During my recent trip to Shanghai, I had the priviledge of visiting the top French restaurant in Shanghai - Jean Georges. Located on No 3 on the Bund (next door to M on the Bund) walking into the restaurant I felt like I was walking back in time into the opulent Shanghai of the 1930s.

We went for Sunday brunch which meant that the place was not so busy as normal evenings. We had a table by the window, overlooking the Bund with a perfect view of the ultra-modern Pudong area (our jolt back into reality!) with the Pearl Oriental Tower looking ready to take-off anytime and the Jingmao Tower, all 88 floors of it which also houses the Pudong Hyatt Hotel.

Between the four of us, we had, from the menu of Chef De Cuisine Eric Johnson:

Appetizers
King Fish Sashimi, Spieced Tapioca and Asian Pear
Foie Gras Brule, Dried Sour Cherries, Candied Pistachio
Sea Scallops with Caper-Raisin Emulsion, Caramalised Cauliflower
Kunamoto Oysters with Sparkling Champagne Jelly
Crispy Crad Cake, Cucumber and Lime
Orange Dusted Tiger Prawnsm Artichokes and Aragula
Broiche French Toast, Caramelised Apple

Mains
Garoupa Briased with Citrus and Tumeric, Asparagus and Scallps
Red Snapper Crsuted with Nut and Seeds, Sweet and Sour Jus
Veal Tenderloin with Smoked Chili Glaze, Potato Noodle Gratin
Grilled Sirloin of Beef, Soy, Garlic and Coriander

Dessert Chef Jason Casey surprised is with an offering of 4 item tasting which comprised of:
Warm Chocolate Cake
De-constructed Pina Colada
Banana Tart with Toffee / Caramel cream
and another dessert which was like a souffle but I can't remember what it was.

Us ladies washed all this down with a bottle of Bollinger Champagne and a half bottle of red wine.

3 hours later, we managed to extract ourselves from the lovely surroundings of Jean Georges and the lovely company of Chef Jason Casey and continued the rest of our culinary journey in Shanghai.

Of course, as expected and seeing this is the only Jean Georges restaurant outside New York, the prices are steep. For dinner, expect to fork out USD120-150 per pax or do the smart thing we did, go for the Sunday brunch where you can still sample the food without burning such a big hole in your pocket!

To read more about the man behind this great restaurant, please visit his site at http://www.jean-georges.com/ (PS. It also has the recipe for the Warm Chocolate Cake!)

Other useful information (from http://www.smartshanghai.com/en/scripts/loc.php?loc=444&name=Jean%20Georges%20Shanghai)

Address:
4/F, 17 Guang Dong Rd, inside "3 on the Bund

Phone:
6321 7733

Hours:
Lunch: Mon-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm
Dinner: Mon-Sun 5.30pm-11:00pm
Bar: Mon-Sun 11.30am-1.00am

Cards:
American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Diners Club, JCB

Prices:
Dinner for two with wine from RMB1700

Nearby metro stations:
15 minutes walking distance south/east of HeNan Zhong Road, Metro#2

Venue Website:
www.on-the-bund.com

Review by SA

PADDINGTON HOUSE OF PANCAKES
142, 1st Floor, The Curve


For the pancake lover, this restaurant is about as
close to heaven as it gets. For starters, one needs to
allocate a fair amount of time to go through the menu,
as it is a fairly thick document requiring full focus
and concentration. You'll be overwhelmed by the choice
of savoury and sweet pancakes, each sounding more
mouth-watering than the last. The savoury pancakes are
named according to their countries of origin and the
sweet pancakes are just listed randomly and sinfully.

Service left rather a lot to be desired though, as
there seemed to be only 2 waiters, one of whom did not
seem to be in a very good mood. We had to wait quite a
while before someone appeared to take our order. I
ordered the Rome Pannekoek, TM ordered Grilled
Eggplant & Buckwheat Pancakes and CT ordered the
Honolulu Black Pepper Pannekoek. The Pannekoeks
consisted of a large thin pancake, liberally smothered
in mozarella cheese, olives, and sundried, plum and
cherry tomatoes, Generally, the Rome Pannekoek and
Honolulu Black Pepper Pannekoek were quite tasty and
very satisfying, albeit a little rich (there was LOTS
of mozarella!). The Grilled Eggplant & Buckwheat
Pancakes however turned out to be rather a
disappointment as the eggplant was so peppery that it
was really quite impossible to eat! The Buckwheat
Pancakes on their own were rather good though, but TM
gave up trying to eat it in a fit of sneezing and
turned her attention to the dessert menu within 10
minutes!

For dessert we shared a Treasure Box, comprising tiny
dollar size pancakes garnished with slices of
bananna, peaches, plum, strawberries and liberally
topped with nuts, raisins and almonds together with
vanilla ice cream. This was really quite delicious and
we concluded that really, the sweet pancakes were the
way to go from now on!