**** Luxury/Michelin-starred – Page 2

The beauty and taste of a summer kaiseki from Takagi

Takagi (たか木) is the restaurant owned by chef Takagi Kazuo located between Osaka and Kobe in a wealthy township called Ashiya. Since 2010, the restaurant has been awarded two Michelin stars. It was mentioned to me by a friend and since I had intention to visit some attractions in Ashiya anyway I tried to make a reservation. Despite the location, the restaurant is faithful to Kyoto culinary traditions and serves kaiseki meals (traditional Japanese multi-course cuisine).

The visit

I tried to make a reservation calling the restaurant a few days in advance. They could speak some English with me. The first answer was no. But when they heard that I was insisting proposing other dates, the answer changed into a yes. I went for a lunch on a Saturday.

It was easy to reach on foot from a nearby train station (both JR and Hankyu have a station within walking distance). It was nested in a residential area.

I was offered a seat in a room with a long wooden counter ideal for solo-diners. During the meal, only another customer was in the room.

The first appetizer was a composition with pumpkin, octopus, okra, in a base of yuzu jelly. Shiso flower on top. A young chef would bring me the dishes and provide some explanation in English.

The second dish was a hearty soup with egg custard and red beans. I was explained that they used shrimp paste to create the aspect of ice in the soup. It was a way to pay homage to the summer.

The third dish was a bowl of quality sashimi: tai from Awashima and tuna from Shimane.

The fourth dish was a composition of five beautifully-crafted snacks: taro with uni (top-left), white fish and cucumber (top-right), marinated and grilled salmon (center), squid with shiso flower (bottom-left), a roll with zucchini, ayu fish and miso (bottom-right).

The theme of the summer was strong in the fifth dish that had a piece of fried hamo (a type of sea eel), a favorite in Kyoto during the summer.

At this point the meal was coming to a close and they offered me hot tea.

The classic rice dish kept for the end was a bowl of simple steamed rice, miso soup (with fried tofu) and pickles.

Finally for dessert there was lemon and yogurt ice cream on a jelly of mixed berries (not pictured), a piece of monaka with the classic filling of red bean, and a bowl of hot matcha.

The all service took around 105 minutes (it was a bit slow at times but I did not mind).

The dishes were as delicious as beautifully presented.

The check

The check was 6,372 yen (59 USD) that was an incredible value for such a perfect meal. They also had a set menu with an higher price (I believe 10,000) that was actually my preference but we could not understand each other on the phone about this point (apparently you need to express your preference at the moment of the booking). The higher value set came with more premium ingredients and I believe an additional grilled dish.

To me this restaurant was absolutely worth the detour from Osaka and will remain one of my top dining experiences of 2019.

Where in Ashiya
12-8, Oharacho
In Japanese: 〒659-0092 兵庫県芦屋市大原町12-8.

La Maison de la Nature Goh where dishes are works of art

La Maison de la Nature Goh is a restaurant in Fukuoka included in the list of Asia’s 50 Best restaurants and awarded one star in the 2019 Michelin Guide to Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and Saga. Goh is the name of the chef. As I will show, defining it a French restaurant, as some guides do, is reductive. Goh created his own cuisine blending French techniques with Japanese style and making use of the best ingredients sourced around Kyushu.

The visit

I contacted the restaurant by email during my summer 2019 trip to Japan. They always answered quickly and politely. Initially it was a no-go, since the restaurant, unsurprisingly, was fully booked. However while I was in Fukuoka I checked if there was any last-minute cancellation and they were able to accommodate me in the end. I am so glad I kept insisting because the pay-off was one the best meals of the year.

The restaurant is located in a neighborhood full of eateries and clubs. It has been operating for the past 17 years, even before the area became popular. The magic door is at the end of an alley. There are just 6 counter seats and 2 tables (each seating 6 people). If you sit at the counter, like I did, some of the cooking takes place in front of you. Goh was in the kitchen, but he was working on the other side of the counter. My cover was taken care by one of the chefs, Andy, and by Ana. They were wonderful in explaining the dishes and speaking in English with me. Service was uncompromisingly good.

