[Radar]: Jing'An

 

Area: Jing'An, the restaurant, is on the second floor of new hotel, The Puli. The hotel is again part of a larger complex -- Park Place -- that includes an office tower stocked with Fortune 500 types and a forthcoming retail center. The whole Park Place project is strung out between Yan'an Lu and Nanjing Xi Lu, on Changde Lu. The hotel is towards the Yan'an Lu end. You'd recognize The Puli by its duotone gray tile tower, bamboo-lined entrance, and general Zen aura.

If all that's too confusing, think of Jing'an Park. It's next to that.

What it is: Jing'an is a damn good restaurant. These Radar articles are supposed to be completely objective and withhold from passing judgement, but screw it. Jing'An is a really nice restaurant, and there's no pretending otherwise. Restaurants this ambitious and well-crafted don't open in Shanghai very often anymore.

It's also quite handsome.

Dane Clouston is the chef. Clouston made a mark in Hong Kong for, among other things, some unusual flavor combinations -- foie gras and chocolate, crab and butterscotch. But Dane is a really thoughtful guy and the flavor pairings stem from that, not a slapdash kind of fusion. The backbone of his cooking is well-grounded -- classical Euro roots. Basically, modern "Western" food, or contemporary Australian food, or whatever, done very well.

The Puli has taken a while to come to fruition and it's given Dane a lot of time to think about and refine what he wants to do. As he told me, he considers his cooking in Hong Kong more brash and adolescent, and now he's moved on to something more mature, less flashy. The foie gras with smoked chocolate is still on the menu, as is the crab/butterscotch combo, this time around as an ink-black ravioli filled with crab, sauced with the butterscotch. They're both fantastic, complex dishes. But there's also things that are quite simple on the surface -- a bite of perfectly tender octopus dressed with skordalia and black olive oil; seared scallops with an airy green pea puree, duck ham, and crayfish; slow-cooked Wagyu beef with splendid mushrooms and a dollop of butternut squash sorbet/puree -- whose strengths are in their flawless execution and meticulous attention to detail. It's really good stuff.

The terse menus don't hint at what's going on behind the scenes. Take the lunch menu. There's a burger. A hand-chopped, grass-fed Tasmanian beef burger, with foie gras, truffle, and Taleggio cheese, on a brioche bun. The "Experimental" section of the dinner menu has modest descriptions like Roast Chicken with Corn on the Cob, and Maple Roasted Duck Breast & Beetroot. Expect some surprises, I'd say.

Atmosphere: Minimalist, contemporary China. The whole hotel has the Wallpaper* vibe to it: grey brick, modern screens, artfully worn antiques here and there, a cluster of miniature stone lions on pillars guarding the hotel's entrance. The restaurant is dark woods, more carefully appointed antiques, white tablecloths, some reclaimed, repurposed hutong brick, flowers in oversized vases, tons of space, and plate-glass windows overlooking Jing'an Park. It's gorgeous.

Damage: A full dinner, which is Jing'An at its most serious and the way you'll probably want to try this place, is in the 800rmb area. Starters, dubbed "Choice of Tastes", range 120-180rmb; "Experimental" -- the mains -- starts at 180rmb; desserts, like a crunchy ginger meringue with green apple sorbet, or five-spice panna cotta with roasted pineapple, are 95rmb. Of course, there's water and wine and the opportunity to spend more (or less) accordingly. Lunch-time starters are 98rmb; lunch-time mains, including "The Real Thing" burger, are 180rmb on their own. If you just want to dabble before going all out on dinner, two- and three-course lunch sets at 188rmb and 220rmb, respectively, would probably be the way to do it. Just keep in mind that lunch is more conservative than dinner.

Who's Going: Jing'An is still a bit of a secret. There's been a slow but steady trickle of food people getting their sneak peeks in, but, until now, most of the trade has been people from the Park Place office tower coming for lunch. Once it gets going, it'll be the Issimo, Jean-Georges, and Mr & Mrs Bund crowd, with a taste for good food and some disposable income. I'm pretty sure I spied the owner of another boutique hotel checking the place out last week. It'd also be a fantastic place for an intimate date, particularly if you reserve one of the corner tables, like that one in the second picture. As it's still gearing up, it'd be nice to call ahead and let them know you're coming. They'll appreciate it.