[Shanghai Restaurant Week] Maison Pourcel
Maison Pourcel | maisonpourcel.com | Dianping
Address: 陕西南路35号8楼(近长乐路) – 8F, 35 Shanxi South Rd near Changle Rd (卢湾区 Luwan District)
Date visited: 2013.09 Restaurant Week
Total bill: ~$1,400 for 4 people (RMB¥248 prix fixe menu per person + wine)
Will return: When I get rich or if someone wants to bankroll me
Restaurant week has descended upon Shanghai, bringing with it the usual online reservation frenzy. Restaurant Week gives commoners a chance to fine dine a set course lunch or dinner for RMB¥118 and RMB¥248 respectively. A high ROI for a restaurant of this caliber. Worth it for Restaurant Week price? Definitely. As for a return visit to dine with the regular menu? Will have to wait to win the lotto or get bankrolled.
The Restaurant Week menu at Maison Pourcel features three courses and two options to choose from in each course. Mister and I were got everything on the menu and shared. Geniuses, I know.
(Yes, they were fresh roses.)
Wine (RMB¥400-something per bottle)
The bread came handy later on. Just wait.
Amuse-bouche
Making the names up myself (L-R): watermelon capsule, smoked salmon pillow, and liquid truffle mozzarella cheese with pesto sauce.
The mozzarella was actually in liquid form contained in a soft pouch. Pleasant supplies.
Course 1.1: Lobster carpaccio, pear and Sichuan pepper tartar, strawberry gazpacho
Looks like a lobster bisque, doesn’t it? Except it was light and fruity gazpacho.
Course 1.2: Foie gras terrine, kumquat compote, lemon and soy condiment, mustard seeds, muscat gelly
Foie gras on the menu was what lured me in here for Restaurant Week. And man did I land in foie gas heaven (or is it hell for eating this). I usually treat foie gras really delicately because I never get enough but there was so much foie gras that I was just slabbing chunks of it on the bread from earlier.
Course 2.1: Grilled M3 beef fillet, bone marrow custard, roasted garlic gnocchi, cèpes sand, spinach, foie gras sauce
8 out of 10 times in Shanghai when I ask for a medium rare filet, it comes out cooked most of the way and I just want to flip the table. Finally, a rare fillet when I ask for one.
The spinach puree didn’t have great flavor but the foie gras sauce was superb with the fillet. I liked the gnocchi a lot as well–very potato-y. The mister didn’t like the bone marrow custard but I did. All for me.
Course 2.2: Sea bass cooked in Gewurztraminer, burn carrot puree, green peas “à la Francaise,” artichoke and litchi
The fish itself was ordinary but the sauces were the main event.
Like the mozzarella amuse-bouche, the lychee was not an actual lychee but a liquid in a soft pouch. Pretty cool.
Les mignardises (petite sweets)
L-R: chocolate and original madeleine cookies, marshmallow, apple gummy, and raspberry macaron. Was not a fan of the two mini diabetes in the middle. The chocolate madeleine was the best.
Course 3.1: Chocolate feuillantine, lemon curd, mint gel, liquorice essence
Chocolate, yes please. A touch of avocado cream sounds weird but delicious in practice. Liked very much.
Course 3.2: Lemongrass chibouste, caramelized apricot, basil sherbet, basil crumbs
The chibouste was quite solid when we got it and needed more time to be brought back to room temperature after being stored in the cold. The chocolate plate was far better than this. The flavors of this plate just didn’t quite match my palate.
[…] Week is 2 for 2 for good steaks (with the other at Maison Pourcel). This was the second steak that I ordered this week that was actually cooked medium rare with the […]