai’s food scene with an unique experience that is well worth the trip.
To complete my Shanghai Michelin Guide Scrambled I made a reservation at Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire in Shanghai for a Sunday lunch. The restaurant was given a star in the 2019 editoon of the Shanghai Michelin Guide and is located in the exclusive Capella Hotel in the former French Concession.
Gagnaire is an iconoclastic chef at the forefront of the fusion cuisine movement. Beginning his career in St. Etienne where he won three Michelin Stars, Gagnaire tore at the conventions of classic French cooking by introducing jarring juxtapositions of flavours, tastes, textures, and ingredients.
Spoiler alert: nothing of this was apparent in the restaurant I visited.
The visit
My first attempt to make a reservation was weird. I called and was told that it was possible to join for lunch. But when I replied that I would come at noon, at the opening time, I was told that they could only accommodate me at 12.30. To me that does not make any sense. If you have a table at 12.30, then it must available also at half an hour earlier (since it is the opening time…).
I completed my reservation by email.
When I arrived I discovered that the menu that I had consulted on the website was only available for dinner! There was a less interesting brunch menu available. Later I complained about this with the manager and I see that now they published on the Capella’s page for the restaurant all the various menus. You are welcome.
I settled for their brunch package that included two courses, mineral water, juices, tea or coffee, bread basket, and desserts from a mini buffet. Then, I also added some eggs from la carte.
The bread basket was promptly served with butter and some confectioneries. Nice, but nothing spectacular.
Then I got their signature beef tartare. It is tartare with some additional ingredients, such as cheese, tuna and duck sashimi. Iconoclast? I was expecting a lot, but please give the Le Bec tartare every day of the week over this.
Next I got a sea bream seared fillet with a delicious condiment. This was a very good dish, but nothing new.
The Egg Benedict were perfectly executed.
Finally, I sampled some cakes from the dessert buffet. Again, very good, but nothing that left me with the crave to go back.
The check
Final charge was 644.60 CNY (94 USD). The basic package was 488 CNY plus 10% service charge.
What to say? For a brunch in Shanghai, this is a pretty bad value for money. For that money you can dine in a luxury buffet on the Bund (hint… check the Cathay Room).
Did I find anything exceptional about this French restaurant? Not really, I can have a good sea bream fillet in so many other establishments. If I could sample the full menu, who knows, maybe I would have had a better experience.
Why a place like this gets a star and Villa Le Bec does not will remain a mystery to me. Unfortunately, the Shanghai inspectors seem to be prone to award stars by default to the branches of renowned international powerhouses.
La Villa is a long running French Restaurant hosted in a beautiful villa in Saigon’s District 2. The restaurant is operated by Chef Thierry from France with the help of his Vietnamese wife Tina.
I had several dinners and lunches in this restaurant over the years (the first one I believe back in 2011). I have never been disappointed and I have always regarded La Villa as the golden standard for fine dining in Ho Chi Minh City. However, sadly, I have to file this specific visit among my (mild) disappointments. I will certainly go back and do not discourage you go; hopefully this review can help you choosing the right menu.
The visit
I showed up unannounced for lunch during a weekday. Lunch time is not usually crowded. Dinners are another story and I would recommend to make a booking in advance.
The dining room is not huge and occupies the best part of the ground floor of the mansion (the upper floor is closed to the public). It has a classy atmosphere and tables are generously spaced. They also have some outdoor seats.
The first thing you notice is the impeccable service. The staff is very well trained and provide a high level of professional care. Man, it is one of the few places that will clean the table before the dessert… This is well above the average of what you can find even in five star hotels in Saigon, so it deserves some kudos.
The bread is served warm and you can choose your type. It is regularly replenished during the meal.
In my previous visit, also for lunch, I had ordered a la carte. But that was one year earlier. This time I was made aware that for lunch only the set menus were available and in particular the set menu Petite Villa that was specifically designed for lunch. I did not think too much and I ordered from the Petite Villa set menu.
First, I was offered three amuse bouches, including a refreshing tomato gazpacho.
One more treat came in the form of a salmon mousse sprinkled with a few (literally) eggs of caviar. The presence of original blinis in the composition was really a nice touch.
My first dish from the menu selection was a classic beef tartare. It is a very good well executed tartare. The only disappointment was that it went in a mignon size. Below you can see a picture that I took of the same dish ordered a la carte.