There was no menu. It was an omakase course that the chef changes and tweaks frequently.

The opening dish was eel with kobayashi, balsamic vinegar, beef stock sauce, and wine on a piece of cucumber soaked in dashi. On the side there was a green gazpacho made with tomato and cucumber, some chili inside. The composition was inspired by a Japanese dish called uzako, with vinegar eel and cucumber. As this first dish shows, Goh’s cuisine defies labeling. Dishes like these are like small works of art, a sculpture or a painting.

The second dish was even more mind-blowing. It was a platter (it could have been a painting!) with four snacks:
Top right: a monaka topped with a iburigakko pickle from Akita, filled with foi gras, and sprinkled with cooked soy beans
Bottom right: quiche with bacon from Kumamoto.
Top left: shungiku (crown daisy) on a secret white paste.
Bottom left: hirame sashimi wrapped in crispy green tea leaves looking like seaweed.

At this point I received some warm ciabatta bread.

The third dish was a colorful cold soup with grilled eggplant, jelly-like beef stock broth, topped by uni, shiso flower, water-shield.

Next was a risotto with spinach and abalone liver, pieces of abalone and Japanese mushrooms (visually they look very similar!), brown butter and mushroom sauce. Eaten mixed together. I was told that this was one of Goh’s signature dishes.

Next was a piece of lobster with chicken sauce, sprinkled with five spices powder and Chinese spinach. An unusual and interesting flavor for this dish.

The big-ticket item of the course menu was wagyu from Kagoshima (very prized!) cooked at low temperature, with vinegar sauce from Yame, onion cooked for 2 hours from Saga, celery puree. Indeed excellent.

The next two dishes were desserts. The first was a homemade yogurt with milk from Hanno enclosing shiso paste and a dill flower on top, plus a Wagayama plum.

Then the dish was completed adding ice bits sprinkled with Yamazaki whiskey.

Finally, from the picture above you can see the green shiso paste hidden by the yogurt.

At this point I was offered a glass of cold green tea from Yame. What was remarkable was that I could smell the aroma of the tea, even if it was a cold brew. Yame green tea is particularly sought-after in Japan. During the dinner I just had still water.

The last dessert was caramel ice cream sprinkled with grated soy sauce on a base of miso, with Sumomo peach. All of this on top of a layer of catalana cream, kept separate from the glazed top. It was like a double bottom. Very clever.

At this point I was shown two miniature statues of Goh and his friend Gaggan. It is well-known that the two like to collaborate together and may even start a restaurant together in the not-so-distant future. Now you know where Gaggan gets his onions…

The check

Now, this incredible meal was 7,257 yen (I did not have wine, I believe water was included) or 68 USD. That’s an amazing price for this kind of culinary experience. They also had a higher-priced menu with basically the same dishes, but an additional palate-cleanser and a more expensive cut of beef for around 9,500 yen. I regret I did not choose this menu as they had a chocolate dessert I would have certainly liked, perhaps next time!

In conclusion, this was not just a meal, it was quiet display of culinary art. Every dish was the result of the combination and balancing of so many details and quality ingredients. All the dishes were also delicious and I was fully satisfied by the end of the meal. I also liked the intimate environment and the counter seat.

The Michelin Guide gives Goh one star. Travesty. This is the kind of restaurant that, using the Michelin’s lingo, is well worth a detour if not a special journey.

Where in Fukuoka:
2-26 Nishinakasu, Chuo Ward,
Website: www.gohfukuoka.com.

Exquisite brunch at Sir Elly’s, Peninsula Shanghai

Sir Elly’s is the French restaurant of the Peninsula Hotel in Shanghai. Located on the 13th floor, it sport nice views of the Bund. I visited it as part of my Shanghai Michelin Guide Scramble.

The visit

I chose to visit the restaurant for brunch, because the brunch dishes seemed to be a fair representation of the high cuisine of the restaurant and not just afterthoughts as often happens with brunches.

