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Stiller's

The school of fine dining at the Cool Docks on the South Bund - By Hien, Oct 28, 08

The Cool Docks, if you haven't heard, has been steadily gaining steam over the past six months, with new shops, clubs, and restaurants moving in and throwing open their doors in grand Shanghai fashion.

It's in an unlikely location, and it's not surprising if even long-time Shanghai residents have never even been to the area. It situated near the south end of the Huangpu River, close to the Fuxing Tunnel, and the "Bund" that your thinking about in your head is a good cab ride away. As of this writing, The Cool Docks houses a mixed bag of businesses: of recent note is Shanghai Tattoo, one of the city's more famous tattoo parlors, D2 (or Deep 2), a new (proper?) gay club, and Kebabs on the Grill, which do ... kebabs on the grille. We've also heard mild rumblings about Spring Sunrise Bar and Grill -- the area's sports bar.

But it was Stiller's that finally got us all the way out there, and we were anticipating good things from Shanghai's latest (only?) upscale German restaurant -- coming to our palates as it does, courtesy of one of the city's more well-known chefs, Stefan Stiller.

The dining space is large and open, and the view from the terrace, although not spectacular, is something different from the Bund and good if you're bored with that. It's a fresh vantage point, and on the whole the space is simple, but inviting.

Simple and inviting was a good way to describe the menu as well. Starters are divided into "Hot" and "Cold" sections and are variously priced according to the meats utilized in their concoction. Mains are divided into Fish/Seafood and Meats, but we headed right for the "Degusation menu," which is set meal of several courses taking you from appetizers to desserts.

It seems like the thing to do, and if you’re only here every so often you might as well go big.

The "Degustation Menu" (a "menu du degustation" is a "tasting" menu), comes in three levels of quantity: 699rmb (with a lobster dish and a turbot dish); 599rmb (with just the turbot); 398rmb (without the lobster or the turbot).

I opted for just the 398rmb and am glad I did because it was more than enough, especially with all the other extras -- a huge bread basket, among other perks -- that were dutifully ferried to our table in between courses.

As for my impressions, I'm in complete agreement with the following sentiments from a user review: "The portions were surprising large, the dishes kept on coming, and everything was spot on. Service was also great, and it's nice seeing Stiller and his wife monitoring and making sure everyone is having a great time."

Also, as the sub-title for this review suggests. They've also got cooking classes as well. Check the restaurant webpage for more details.

As for the Cool Docks? Its still filling out but could be a city landmark come Expo time. Right now, it's a bit hard to access due to various ongoing construction projects. Avoid coming from the Bund. Come by Fuxing Lu and its on the left side just 360 meters along Zhongshan Lu.

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