I LOVE...awesome...AWESOME MIND-BLOWING ORGASMIC....SEX!!!!!!!! [cough.] I mean...food.

Yesterday's dinner...fried fois grois, duck liver carpaccio + crayfish and mushorooms, roasted scallops, suckling pig, the Wagu beef fillet...(mouth's watering now...), the hot chocolate, vanilla souffle and green tea parfait.

If you like duck liver...you'll love the carpaccio. Amazing, just seems to melt in your mouth. Add a bite of crayfish and you've got heaven in an appetizer.

Scallops, I'm not a fan of scallops so this dish was just ok. Yup, not good, not bad just ok- sorry scallop lovers! The sugar on the bread tasted funny with the scallops, although the rhubarb was enjoyable.

Suckling pig: I'm not a big fan of pork. But the pig was fairly juicy, flavorful though it would've been nice if I could've gotten a bite off that skin...

The Wagu Beef...
Wow.... perfect, medium rare, tender succulent piece of cow. Loved the pan-fried duck liver and bone marrow, amazing. Extremely rich but hey, who's complaining. Loved the prep for it, manager came to cut open the...I don't even know how to explain it, took the beef out, laid on top of the duck liver (sorry to say was a meager portion- but I already satisfied my cravings for it in the carpaccio- no biggie) and prepped the bone-marrow which slipped nicely on top. Heart-attack waiting to happen right there. But then you could just die happy after shoveling this dish down your throat.

Sweets...
Well, can't say what they brought out, palate cleanser and a tease? It seemed like a platter tree of chocolates, macaroons and frozen...citrusy icy covered in chocolate.

Anyway, "hot chocolate" was more of a molten lava cake, with dark bitter chocolate. Wow, I'm a chocolate lover and that was a piece of heaven. "vanilla souffle" was too sweet for me, but tasted kind of like an egg tart and bread pudding mixed together. "green tea parfait" Unless you like macha green tea, stay away, it was decent, loved the chocolate encasings, dark chocolate :]

2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 3 desserts was more than enough for three people, then again maybe the richness of the food filled us all up.

The fine dining experience really is about the service - to me anyway. Food quality should be top-notch, but service, especially in China, it's hard to find good service even in Shanghai.

Our server was Edison. Nice guy, not a native (Shanghainese), but has a great grasp of English, soft spoken and has been with Maison Pourcel since the beginning of the year. He's ACTUALLY tried all the food which is saying a lot since most servers I've interrogated are completely unable to recommend anything because they've never tasted any of the meals served.

BTW I loved their bathroom. Huge room, with a HUUUUUUUUUGE mirror. Wish I had a mirror like that.

Loved this place. I'll be back when I lose the 5 pounds I've just added to my waistline.

Three people in my office have birthdays in the same week, and my boss gave me an allowance to take out the staff to a place of my choosing to celebrate on the company's dime. I have been wanting to try out Maison Pourcel for a long time, and used this opportunity to do so (thanks, boss!). I had a great time, as did the birthday folks. Everything was great, right down to the bread they gave us before dinner. I did my best not to fill up on that before our meals arrived (sorry Dad, I still don't understand how they 'get you' with free bread). They kept it coming though, and it even went well with my meal, which arrived promptly and as-ordered. Can't wait til next year!

Went to 6 floor for lunch. Service was so-so. The head waiter was especially clumsy (+ she was reprimanding staffs - who didn't seem to have done anything wrong - in front of use).
For the rest it was closed to perfect. Both first and second dishes. We didn't go for deserts because we were quite full but next time we will definitely try because the small chocolate mousse which came with the capuccino was yummy.
Bill was very very low. 250 kuai each for 2 courses + coffe + sparking water.
Overall really good! I don't know for the 8 floor which seems to have quite harsh critism but 6 floor for lunch is definitely a very good deal!