Upon my arrival the staff welcomed me using my name. Was I the only foreigner dining there on that day? It turned out that for most of the meal I was the only guest! I had the beautiful dining room all for myself, only toward the end of my meal a Chinese couple joined the brunch. It was a slow weekend in Shanghai.

Similarly to what happens with their Chinese restaurant Yi Long Court on the second floor, the dining room tries to recreate the luxury and intimacy of a patrician house. It is a very classy venue.

The bread basket was impressive enough: French baguette, hazelnut bread, seaweed bread, a croissant, a hazelnut tart, and even a chocolate muffin.

And I was provided normal and salted butter, for good measure.

The brunch included four dishes: one appetizer, one egg or pancake, one main, and one dessert. For each category several options were available.

My appetizer was a hamachi carpaccio with asparagus, passion fruit, lotus. What was impressive was that it came in a bread container that reminded of a crab shell. The dots on the plate were mango and soy jellies. It was a delicious and well-designed dish.

The second list of dishes included brunch classics such as poached eggs, waffles and crepes. I chose the buckwheat crepes filled with bechamel and smoked salmon. The bechamel was spectacularly creamy and light.

The cod was a slow-cooked fillet, coming with an artichoke and clam-butter sauce that was added at my table. Really a delicious piece of cod.

I was not in the mood for a sweet, so I chose the comte cheese platter. This was a bit underwhelming. A cheese combination would have been better. But it was what it was advertised on the menu. The cakes should be a better choice.

The check

The brunch cost 428 RMB before tax and service charge. With a bottle of water, the minimum you would spend for brunch is 586.50 RMB (82 USD). It is a pricey brunch, but in line with the quality of the dishes. If you prefer quality vs. the quantity of a buffet, this brunch is actually a nice option. They also have a more affordable lunch menu, while dinner may be an expensive affair. Their tasting menu was around 2000 RMB at the time of my visit.

The service was impeccable and part of the positive experience, with all staff that could communicate in English well.

Where in Shanghai:
13F, The Peninsula Shanghai, 32 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu.
In Chinese: 上海市黄浦区中山东一路32号上海半岛酒店13楼.
Go to their website for menus and online reservation.

Eating at Shang-High Cuisine at the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai

Here you are with another Chinese restaurant I would have never heard of if I was not committed to complete my Michelin scramble in Shanghai. Shang-High restaurant at the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel was awarded one star in all the three editions of the Shanghai Michelin Guide to date, as they like to remind everywhere (including on the wet towel).

The visit

The first hurdle was making a reservation. First I used the email on their website. No answer after two attempts. Then I called and everything seemed fine. Then I had to make an amendment and I could not find anyone that would understand me on the phone. Eventually I went there in person! Surprise, my original reservation had never been noted on their book. After all of these attempts, finally I had my reservation. I wonder if someone in management is surprised that they do not get more customers.

The second hurdle was to get there (twice actually in my case). The restaurant is located on the 6th floor of the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel overlooking Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Center in Pudong. Not exactly a place on the radar for most people. The task to reach the destination actually proved easier than expected. They are located next to exit 3 of the Pudong terminus of metro line 7 (that connects with several other lines at Century Park). Just make sure to take the right exit or you will find yourself in a different mall.

From the exit, walk to the hotel lobby (before you start walking along the stone walls) and take the elevator to the 6th floor. It is an architecturally remarkable space. They even have an infinity garden accessible from the 6th floor that sadly was closed at the time of my visit.

I just ordered three dishes. The first was a fish lip soup with soy beans. I was pretty curious about the use of this unusual part of the fish (I believe garoupa). The result was pretty underwhelming in terms of flavor and everything.

The main dish of my dinner was braised beef cheek with black truffles, potatoes and carrots. This was a 200 gram portion. The meat was legit. Really tender cheek meat. The only issue that I had is that there was no trace of truffles.

I also tried their wild vegetables pancakes. Unfortunately the use of the glutinous rice made them almost inedible to my palate, worse than chewing gum.

