With a name like Milk Garden, you leave some room to impress. Let us say up front that this newbie is definitely worth a visit – just hear us out before you try to Google Earth the place, which is literally still off the map. Tucked behind a wall of bushes beyond the cluster of Yingfeng Building eateries, Milk Garden caters to those adventurous chi huo – or foodies – who are willing to persist in the search.
Once you manage to locate the restaurant’s name in white, cursive letters shining brightly above an outdoor patio, venture inside to find a candlelit room draped in European decor and the unavoidable swank of an upscale KTV. Private rooms are available with plush sofas and televisions – there is no karaoke, just to clarify, but the main dining area or spacious outdoor patio are more inviting for a meal.
If the interior design exceeded our expectations, it was no comparison to the food itself. One bite of the light, savory swirls of elysee seafood cream soup with black truffle (RMB48) and we wondered how such an excellent chef could have made his way to such a secluded locale. Only after the plate was licked spotless was it time for the next recommended dish: mango crab roe and shrimp salad (RMB68), an artistic arrangement cradled in an orange peel and topped with red caviar – a must order. For your main dish, consider the “baked cod with love fort aristocratic ice white wine sauce” (RMB168) – a mouthful to say, yes, but a delicious one at that. Elegantly presented on a bamboo leaf, this gorgeous dish features a generous portion of fish and roasted vegetables soaked in white wine sauce. If red meat is your thing, Milk Garden offers a variety of imported steaks, though the Japanese-style beefsteak (RMB198) arrives a little too tough, despite being cooked to a dangerously rare 50 percent.
While there are plenty of interesting pastas to choose from, we decided to nix the carbs and save room for dessert, which proved to be more than worth it. The frozen yogurt cheesecake (RMB38) easily has our vote, as it comes displayed on a long white plate dribbled with dots of red dragon fruit juice and a dollop of whipped cream.
All in all, Milk Garden does justice to French cuisine in a slightly excessive but otherwise romantic environment. Oh, and did we mention service is impeccable?
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Photos by Jocelyn Richards
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