Then I got the duck leg, another French classic, with mashed potatoes. Again, it was good; I suspect it was also a reduced portion.
The dessert was a beautifully presented molten chocolate cake with a mango meringue.
A few more treats came before the check.
The check
Total check was 970,000 VND (or 46 USD at the time of the lunch; at the time of writing this review, only 41.5 USD), including a soft drink.
The food was good but I was disappointed for two reasons. First, this menu did not do justice to the chef. There are way better and more creative dishes on the menu. Of course they will be more expensive, but it is worth. Second, paradoxically, for what I got, I think this was terrible value for money in Ho Chi Minh City. In other similar restaurants (thinking of Le Corto in Saigon or La Verticale in Hanoi) you can get a similar lunch menu for half the price or less.
So in conclusion, if you go to La Villa – and it certainly retains my recommendation – go big, aim high. Do not settle for this lunch menu, go for one of the more comprehensive set menus or choose what you like from la carte. It won’t be cheap, but the return on investment will be higher than the one with the Petite Menu described here.
Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
14 Ngô Quang Huy, Thảo Điền, Quận 2
Check the restaurant website for bookings and menus.
There is no lack of French restaurants on Shanghai’s Bund, from Le Robuchon to the long-running M on the Bund, but I find myself coming back again and again to Mr and Mrs Bund by Paul Pairet (the creator of Ultraviolet).
The restaurant is open for dinner, including an early bird turn with discounts between 5.00pm and 6.30pm, for brunch on Weekends, and on a late night turn after 11pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (also with discounts).
I tried all the timeslots (except the early bird for now) and I particularly like the vibe on the late night dinners. Of note, that they also have a nice bar and a small terrace, but if you are looking for a lounge and unconstrained views of the Bund, the ultra-popular Bar Rouge is just upstairs.
The restaurant is located in Bund 18, together with other fine-dining venues such as Hakkasan and L’Altelier de Robuchon, and sports beautiful views of the river and Pudong’s skyline.
The visit
In this review I will combine what I ate in a couple of visits in the first part of 2018. Some of the pictures are pretty horrible… unfortunately the dining room is quite dark by night and this is all I could do without a flash. I am adding also some pictures from a brunch.
The service begins with the bread basket and a delicate salmon pâté.
Even if it was late night, I could not resist from ordering the croque monsieur. This would be more appropriate for brunch, but I cannot find such a good snack anywhere else in Shanghai (I must admit that the croque from Le Bec is even better).
Then, it would not be a complete visit without a ration of meunière truffle bread. This is a slice of toasted bread soaked in meunière sauce, a very traditional French sauce made of brown butter, chopped parsley, and lemon (usually used for the sole fish). Then the bread is covered with truffle flakes. The result is something unique: first your mouth is inundated by the flavor of the meunière sauce that is followed by the sweet flavor of the truffle. It is like the two run after each other. Ok, just to say that I like it.
I finished this late dinner with their signature chocolate mousse with rum and hazelnut. The dessert list is a bit underwhelming, this is my favorite item.
I also have pictures of another dinner with some more adventurous dishes. Pictured above a Truffle Petit Camembert to spread on bread with salad.
And a creamy lobster risotto.
In this case the dessert was a Coca-Cola sorbet with strawberries (I must say the only dish so far that I disliked… but the chef really likes to play with Coke).
In the featured image at the beginning of the post you can see the massive “long short rib” in teriyaki sauce. This huge chunk of beef can easily feed two people and it is one of the chef’s signature dishes (550 CNY, 80 USD).
Update: some brunch dishes
Mr & Ms Bund is quite famous for its brunch. They have a special menu featuring many brunch dishes in addition to their classics.
Their egg Benedict with ham is outstanding.
Another great egg dish is the scrambled eggs with foie gras and porcini mushrooms.
The beef carpaccio is another dish I recommend.
The check
I have retained the check for the first three dishes on a late night dinner: 517 CNY (around 75 USD), including a bottle of water. On the late night turn, if you only order from the list of the standard items you can have three courses for 330 CNY. Set menus for dinner start at 536 CNY (77 USD) per person; a three course dinner will most likely set you back by 100 USD excluding wine and spirits.
Is it worth? Unfortunately this is pretty much the standard price point for upmarket French restaurants in Shanghai and you are on the Bund.
I like the combination between tradition and innovation in the menu and I must say that I have never been disappointed. So I guess that quality and location justify the splurge time to time. And if you are an early or late bird, there are some good bargains.