The check

The check was 307.82 RMB because it originally included a small bottle of Evian water (alone it was 79 RMB). When leaving, it was acknowledged by the staff that there was a misunderstanding and they did not give me the free tap water (that was perfectly alright according to my initial request). So they decided to refund me the price of the bottle of water. This was professional on their part. So all in all, I spent around 229 RMB (32 USD) for the three dishes. Prices were very reasonable. As always, it is difficult to say if my small sampling is representative of all of their dishes. Probably not, but you need to know what you order. I would not go back, I might visit them again only if I had business in the nearby Exhibition Center.

Where in Shanghai:
6/F, Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai, 1108 Meihua Lu
In Chinese: 梅花路1108号卓美亚喜玛拉雅酒店6楼.

Bonus: the Jumeirah Hotel has an exhibition space of its own. Check if there is anything interesting on. This was on at the time of my visit:

Michelin-starred dinner at Yong Yi Ting, Mandarin Oriental Pudong

The Chinese restaurant of the Mandarin Oriental in Pudong, Shanghai, got one star in the 2019 Michelin Guide. So it was part of my scramble.

The restaurant enjoys the direction of celebrity chef Tony Lu (see Fu He Hui) that collaborates as a consultant. Yong Yi Ting showcases Jiang Nan (south of the Yangtze River) cuisine, reflecting the diverse gastronomy of Shanghai and its neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

The visit

The restaurant is located in the lower ground floor of the posh Mandarin Oriental in Pudong. Unfortunately, it is not nearby any metro station, so you will need a taxi ride (or Didi) to get there. I had a reservation made emailing the hotel that was answered almost instantaneously. A previous attempt using their online form did not work.

Escalator will get you to the lower ground floor.

There was a complimentary amuse bouche: watermelon with cream cheese and walnut. Let’s be honest, they could have put more effort in it. But it was free, so I won’t complain.

I was provided with the house sauces (yellow chili, XO, soy with chili) and some rice crackers. The sauces were excellent from what I could tell.

I ordered a la carte (they did not have any tasting menu). The menu is very rich, including quality live seafood. My first dish was a soup with braised mashed taro, quinoa, and soy. Taro soups are common in Zhejiang. It was quite good.

My main was a dish with crispy noodles with crab meat topped by half steamed lobster in scallion sauce. It was not indicated in the menu, but it turned out that this dish could only be ordered for two. So I ordered it double and in the end I got two identical dishes (see picture on top of the page). The crispy noodles were too crispy, almost uncooked and there the crab meat was hardly detectable. At least the lobster (a spiny lobster to be precise) was quite good.

I picked a very original and clever dessert. Ice cream made with white rabbit candies (a very famous white hard candy made in Shanghai). The scoop was molded as a rabbit.

The check

The check was 778.60 RMB (109 USD). The prices are what you can expect from a restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental.

There are a lot of interesting dishes on the menu that seemed interesting. I was not entirely satisfied by what I had but it is a restaurant where I will hardly coma back anyway given the secluded location.

Where in Shanghai:
111 Pudong S Rd, Pudong Xinqu
The menu, not fully updated, was available on their website.

Amazing Chinese Cuisine in Shanghai

Amazing Chinese Cuisine is the name of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Shanghai (one star in the 2019 edition of the Guide).

The restaurant specializes in new Chaozhou cuisine (A cuisine from Guandong region known for its delicate flavors, focusing on fresh ingredients, as opposed to heavy sauces or seasoning). The founder of the restaurant is called Du Jianqing. They also have a bigger restaurant in the Bund Financial Center area, but the one who got the Michelin award in the 2019 Guide was the original location, first opened in 2015, in Changning District. That’s the location I visited.

The visit

This was supposed to be a difficult location to check out since the restaurant is located in a villa and is only comprised of private VIP rooms. For a solo diner may not be easy to secure a table. However by the time of my visit, they had become a bit more flexible and allowed parties of two to make reservations for lunch. For what I believe was a glitch in the system, I was able to place a booking for one person through Dining City. They were very nice and honored my reservation.

First of all, a couple of details on how to get there since it is off-the-beaten path. Luckily the restaurant is within 100 meters from exit 1 of Shuicheng Road station serving metro line 10. From the East Nanjing Road is a 30-minute ride.

