The Right Balance

Hamilton House: The Latest Addition to Bund Dining - By Rob, Nov 13, 07

In Shanghai, the category "Western Restaurant" provokes a conflicting range of feelings for me. While many places have come (and many more gone) there are few that meet the standards by which many of us remain loyal. Indeed, in my informal poll of friends, the consensus is that we have an overabundance of places that fail to deliver the quality of food, service and ambiance to match their often premium prices. With this in mind, I was skeptically anticipating my trip to the newly opened Hamilton House to experience the claimed great food, tight service and cool venue. The team behind the restaurant -- QianQian Wu, Shanghai socialite; Richard Xavia, ex-3 on the Bund GM; Philippe Leban, Michelin trained chef -- seemed to have the skills needed to deliver, but good on paper hasn't always translated into good in presence.

On the night of my visit, I was playing tour guide for a (very critical) friend visiting from London, and our visit to Hamilton House was meant to serve as an introduction to The Bund - or, rather, to the area just behind it. Our taxi stopped at one of the most dramatic intersections in Old Shanghai - Fuzhou Lu and Jiangxi Lu. Four 1930's-era Art Deco towers rise from the corners of the wide, circular street crossing, looking rather unlike contemporary Shanghai in both style and lack of people or traffic. Then over on the southeast corner, we saw the subdued light coming out of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the ground floor of the Hamilton House.

Upon entering, we found a French brasserie cast in the form of minimal, modern art deco with epically high and detailed ceilings. Lots of white on the walls and mosaic tiled floors with low lighting characterized the space throughout, and whimsical details like an eclectic arrangement of decorative objects overtop the bar added distinction. We were warmly greeted and seated by both the Hostess and the owner, Qian Qian. I quickly headed upstairs to the washroom and found a fun detail in a semi-one way mirror above the wash basin that let the bar staff see how long I spent fixing my hair.
Getting back to the table, we both found very polished service for what was the fourth day of operation, including staff making apologies in advance for what they -- or their first customers -- had already pointed out as short comings. For example, the menus, while simply designed had legibility issues in the subdued lighting to the point where the wine and drink lists were difficult to read. With some suggestions from Qian Qian we ordered drinks: a Manhattan for me and the spicy "Firewater" from the Signature Asian Cocktail selection for my friend. The Barman came over to inquire about my preference of Bourbon which was a nice touch given that this is something that can make-or-break a Manhattan. Cocktails arrived, we ordered our meals with some good guidance from our waitress. My friend -- having been forewarned that her drink was spicy -- was finding it a bit much and was happy when the Barman came back over to suggest a replacement, this time a well-received Shanghai Mule.

We had a few minutes to drink and talk before the delicious lots of food began arriving. I started with the French Onion Soup - something of a brasserie cliche/classic. The presentation was convincing and the beef broth deliciously flavored with sweet, slightly caramelized onions - crouton and cheese were both plentiful and delicious in flavor although not quite broiled as crisp as I would have liked. My companion selected the Foie Gras and within a matter of minutes was staring down at the largest serving of foie gras I have ever seen served as an entree. The hockey puck-sized, cut-from-the-lobe slice was prepared simply - salt cured with toast points and a pineapple salsa. While the Foie Gras itself was very enjoyable, the pairing of a relatively bland pineapple salsa didn't quite work and, in the end, it was just too much to finish. After finishing my soup and helping my Foie Gras-loving friend, we still only made it through half of the serving before having to move on to our mains.

Having drained our cocktails, we stopped for a minute to pick wines and not feeling like a whole bottle, we were happy to see over 10 by-the-glass options starting from their 30rmb red/white house wine to a 90rmb Shiraz. I opted for the solid Robert Skalli Cabernet (50rmb) and my friend - carrying on with her habit of ordering the most expensive item in each menu category - took the Shiraz. Both were good quality wines that were in excellent condition for being poured by-the-glass - something that has been problematic for other similarly placed restaurants I've been to.

My friend ordered the Steak Frites (230rmb) and I had the Duck Cooked 2-Ways (110rmb).

The Hamilton House

The Hamilton House is among several ongoing renovations of classic Bund area Art Deco buildings including the Peace Hotel and the Peninsula Hotel. Read more about Bund developments on the Puxi side in Maya's "Reintroducing the Bund" articles, here and here.

Both came in large portions that made us both sit back in our chairs and wonder how we were going to make it through our meals and still go out for drinks later. One bite into the steak had my friend praising its merits; it was grilled to a perfect tender, juicy medium and topped with just the right amount of herbed butter. I wasn't buying her "top three steaks of all time" claim until trying it myself agreeing that it's among the best I've had in Shanghai. The Frites were simple - oven roasted until slightly crispy and made of very fresh, very flavorful potato. While I would normally expect my frites fried, in this case we both agreed this was a great counterpoint to richness of the steak.

We focused back over to my duck - or half of a duck in this case. The leg was slow oven roasted with crisp skin and then topped with the braised, sliced breast served in something of an orange sauce/reduction and accompanied by a small poached eggplant. The meat was tender and juicy and the flavor of the sauce balanced well with the relatively strong taste of the duck. My only fault with the dish was that the skin side of the breast had been slightly more seared to crisp the skin and release some of the fat prior to the rest of the braising process. And all through this, I was enjoying our side dish of thin, tender Green Beans with Black Olive Tapenade (15rmb) that had a fresh, interesting flavor.

Then desert - the first was a twist on a brassiere classic, Coconut Creme Brulée and the second was a Caramelized Apple Torte with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. Both were very well prepared. The Creme Brulée had the required hard, crisp caramel top layer that broke with a sharp crack from the spoon to reveal a smooth consistent coconut creme underneath. The Torte had thick slices of apple, baked to a deep golden brown layered on a soft crust and topped by ice cream. I don't have the strongest taste for sweet things but these two dishes managed to draw me in with solid flavors and a balanced sugar level.

And so our dinner came to a very satisfied close. The food, service and environment were something far beyond what we both expected particularly when put in context of the total bill. With a kitchen that serves from lunch until late, late night and a bar/supper club feeling as the evening moves on, Hamilton House seems well suited to everything from business lunches to after work drinks to smart-casual-romantic dinners. And I'm looking forward to adding the Hamilton House onto my list of Shanghai standards.

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handoogies

Feb 13, 08

Hardly write reviews, but here it is: Having grew up on Peter Lugers, Keen's, Smith and Wolensky's, Morton's, and recent fav Wolfgang's, I thought I would have to pay for a round trip ticket to NYC to have a serious steak since moving to Shanghai. Months passed and have resorted to bbqing my own delmonicos on my patio with a charcoal grill, which is delicious but annoying when I want someone else to do the work. Long story short, the altered steak frites at HH is a great find. ALthough not broiled like I like em, they are good cuts cooked right with a flavorful herb butter layered on top. Overall worth it just for the steak.