Last week was Valentine’s Day, and Grace and I decided to celebrate with a nice dinner outside our home. Since Scott was born we hardly ever get out of the house anymore together, and it was only the second time since his birth that the two of us had dinner in a restaurant. We made reservations at Jade on 36, on the top floor of the new wing of the Shangri-La hotel, overlooking the Huangpu river and the Bund. We were not the only ones making a reservation and first we were told no tables were available before 9:30 PM. But they called us back and we managed to get a table at the window at 8:30 PM, but only after scanning and faxing a copy of our credit card (both sides) to the restaurant. I found this a bit ridiculous, but we had no choice if we wanted to secure a table.

The restaurant location is excellent for a romantic dinner, although the views were not as good as usual: because of all the winter problems in China over the past weeks the government had decided that energy had to be saved in Shanghai as well, and all lights on the Bund were still turned off. The same measure that they also take in summer when temperatures are above 37 degrees. The winter problems are over already, however, but the government probably forgot to give instructions to turn the lights on again. Anyway, the view was still nice and it made the ongoing Chinese New Year fireworks over the city even better.

The evening was wonderful. The food was amazing, the chef had done an excellent job in designing the Valentine’s menu. A few of the culinary highlights: The dinner started with a dish called I Love Me, which was a strawberry that had been injected with cola, covered with truffels and parmesan cheese and served on a small hand mirror with chocolate around it. After you ate it you saw yourself in the mirror, hence the name. The next dish was a combination of 3 kinds of foie gras (amazingly put together, see below here for a picture of the dish), followed by a Boston Lobster with liquorice caramel and lime. The next two main dishes consisted of a Lotus Turbot followed by a lamb cutlet with truffel. Then the desserts started, first a chocolate brulee, then a ‘flower’ dish (see picture) and the last dish… I forgot… I ended the evening with a double espresso.
I was impressed not only about the unusual combination of ingredients, but also by the creativity that was put into the dishes. Absolutely top! Chef Paul Pairet is amazing, and the combinations he dares to make are excellent. His innovative style is called Avant-Garde cuisine, and I love it! See for a description of his creations and dishes in the current menu here (pdf). Of course the total dinner was not cheap, but the location and the creative and innovative dishes make the experience totally worth the price. If you live in Shanghai and have never been here, give it a try as soon as you can. Of course this is the same if you just visit Shanghai, and do not want to have Chinese cuisine every night, or want to have food that you won’t easily find outside China either. Bon Appetit or Man Man Chi!