My old friend Jean Georges

It was a cold and rainy evening in early March, winter was still in the air in Shanghai. I put on my iPod earphones to keep my ears warm and headed out to the Bund at near freezing temperatures. Ten minutes of brisk walking later, I was standing in front of Three On The Bund.

The last time I had dined here was at least three years ago, also on a rainy night like this, sitting by the window of the cozy bar at Jean Georges, watching the lightning show brighten up the stormy Shanghai skyline. And the time before that was during my dad's birthday dinner celebration back in 2006.

Even though Jean Georges has changed much over the last few years, the restaurant has still retained a refined and cosy atmosphere that was rife with French sophistication. But gone were the beautiful ladies working the bar section in cheong sams, who, only a few years back, set the standard for sullty sex appeal on the Bund strip. Alas, there were only three waiters serving the room tonight, and only 3 tables taken up. Must be a slow Saturday night for this venerable institution of French culinary excellence.  The fine dining room appeared to be buzzing with activity, but I was here for some quiet reminiscing and nostalgia, so I picked the same table I had sat in three years ago and ordered a cocktail.

The prix fixe menu looked attractive at 250RMB, so I settled for that and selected my courses. Service seemed a bit slow that night, but I was in no hurry to leave. The waiter kept offering me their warm raisin bread, which was delightful. My first course finally arrived after a long wait - Wild Mushroom Soup, Parmesan, Chili and Thyme. The mushroom broth was full flavored, very tasty and the thyme was a nice herby contrast to the parmesan, and the chili slices added a bit of kick to the clear soup. Next up, I had the Slowly Cooked Salmon, Red Cabbage, Parsnips and Horseradish. Salmon always tasted wonderful when they're competently cooked - juicy, flaky and with a rich unique buttery flavor. The red cabbage was sweet and tart, while the parsnips was a little crunchy and contrasted well with the other ingredients, and created a very well balanced taste. For dessert, I picked the JG chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. This was their signature dessert that have been winning rave reviews over the past few years. I was heartened to find out that this was still the best chocolate cake in this part of Shanghai. A lot of restaurants try their hand at creating this dessert, but few can get the serving temperature perfect, and the chocolate cake texture to a consistency close to pudding, yet still remaining a cake.

While Jean Georges still serves up classy, delectable French cuisine, the restaurant is starting to show its age in the worn out armchairs, frayed curtains and as well as some of the fixtures around the room. The dimly lit bar still retains a Parisian air of sophistication and dignity, but perhaps it's time to kick off a complete makeover to compete with the new kids on the block like Mr& Mrs Bund. Nonetheless, Jean Georges never disappoints when it comes to excellent French cuisine.

Jean Georges is located at Three On The Bund, 4/F, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, Shanghai.

Tel: +86-6321-7733

Jean Georges For My Birthday - A Real Treat!

It's not very often that one can find a good reason to spend good money on haute cuisine (French, no less), but my mom decided buy me a birthday dinner this week. She requested for French, and I couldn't think of a better place for that than Jean Georges (on the 4th floor of Three On The Bund), the Shanghai offshoot of the famed Parisian namesake restaurant by the esteemed Jean Georges Vongerichten.

Coincidentally, we had a birthday dinner celebration at the same restaurant several years ago for Debra and myself. I still remember the wonderfully rich chocolate birthday cake we shared that night. And those dreaded work calls that kept interrupting our dinner. I decided I'll have none of that this time with my folks, so the phone stayed off throughout the evening (I wised up as I get older, one of the few benefits of aging).

For those in the know, Jean Georges is a mecca for some of the finest modern French cuisine available anywhere, and to have a location in Shanghai says a lot about the burgeoning fine dining scene over in China. If my memory serves me well, I remember JG's dishes typically leaned towards the slightly heavier, more traditional French style, but this time around it was much lighter, with more local ingredients thrown into the mix and a more delicate balance of modern flavor. Could have been the Sens & Bund influence down the street. That's yet another fantastic nouveau French eatery opened by the twins Jacques and Laurent Pourcel, the youngest chefs to be awarded three Michelin stars for their Montpellier restaurant, Le Jardin des Sens in. Touche, JG.

Anyway, I loved the food. I don't, however, feel like dissecting and analyzing this meal into its various components because what counts most during a JG meal is the experience in itself - from the excellent service by the local staff to the minute attention at every course to the deftly executed food presentations and finally, the taste that seals the deal. But I must mention the dessert sampler, which came in two variations - chocolate and passionfruit. The chocolate sampler presented itself with four variations of chocolate desserts, which included a mousse, ice cream and cake. The passionfruit sampler was the citrus equivalent with four desserts utilizing passionfruit as the main seasonal ingredient. Needless to say, we had eight desserts to sample between the three of us. That's what I call a real treat!