Taking exit 1 you will find yourself on one side of Starlive mall. Go to the front of the mall and look for the road guarded by two lions on the other side (where the mall parking access is located). That’s where you will find the villa.

When I arrived I was escorted to my private dining room. I felt a little bit of embarrassment to occupy the room all by myself. A young chef showed up, apparently he was the only staff speaking English. I quickly agreed on the set menu available and I ordered a pot of Pu’er tea. They had available the set menu used during China Restaurant Week that had ended just the day earlier. It was actually the best possible arrangement for me since the tasting menu gave me the opportunity to taste several of their dishes.

Every time the waitress came in, she would knock the door. The timing was very good. The lunch lasted around 75 minutes. The first dish I received was some seasonal fruit.

The cold appetizer platter included, from the bottom and then clockwise, king salmon, stewed pork feet with Chaozou-flavor, agaricus blazei murill (an edible medicinal mushroom originating from Brazil) with onion oil, and caviar Napoleon on a blini. I appreciated how they put together a nice range of flavors with quality ingredients not only from China. They also added a chicken consommé.

Before the mains, a light soup with snowflake beef slices and celery was served. The beef was lean and very good.

The first main dish was a relatively big piece of abalone (27 grams according to the menu) with a morchella (true morels) fungus. The abalone was better than most I had in other Chinese restaurants, meaty and very tender, but the revelation of the dish was the morchella that I believe was filled with minced pork meat and had a pleasant and powerful flavor.

The second main was equally exquisite: gently fried yellow croaker from East China Sea with crispy truffle. There was a lot of boneless pulp and the sauce was really delicious (even if the truffle flavor was not prominent).

The third main was kind of a softball when compared with the previous two. A few bits of fried salted meat (pork belly) with Chaozhou horred cucumber. Still, it was a very flavorful dish.

As customary in these Chinese course meal, prior of the end there was a starch-rich dish. This time it was not rice, but a yummy bowl of hot and sour noodles (with I believe kelp and strips of chicken meat). Once again, I must price the good balancing of the flavor.

The dessert was a warm bowl of stewed lotus seeds with rock candy. The seeds were literally meting in my mouth. It was a nice conclusion for the meal.

The check

Final check after adding the tea and 10% service charge was 821 RMB (114.5 USD). An “important” check in line with the content and setting of the meal. I was positively impressed by the course meal and enjoyed all the dishes. I must also commend on the willingness to serve a non Chinese speaker and the elegant set up of the private room.

Where in Shanghai:
B5 villa, 1665 Hongqiao Lu, Changning District
In Chinese: 虹桥路1665号B5幢别墅
Dining City page: www.diningcity.cn/en/shanghai/amazing_chinese_cuisine.

Extreme Chinese cuisine and love for Hong Kong at Bo Innovation

Bo Innovation is the award winning restaurant of Alvin Leung in Hong Kong (three Michelin stars). I had already tried Bo Innovation in Shanghai and found it impressive. But I was not ready for a twenty-something tasting menu that characterize the dinner experience. Luckily the restaurant offered an abridged tasting menu for lunch that looked ideal. So by email I made a reservation for my June 2019 trip to Hong Kong.

The visit

The restaurant is located in Wan Chai (incidentally, above Five Guys) and the dining room was spacious with a modern touch.

The professional waiter pointed out that the dishes were antiques collected by the chef.

There was a spectacular welcome dish: an egglet pancake filled with spring onions and other herbs. As you may know, egglet pancakes are a fixture in Hong Kong street food. This was the right start.

The first dish featured a corn mousse and crackers, Japanese cauliflower, pinenut, and Pat Chun sweetened vinegar. Pat Chun was founded in 1932 by Mr Ng Wai Sum. The words Pat Chun「八珍」refers to a phrase in the ancient Chinese Book of Rites that described precious ingredients used in concocting hundreds of sauces with different flavors. The sweetened vinegar is their flagship product and a quintessential Hong Kong ingredient. The waiter proudly showed me the bottle of the vinegar that helped to fuse the dish elements together. Most of the dishes to come would feature such ingredients linked to the history of Hong Kong.

