Went here last Saturday with my aunt for dinner after eating that monstrosity of a bo lo bao (see below) and thought the food to be quite impressive overall. Paul Pairet, the French chef who opened this restaurant used to work for Jade 36, where according to my aunt, he had dishes that were on the molecular gastronomy-side of cooking. I suppose you could say that Mr. and Mrs. Bund is somewhat similar in that sense, but I didn't think it was so much molecular gastronomy rather than some playful deconstruction of classic French dishes.
Interior was interesting so I took a lot of pictures--reminded me a lot of an upscale Alice in Wonderland (thematically speaking), but that might not be too obvious from the pictures sadly (these chair were really tall btw--and that's not just because I am not tall).
House appetizers: Smoked salmon/tuna with crostini and bread basket.
Nice. Spread was light, mousse-like in density and had a smoky flavor overall. Went very well with the thinly cut crostini which was flavored with some sea salt (and I think pepper as well), which brought out the flavor of the spread. Both breads were quite good (you've got to give it to the French--they know their bread), but I must say that I liked the bread at Jean-Georges better for it's blistery crust over warm bread (getting nostalgic thinking about it).
Arugula truffle salad with Parmesan.
One of my aunt's favorite dishes at this restaurant especially since she just LOVES arugula. I found it too salty though--too much Parmesan. Also, the dressing was truffle-y and not really acidic so nothing really "broke" the flavor too much (don't know if this is the correct term to use).
Corn soup with vanilla and corn flakes.
I <3 corn flakes. Ask my college friends about how I eat them for dessert after almost every meal in the dining hall (with banana slices, peanut butter and Oreo pieces depending on my mood and their availability). But anyways--I thought this was a nice soup, which balanced out the slight sweetness of the corn with a subtle acidity (from sour cream probably). The corn flakes made the enjoyment of the soup much more interesting, through its addition of both crunch and corn flavor.
Foie gras mousse with aspic, toasted almonds and dried apricots (served with bread).
I really liked this interpretation of foie gras, and thought it enlightening to compare this with Jean-Georges' two foie gras dishes. Unlike the other two, this foie gras was light, as the addition of aspic and dried apricots cut the flavor prettily so you still got the foie gras flavor without its density (it's preparation as a blended, mousse-like spread helped a lot with this), and the almonds rounded up the nutty flavors and added some texture.
Extra large fry with mustard ice cream on the side.
I thought this to be a smart reinterpretation of European (i suppose French or Belgian) fries, which are normally served with some mustard/aioli on he side. Making the mustard into an ice cream was also a smart idea--it brought back memories of eating ice cream and French fries together. I just wish that the fry was not just one big one (and instead, many smaller and crispier ones, because the supersized version did not have much of the crispiness on the outside that I look for in my fries; to add, the inside was on the mushy side given that it was a large fry. Overall, smart but meh.
Potato gratin with Brie and prosciutto.
Dish was overall so-so but it sparked a long and enjoyable conversation that started with my question, "so, do you this qualifies as a deconstruction?" To answer the question... I would say that it was a reinterpretation instead of an actual deconstruction, because although it was a twist on potatoes gratin, it did not do what a good deconstruction is supposed to do--preserve the "soul" of the dish while modifying its methods of preparation. I felt this dish to be unremarkable, because although the potatoes were sliced so thinly and layered so well, it didn't matter too much, since they came together as one (I thought it was a waste of slicing). Also, there was little of the crispy textural element that I like in gratins, nor was there much creaminess or overall Brie and prosciutto flavor (since they were just on the top layer).
Duck confit stuffed with foie gras with mushrooms on the side.
SO EXTREMELY AMAZING. Yes I understand this is so bad for me (skin+foie gras combination), but it was just so goooood. Duck was juicy on the inside, crisp on the outside, with foie gras in between the skin and the meat--and when you put a piece in your mouth, the combination of foie gras that absolutely MELTS in your mouth with crisp skin...so delicious. Absolute perfection. I think I nearly teared up.
Long short ribs (beef) with mushrooms on the side.
Didn't like this dish too much and it was prepared wrong the first time it was sent to us (was well done, and correspondingly dry). Don't get me wrong--it was a good dish overall--the ribs were glazed with a wine reduction of some sort, and were tender the second time around. The beef marrow was served on the side drizzled with some truffle oil. What I disliked with this dish however was the marrow, which in some way ruined the dish for me, because it had a disgusting chemical, waxy taste--I'm pretty sure it wasn't the marrow itself, because it was served on the side with the mushrooms and some of the sauce and was delicious. But yes. I really don't know what was wrong with that marrow.
Tomato Consomme.
Free things are always nice right? Haha. Well this was free because our first ordered version of the long short ribs were too well done. I thought it was a nice, refreshing soup. It was a clear and cold soup that tasted exactly like tomato juice with some drops of oil that reminded me of the seeds on the inside of a tomato.
Strawberry Trifle.
Mmmm. Refreshing. My aunt ordered this for herself but I tried some of it. Nice twist on the traditional trifle which is normally a layered dessert of ladyfingers, cream and fruit. I liked how this dessert played around with different textural elements--there was cream and foam-cream (nice heavy-light contrast) the ladyfingers were replaced with crunchy, granola-like clusters, and the strawberries were slightly puréed and mixed in with some sugar.
Lemon Tart.
The true deconstruction of the night and extremely creative I thought. The skin of a lemon was candied and stuffed with some citrus fruit (passionfruit?) and rich lemony cream, and was served with a stick (the tart "crust") on the side. The cream was deliciously lemony in flavor, yet still rich, which complemented nicely with the sweet tartness of the lemon peel. Overall, it was conceptually intriguing dish that was executed so nicely and is probably my favorite dessert out of all of the ones I've eaten in Shanghai (and believe me, there were a lot).
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