Archive for the ‘restaurant’ Category
[FERRANDI] …and the FAQ is out!
After receiving many messages and emails regarding the Intensive Professional Program in French Pastry at ESCF-Ferrandi, I decided to put together this FAQ. Click here for the full list of questions and answers!
[PARIS] Brunch at Coutume Cafe
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Coutume Cafe
Add: 47 Rue de Babylone 75007 Paris
Tel: 01 45 51 50 47
Hours: [Tue-Fri] 8am~7pm [Sat-Sun] 10am~7pm (closed on Mon)
Website: www.coutumecafe.com
Price: [brunch] €25~30 [coffee] €2~5
Visited on: 2012-10
Happy with my cup of latte at Coutume Cafe during my first visit, I soon went back to try their brunch.
Brunch menu at Coutume Cafe changes monthly, and for October there are three choices ranging from €25~30 per set. A friend and I shared Brunch Les Ogres de Coutume (€30), which includes: French-style scrambled eggs, baked potato with chopped hazelnut and chives, bacon, sausage, assortment of three mini viennoiseries with house-made rhubarb vanilla bourbon jam, fresh juice, toasts, and a hot drink (tea, coffee, or hot chocolate). Oh yes, it was enough to feed the two of us.
French-style scrambled eggs, soft and fluffy.
Baked potato with chopped hazelnut and chives.
[PARIS] Rose Bakery
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Rose Bakery
Add: 30 rue Debelleyme 75003 Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 49 96 54 01
Hours: 9am~7pm (closed on Mon)
Price: [drinks] €2.50~6.50 [desserts] €3.50~6.50 [plates] €11.00~18.00
Visited on: 2012-08
After lunch at Breizh Cafe, we wandered around the neighborhood of La Marais (which is très mignon, by the way) before stopping by Rose Bakery, a boutique bakery started by a British woman named Rose Carranini and her French husband. Her aim, I heard, was to “to dissolve the distinction between home and restaurant cooking”. Rumor has it that Rose Bakery offers some truly wonderful organic salads and sandwiches, but we were so full at the moment that we only had room for…desserts :)
Boxes of colourful fresh produce stacked all over the place.
[SHANGHAI] Tang Gong 唐宫
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Tang Gong 唐宫
Add: 1/F, 103 Dong Zhu’anbang Lu, near Jiangsu Lu 东诸安浜路103号维景酒店公寓1-2楼, 近江苏路
Tel: 6251 6148
Hours: 7:30am-10:00pm
Price: 50~80 RMB/person
Knowing that I won’t be able to get any good dim sum in Paris (not at this price, at least), I went for a dim sum brunch at Tang Gong right before my departure. Cha siu sou, shrimp dumplings, roasted pigeons, turnip cakes, egg tarts, cha siu buns, chicken feet, stir-fried noodles with beef…The best part? We stuffed our faces, yet the bill came out to be less than 60 RMB per person!
[SHANGHAI] Madison, Reopened!
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Madison
Add: 3 Fenyang Lu, near Huaihai Lu / 汾陽路3號，近淮海路
Tel: 6437 0136
Hours: [daily] 6:00pm~10:30pm, [Sat-Sun brunch] 12:00pm~3:00pm
Price: [dinner] 300 RMB, [brunch] 100~150 RMB
Visited on: 2012-08
…And it’s back! After a few months of hibernation, Madison – one of my favorite places for brunch in Shanghai – soft-opened its new Fenyang Lu location just this past week. Poached egg with pig trotter croquette, stuffed brioche French toast, refried potato pancake sticks…I have missed you!
The new Madison is divided into two parts: part one is the original Madison concept, while part two “Madi’s” is a more casual gastro-lounge at a lower price point, and is also where brunch is served. Our table wasn’t ready when we arrived at the restaurant, so we commenced our midday drinking at the bar. Here’s a Madison Mimosa (55 RMB) made with bubble, orange juice, and ginger orange sorbet.
Madison is currently using the old brunch menu, but rumor has it that they will be introducing some new items starting next weekend. Here are some old favorites, many of them I’ve described here so will just present you the pictures this time: refried potato pancake sticks (30 RMB).
Poached eggs with pig trotter croquette, housemade English muffin, xo hollandaise (48 RMB).