The second dish featured a lobster tartare, black truffle, and the signature ingredient, an oil called har mi (dried baby shrimps). It is obtained infusing the dried baby shrimps in the oil for 3 days before distilling it. It is Alvin’s invention once again using a popular Hong Kong ingredient. I was even offered a couple of jars of the juice to add to the dish at my discretion.

The third dish consisted of a meaty Hokkaido scallop, Shanghainese jolo sauce (a type of red rice fermented vinegar), sugar snap peas, and some “woba” (the name the crispy burnt rice that was the leftover in rice pots in olden days before the invention of rice-cooker). Bonus: here you can find the recipe. This was one of my favorite dishes.

The next dish was the celebrated molecular xiao long bao (soup dumpling). To be eaten all at once, it did recreate the flavor of a soup dumpling on the palate.

It was now time for the foie gras that came with bamboo shoots.

The foie gras was sprayed (literally, using a perfume dispenser) with Chu Yen Ching liquor. I do not like liquor and this was not a great add on form me.

The foie gras was accompanied by a charcoal mantou.

The palate cleanser was a green concoction with the prized Chinese wine Moutai (its bottle looks like a detergent, doesn’t it?), calamansi, and butterfly pea flower. It was offered on an imperial Chinese implement. Sorry, maybe it is me that does not like alcohol, but it tasted like a detergent. I just had a sip.

For main I could choose among suckling pig leg, cod, or beef. I went for the suckling leg with crispy skin and it was great. The plate was sprinkled with Pat Chun vinaigrette, some Sichuan peppercorns and a piece of pineapple. There were also some baby greens on the side.

To finish up, I was offered a bowl of Bo’s signature fried rice.

What made it special, was that the waiter shaved on it sun-dried abalone (very Hong Kong) and dried foie gras (made by Alvin). Delicious.

The final dish was Alvin’s “no shark fin”. Alvin is opposed to the use of shark fin in Chinese cuisine (it is still commonplace I can tell you) given the detrimental effects on the shark population. The dish is meant to resemble a shark fin bowl and is presented in a traditional implement specifically used for shark fin dishes in wedding and ceremonies. I once had a shark fin soup and it is just another of those Chinese delicacies like bird’s nest and sea cucumbers that my palate cannot understand: it is mostly tasteless. This dish was not tasteless at all. It was a refreshing dessert made with yuzu, osmanthus, peach resin, and dried persimmon.

The check

After adding a bottle of water, the check was 1,078 HKD (or 137 USD). The full degustation menu served for dinner was around twice as much. There were also some lighter lunch options. Overall, I found this ten course menu the perfect size and very satisfying. There was a little bit too much alcohol for my taste, but I enjoyed all the references to traditional Hong Kong dishes throughout the meal. I could really see that the chef loves his city and has used his creativity to celebrate it.

Where in Hong Kong:
60 Johnston Rd, 60, Shop 8, J Senses. Entrance on Ship Street J Residence.
Website: http://www.boinnovation.com.

Ningbo delicacies at Yong Fu in Shanghai

Ningbo is a city in Zhejiang, an Eastern Chinese province. It is a manufacturing powerhouse and boasts its own cuisine. In Shanghai Yong Fu restaurant was awarded one star in the 2019 Michelin Guide and serves Ningbo cuisine.

The visit

The restaurant is located on the 12th floor of the historic Jin Jiang hotel (the building on the back in the first picture above). It is a very Chinese restaurant. To make a booking I had to go there and nobody would speak English. Initially they just asked me to leave. Eventually I was able to make a reservation.

As usual, they have a lot of private rooms (“boxes”) and a hall where I had my dinner. Their menu, as you might expect, is focused on Ningbo delicacies. The decor is in line with the vintage atmosphere of the hotel.

I started with a taro and crankling soup that was recommended by the manager (the only person speaking some English) as very typical of Ningbo. It was a very dense soup, very good.

Then I had marinated bamboo shoots that came in a weird bowl inside another bowl with two small fishes happily swimming.

