Archive for the ‘pourcel twins’ tag
[SHANGHAI] Maison Pourcel [2]
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Maison Pourcel
Address: 8/F, 35 Shanxi Nan Lu, near Changle Lu / 陕西南路35号8楼, 近长乐路
Tel: 6215 8777
Hours: [La Table] 5:30-10:30pm, [Studio Bar] 11:30am-11:00pm
Website: www.maisonpourcel.com
Price: [La Table] 700 RMB+/person, [Studio Bar] 300 RMB/person
Please note that this is an arranged tasting, so my experience is possibly more positive than a regular visit.
I had the pleasure of dining at Maison Pourcel again for a special olive oil-themed tasting menu. Since I already blogged about this restaurant last time, I will skip the intro and go straight to the food. For more information and pictures on the restaurant, please refer to my previous post.
Maison Pourcel
Maison Pourcel has a special themed-menu each month, and for June, the focus is on olive oil. Executive Chef Christophe Lerouy weaves in a different olive oil for each dish, desserts included. The whole menu is 8 courses long (1198RMB/person, see full menu here) and would take hours to finish, so the chef kindly picked out four of the dishes for us to sample.
Elegant table setting
Like last time, the meal started with a few plates of amuse bouche – fried foie gras with herb mustard cream, smoked salmon on a cake-like bread, and a savory pastry.
Fried Foie Gras with Herb Mustard Cream
Smoked Salmon, Mustard, Cake
I wasn’t too impressed with the breads at Maison Pourcel on my last visit, but the one I tried this time was excellent. It was a slightly sweetened bread punctuated with bits of orange peel, delicious without the accompanying Philippe Olivier butter.
Citrus bread
Next came the amuse bouche from the themed menu, Potato Espuma and its Sherbet with Thyme, dotted with a few drops of Desert Miracle olive oil from Morocco. The soup, prepared by aerating potato puree and fresh cream with a cream gun, was smooth and fluffy. Yes, the soup was fluffy. Potato sherbet was also something new for me – it was sweet but had a subtle potato flavor, which may sound weird but it somehow worked. This dish was a contrast of hot and cold, sweet and savory, a play on texture, temperature, and flavor very typical of the cuisine at Maison Pourcel. This shabby picture really does not do justice to this fantastic dish.
Potato Espuma and its Sherbet with Thyme
Olive oil: Desert Miracle, Morocco
Next came the appetizer, a beautiful plate of Jelly Cannelloni with Slightly Smoked and Spiced Tuna, Olive Oil Aioli, drizzled with Tree of Life olive oil from Australia. The presentation was absolutely gorgeous. Three small mounds of caviar elegantly perched atop a thin layer of delicate, translucent jelly cannelloni enveloping a smoked tuna and mango salad, then encircled by dots of garlic cream. Flavor-wise, it was also a wonderfully orchestrated dish though a bit too sweet for my palate.
Jelly Cannelloni with Slightly Smoked and Spiced Tuna, Olive Oil Aioli
Olive oil: Tree of Life, Australia
[SHANGHAI] Maison Pourcel
Like my FACEBOOK PAGE or follow me on TWITTER / 微博!
Maison Pourcel
Address: 8/F, 35 Shanxi Nan Lu, near Changle Lu / 陕西南路35号8楼, 近长乐路
Tel: 6215 8777
Hours: [La Table] 5:30-10:30pm, [Studio Bar] 11:30am-11:00pm
Website: www.maisonpourcel.com
Price: [La Table] 700 RMB+/person, [Studio Bar] 300 RMB/person
Please note that this is an arranged tasting, so my experience is possibly more positive than a regular visit.
Jacques and Laurent Pourcel’s newest venture, Maison Pourcel, is a sleek, starkly elegant restaurant with spectacular vista of the French Concession area in Shanghai. The setting is luxurious, the service is smooth, but there is one major problem with this place, and that is deciding what to eat. When faced with a choice between “compressed lobster and vegetable terrine with duck ham and mango” and “duck liver and cepes ravioli with puree of baby pumpkin and foamy porcini mushroom soup”, ordering can take a very, very long time.
Jacques & Laurent Pourcel greet guests with a whimsical video on the 8th floor of Maison Pourcel
But before I get started on the food, let’s talk about the twins and their newest venue choice. After launching the 3 Michelin starred Le Jardin des Sens back in France at the age of 24, the Pourcel twins have since expanded their culinary empire to Bangkok, Tokyo, Casablanca, Geneva, Marrakech, Algiers and Dubai. For the recent opening in Shanghai, they chose the historical Red House, which was home to the most celebrated Western restaurant back in the 1930s. The refurbished dining room is posh, elegant, delightful during the day with ample natural light, and equally charming after dark with sparkling French Concession as its backdrop.
Maison Pourcel in day light
Maison Pourcel in day light
Maison Pourcel
Christofle silverware, naturally
Maison Pourcel as the sun sets
Maison Pourcel as the sun sets
