Who would have thought that a restaurant called simply the Dining Room would be able to provide such a wonderful, sublime eating experience for me tonight? The fact that it was the second highest restaurant in the world didn't even cross my mind until I was seated by the window. Looking down 85 floors below, I could see the whole city beneath my feet. But I digress; the restaurant built it's reputation on serving one of the most exquisite meals in Shanghai and my expectations were high tonight.
A meal at the Dining Room is no trivial affair, and by Shanghai standards, prices are high in the stratosphere. But I also wanted to try as many of their signature dishes as possible, so it seemed the seasonal degustation menu was the obvious choice for the night.
The dinner started with the restaurant's signature flower crab salad with tri-color cherry tomatoes, rocket leaves and fava beans. Everything about the dish was outstanding, every ingredient was fresh and delicious. The first course whetted my appetite, and so I had high expectations for the next dish.
Out came the foie gras done two ways, one piece seared and topped with apricot and lavender glaze, the other served as a terrine with lavender jelly and vanilla apricot topping. This second course surpassed the first by a long stretch, and I was in foie gras heaven! The use of lavender was something refreshing, fragrant with a hint of bitterness, contrasting very well with the citrus flavor of the apricot.
The third dish consisted of another one of my favorite ingredients - roasted black cod, and this dish was served with diced octopus and basil mashed potato. The cod was perfectly cooked, I loved the tenderness of the octopus pieces but the basil flavor of the mashed potato won me over.
The next dish was pan seared beef tenderloin served with sour cream and chives over potato dauphine. The beef was definitely of a much higher grade than those served in the local restaurants. I was curious and enquired with the waiter, who informed me that the hotel had a special arrangement with a private Japanese-run boutique ranch in Australia's Ranger Valley to supply their meats. What a brilliant move.
By the end of this course, I was hoping dessert would be something light, but I was shocked when the waiter brought a football sized chocolate ball to my table. Seeing the look of utter disbelief written on my face, he assured me that the dessert was not as big as it looked. As the hot chocolate sauce was poured over the chocolate ball, it crumbled and melted before my eyes to reveal a tiny chocolate cake at the center of the plate. The hot chocolate sauce blended well with the melted chocolate ball, creating a two-toned medley of chocolate sauces around the cake. The cake alone would have been a delight - chocolate mousse on top, chocolate ice cream at the bottom, but paired with the sauce, absolutely brilliant!
Tonight's dinner at the Dining Room certainly was out of this world, and with a glass of Malbec, it set me back about 950RMB. Sky high prices for a sky high restaurant, but it was worth every penny for the experience.
The Dining Room is located inside the Park Hyatt Shanghai Hotel, in Pudong Shanghai.
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