A piece of bamboo fell into the water and one fish seemed to like it.

My main dish was supposed to be yellow croaker in a casserole with soy sauce and some braised pork. Yello coraker is indeed a fish coming from the waters of Zhejiang. However, it turned out to be cuttlefish! The translation on the menu was wrong, but they insisted it was croaker. It was not.

At least it was very tender. Overall a nice dish for two or three people to share.

Finally, I had two glutinous rice balls (Tang Yuan) with a filling made of sesame paste. It is a traditional sweet from Ningbo very popular durinh Spring Festival.

The final dish with seedless grapes was complimentary.

The check

I spent 389 RMB (around 54 USD) for a big dinner. Of course, this kind of Chinese restaurant is best experienced in a group that can order several main dishes. The yellow croaker, for example, could have been split between two people. Of course you could easily spend more if you start to order more expensive seafood.

I must say that all the staff was very professional and friendly and willing to try to explain me things. It is a nice restaurant and if you are looking for something different in terms of Chinese dishes, it is a very good place where to go.

Where in Shanghai:
59 Maoming Road, 12th Floor Jin Jiang Hotel.

Dim Sum brunch at Imperial Treasure in Shanghai

Imperial Treasure is a chain of Chinese restaurants hailing from Singapore operating several formats: Fine Chinese Cuisine, Teochew Cuisine, Peking Duck, Shanghai Cuisine, Steamboat. The first restaurant specializing in Teochew Cuisine was established in 2004 in Singapore and the Shanghai restaurant that I visited was their first international location opened in 2012. It is a Cantonese restaurant and for some reason has two Michelin stars. They seem to do good business in Shanghai as they just opened another location using the Steamboat concept. You might encounter them also in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Incheon, and London.

The visit

I went for a brunch on a Saturday. I made a reservation on the phone. The restaurant is huge and occupies an entire floor of YiFeng Galleria near the Bund (across the street from the Peninsula Hotel).

At 11am the place was already packed. It must be their busiest time of the week. It is really a local favorite. For lunch they have a special dim sum menu, but also the standard menu with more delicacies is available.

I started with my bellwether dish for Cantonese restaurants: the crispy pork belly. It was exceptional! On par with Ji Ping Court, better than the one from Lei Garden (the skin was tender, but still super crispy) and juicer than the one I had at Canton 8.

I had their Teochew dumpling, that has a vegetarian filling. I had better ones in Hong Kong.

Their super classic pork dumpling siew mai was also ok, but nothing exceptional.

The fried wonton with shrimp meat were quite good.

The pan-fried carrot cake with Chinese sausage was also pretty ordinary.

Finally, I found excellent their black sesame glutinous dumplings wit grated peanut. The sesame paste filling was particularly tasty.

The check

Final check (also including a bottle of Evian water and a juice) went for 377 RMB (around 52 USD). The value is there, prices were quite reasonable and the setting was high class.

Do not get me wrong, the food was very good, but the two Michelin stars will remain a mystery to me (same with Canton 8… looks like in Shanghai they give you stars if you make a half decent dim sum).

Having visited all the Michelin-starred restaurants in Shanghai with a sizable dim sum menu, I will say that Seventh Son beats all for quality while Yi Long Court has the best luxury dim sum.

Where in Shanghai:
L402-403, Yi Feng Gallery, 99 Beijing Dong Lu.

Revisiting Da Dong at IAPM in Shanghai

You can read my extensive review of Da Dong at Reel. I enjoyed it so much that I did not mind coming back one more time to complete my Michelin Scramble in Shanghai. This time I went to the location in IAPM mall as it also has one star in the 2019 edition of the Shanghai Michelin Guide.

The visit

I had a reservation made by phone. Staff speaks some English. I have the impression that this location is less busy that the one at Reel.

This time I opted for a “normal’ duck. In my previous visit I had the baby duck. The difference in terms of size was noticeable. The regular duck allowed for two portions of nicely arranged meat, while the baby duck only for one. The baby duck was marginally more delicate. But also this one has the melt-in-your mouth effect that makes Da Dong’s Peking Duck special.