[SHANGHAI] Rui Fu Yuan 瑞福園
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Rui Fu Yuan 瑞福園
Add: 132 Maoming Nan Lu, near Fuxing Zhong Lu 茂名南路132号乙, 近复兴中路
Tel: 6445 8999
Hours: 11am~2pm, 5~10pm
Price: approx. 100 RMB/person
Visited on: 2012-08
I figure I should at least have one full-on Shanghainese meal before my departure for Paris, and decided to have the feast at Rui Fu Yuan 瑞福園. Unfortunately the must-order “大黃魚棒打小餛飩湯 yellow croaker soup with pork wontons” was already out by the time we got there, so be sure you either go early or reserve the popular dishes ahead of time. Here’s everything we ordered, all done quite well! Starting with this 黃瓜熗海蜇 marinated cucumber with jelly fish (39 RMB).
白切肚頭 boiled pork stomach (38 RMB).
弄堂烤菜 roasted vegetable (15 RMB).
本幫醬鴨 stewed duck in soy sauce (28 RMB)
[SHANGHAI] Dinner at Jean Georges, Chefs’ Treat
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Jean Georges
Add: 4/F, Three on the Bund, 17 Guangdong Lu, near Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu
. 广东路17号, 外滩三号4楼, 近中山东一路
Tel: 6321 7733
Hours: [lunch] 11:30am~2:30pm [dinner] 6:00pm~11:00pm
Website: www.threeonthebund.com
Price: [lunch] 218 RMB+ 10% [dinner] 668~1458 RMB + 10%
Visited on: 2012-08
At the end of my internship at Jean George’s pastry kitchen, Executive Chef Lam Ming Kin and Pastry Chef Seani Lin very kindly treated me to an extravagant meal at the restaurant. Now am I lucky, or am I lucky?
Kin put together a special tasting menu for me and my dinner companions that evening. It looked similar to the Seasonal Menu (1458 RMB + 10%), but a few dishes have been substituted.
It all started with a glass of Perrier-Jouët…
[SHANGHAI] Pulau Ketam
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Pulau Ketam
Add: Xintiandi S. Block, Lane 123, 2-3 Xingye Lu, near Madang Lu
新天地, 兴业路123弄2-3号, 近马当路
Tel: 5306 3706
Hours: 11:30am~2pm, 5:30~10:30pm
Price: 400 RMB+/person
Visited on: 2012-07
Please note that this is an arranged tasting.
The folks behind Haiku by Hatsune and Kagen Teppanyaki recently opened Pulau Ketam, an upscale Singaporean/Malaysian crab house with a menu that focuses on – you guessed it – crabs. I’m not so familiar with this cuisine and was quite eager to try…but first, a chilled towel and a welcome drink at the door to cool down the summer heat.
We started the meal on a light note with an Organic Mixed Green Salad (138 RMB), a lush heap dressed in sweet orange vinaigrette and punctuated with crunchy candied walnuts. Crisp and refreshing.
Aubergine Tempura with Pork Floss (108 RMB), julienned aubergines fried to a golden crisp, then topped with sweet and savory pork tendon floss.
[SHANGHAI] Ishimi 石見
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Ishimi 石見
Add: 991 Beijing Lu, near Nanhui Lu / 北京路991号, 近南汇路
Tel: 6217 9872
Hours: [lunch] 10:30am~2pm [dinner] 7:30~10:30pm
Price: 200~250 RMB/person
Visited on: 2012-08
A discreet little Japanese restaurant on Beijing Xi Lu with friendly service and simple, authentic dishes. The menu is only in Japanese, so ask the waitresses for recommendations if you need, or take a look at what we ordered below and try describing the dishes to them – they should know what you are talking about!
Appetizer, okra with some kind of crunchy slimy vegetable (a type of seaweed?) bathed in vinegar sauce. Very tasty and totally woke up our palates.
牛肉と水菜サラダ (60 RMB), beef & mizuna salad in sesame sauce.
鰹たたき (85 RMB), katsuo tataki – lightly torched skipjack tuna with garlic and chopped scallions in vinegar sauce.
[SHANGHAI] VUE at Hyatt on the Bund
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VUE Restaurant & Bar
Add: Hyatt on the Bund, 30/F, 199 Huangpu Lu, near Wuchang Lu 黄浦路199号, 外滩茂悦大酒店30楼, 近武昌路
Tel: 6393 1234
Hours: 6~11pm
Website: www.shanghai.bund.hyatt.com
Price: [dinner] 450+ RMB + 15%/person
Visited on: 2012-08
Please note that this is an arranged tasting.
There’s nothing mind-blowingly inventive about the dishes at VUE at Hyatt on the Bund, but old time favorites like Caesar salad, lobster bisque, sirloin steak, and crepe suzette are done very, very well. The cherry on top? A ridiculous view of the Bund and the Lujiazui financial district.