Where in Shanghai:
6/F, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu,
Address in Chinese: 中山东一路18号6楼
Nearest metro station: Nanjing East Road.
Check the restaurant’s website for reservations and menus.
Brunch is the best meal of the week in Shanghai. You can find great menus at affordable prices even in not so affordable places. The brunch menu that I tried with two friends at The Cut falls into this category. I had lunch at The Cut during the week and tried their burger that left me unimpressed. But the brunch was a different story.
The visit
The Cut is located on the sixth floor of IAPM mall (hint, connected to South Shaanxi Road Station of the metro). I learnt that it is operated by the same company behind Mr & Mrs Bund, Bar Rouge and Ultraviolet and I do enjoy Mr & Mrs Bund.
The dining room on the sixth floor is a bit dark, but for the brunch we were escorted to the salon on the seventh floor that has a beautiful view of downtown Shanghai.
For brunch you can choose a 2, 3 or 4 items from the menu at a fixed price and a drink is included. Since I was with two friends we had a chance to sample the menu.
One of the first dishes to come was the a pair of poached Benedict eggs with a slide of crispy bacon. It was good.
I also personally tested their vitello tonnato (tunato on the receipt) that was a bit over the top with the sauce but a nice dish.
One of my friends has slow cooked eggs in a soup with foie gras.
Somebody in the party had a dish with some grilled salmon. A very regular dish, but nicely presented and executed.
Others main we ordered included black angus rump steak, iberico pork loin and lamb. We were all satisfied with our selections.
The portions were suitable for one person, but not too small.
Drink choices included smoothies, mocktails and beers.
The check
The 2 dishes menu cost 148 CNY (around 21 USD) and the 3 dishes menu cost 198 CNY (around 28 USD). The dishes were well executed and the menu offered a good array of options. All in all this was a satisfactory brunch in a nice location.
Where in Shanghai:
IAPM Mall,
6/F, 999 Huaihai Zhong Lu,
Address in Chinese: 淮海中路999号6楼
There is a great French restaurant hosted in a villa in the heart of the Former French Concession in Shanghai. This beautiful place is the brainchild famed French chef Nicolas Le Bec who, in 2012, decided to move shop from Lyon to Shanghai (hint: his wife is Chinese).
He took him a couple of years to turn the villa, dating back to the 20s of last century, into a multi-function dining destination that now includes a bistro, several private dining rooms and two gardens.
The visit
In my second visit in early October 2018 I was seated in the backyard garden. It is a spacious but yet intimate location. If the sun is not too hot, this is one of the best outdoor dining locations I visited in the Former French Concession.
The bread arrived still warm, in the form of two types of ciabatta bread.
I started with a rich pâté en croute, a French dish that could be defined as a meat pie. But much better than a meat pie… the meats and the spices were perfectly amalgamated under the pastry shell. While it is certainly a filling dish, I found it delicate.
Then I had one of my favorite dishes in the world, a beef tartare. I had high expectations from this beef tartare and I was not let down.
The waiter aptly mixed the beef with an egg, crushed capers and some Tabasco pepper sauce. The result was a dish of exquisite texture and taste.
Then I was served the main consisting in a lamb shank (the shank is the portion of the meat around the tibia of the animal). It came along with mashed potatoes.
This was a very compact yet meaty piece. The skin was lightly fried adding to the flavor. It was a bit dry, but the great sauce that came with it solved any issue. I found it an excellent execution of this French classic.
Unfortunately, at this point I had no room for a dessert. There were some attractive specimens on display in the bistro.
I was also happy to find on the menu Alain Milliat juices (otherwise they do not have many options for people who do not like alcohol).
The check
For these three dishes I spent 680 CNY (basically 100 USD). It is not the check of your everyday bistro… however it should be noted that most dishes were perfectly suitable for sharing between two people.
Given the quality of the food and the surrounding (with English speaking staff) I have no problem with this price point. I think Villa Le Bec is the perfect place where to taste authentic French food in Shanghai.
Pro-tip: for a memorable experience if the weather permits try to get a seat in the garden and if you have a party try to use one of their private rooms.
Where in Shanghai:
321 Xinhua Lu
Address in Chinese: 新华路321号
More information on the restaurant’s website.
They also operate a wine bar called Epicerie 62 at 62 Xinhua Lu.
