2 Swanky Spring Menus: 18 by Fréderic Anton & COLLECTIF°

By Sophie Steiner, April 29, 2024

18 by Frederic Anton

A French gastronomic project by acclaimed six Michelin-starred chef Fréderic Anton, 18 by Fréderic Anton opened just over three months ago in the Bund 18 space previously occupied by L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

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The day-to-day kitchen operations are helmed by executive chef Adrien Delcourt – the trusted Robin to Chef Anton's Batman – who has dutifully worked alongside Anton for over 10 years, and played an integral part in his latest two Paris openings.

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The two have worked closely together, balancing ingredients of the season and local palate preferences to launch the new spring menu, an additional offering to the debut multi-course degustation menu.

There are currently two lunch menus and three dinner menus from which to choose:

Lunch

Debut tasting menu: four courses at RMB888, with optional wine pairing for an additional RMB388
New spring menu: six courses at RMB1,588, with optional wine pairing for an additional RMB988

Dinner

Abbreviated new spring menu: six courses at RMB1,588 (the same as the lunch offering), with optional wine pairing for an additional RMB988
Debut tasting menu: eight courses at RMB2,288, with optional wine pairing for an additional RMB1,188
Full new spring menu: 10 courses at RMB2,888, with optional wine pairing for an additional RMB1,388

*All prices are subject to a 10% service charge

There are no a la carte options.

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To partake in the full spring menu experience, we opted for the 10-course dinner, each plate presented in copacetic order that mirrors the calm and evenly choreographed dance that takes place nightly in the open kitchen.

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An iteration of Chef Anton’s renowned tartelette that finds its way onto every menu, Le Petite Pois is a handmade crisp tartelette layered with a spread of green peas, caviar, and a piped airy tuft of Apulian stracciatella cheese, embossed with pea spheres and glistening emerald caviar – the epitome of the spring season in every bite.

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A plate that fools the senses, L’ Asperge appears as if the nubs of broiled white asparagus are swaddled in an overtly buttery cream.

Instead, the spears are refreshingly cold and crunchy, with a nip of lemon zest. A subtly sour white miso escabeche makes for what is ultimately one of the lightest bites of the meal.

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Infused with Madagascar vanilla bean, the succulent crab meat in Le Crabe is sheathed by a green apple foam cloud, one that forms a moat surrounding an olive oil puddle filled with Oscietra caviar.

Continuing to sidestep the heavy undertones of traditional French fine dining, this course is demurely sweet, a delicate interpretation that still retains the ethos of the cuisine it represents.

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A compliment to any and all seafood, a marinière sauce of butter, white wine, shallots and herbs is what lends Le Coquillage its unctuous mouthfeel, a type of duck clam coated in Parmesan and torched, gratin style.

The undulating mollusk’s brine acts as a counterpoint to cut through the sauce’s creaminess, amplified by the crackly crust coating.

Le Dashi Hot Royale – Lobster emulsion, caviar. Image by Sophie Steiner/That’s

Image by Sophie Steiner/That's

A timeless recipe from Chef Anton's kitchen that can be found on every menu at each of his venues, La Langoustine is a regional adaption of his most signature dish, yet one that shares the same backbone as its Paris-menu counterparts – supple langoustine is the star of this ravioli’s show, a foie gras emulsion, chicken consommé, and a truffle jelly 'blanket' serving as supporting actors of this iconic plate.

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An equally emblematic course, Le Black Cod sees steamed fish au naturel dusted with bottarga, swimming in a viscous tomato, soy, and brown butter puddle.

The delicate flesh flakes away in plush pleats with merely the softest nudge of a fork, a bright palate cleanser of sorts bookended by more robust tastes of the courses that precede and succeed it.

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Wagyu Australian M9 is presented two ways as Le Bœuf. First seared and dribbled with a smarmy pepper sauce...

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... while the second rendition is raw – a mixed beef and shrimp tartare adorned with fried shrimp head and a sprinkling of raspberry powder.

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A shimmering, semi-translucent pearl – known as La Fraise – is a crystallized sugar sphere, only penetrable with a purposeful smack of the back of a spoon.

The rosy hue serves as an homage to the Pearl Tower, glowing just outside the restaurant’s window, the blushing pink owed to the addition of strawberries, currently in the prime of their season.

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The 'glass' casing shatters to reveal an effervescent strawberry basil foam studded with basil crumble, a lick of strawberry jelly combined with a crunch of sablé butter cookie are pleasantly tart and treacly.

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While some may consider the beef to be the meal’s climax, they are sorely mistaken, as Le Chocolate – a silky 55% Valrhona chocolate tart – is one of Chef Anton’s signature recipes, a glossy chocolate pie with more than 30 years of history.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Image by Sophie Steiner/That’s

Seemingly simple in its presentation, the dense, pudding-like texture melts on the tongue – at once fruity, spiced and floral – showcasing the complexity of the cacao beans, and immediately converting even those who claim they “aren’t dessert people.”

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To reserve a table, call 021 6071 8888.

18 by Fréderic Anton, 3/F, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, by Nanjing Dong Lu, 中山东一路18号3楼,近南京东路.

COLLECTIF°

With a menu centered around the 24 solar periods of the traditional Chinese calendar, COLLECTIF° is an amalgamation – or collection, hence the name – of ingredients, recipes and memories gathered by co-owners and chefs Shane Wang (previously at INUA in Tokyo, Jean Georges, Seul&Seul) and Malik Sie (previously chef de cuisine at Bloom) throughout their China and global travels.

Image courtesy of COLLECTIF°

After studying and working around the world, the two have returned to Shanghai, empowered to honor the ingredients of their childhoods (in Zhejiang and Taiwan) while also re-working lesser known flavors into a fine dining setting.

As a classically-trained French chef, Wang draws on her 'toolbox' of both French and Chinese cooking techniques to complete a dish, allowing diners to simultaneously indulge in both the familiar and peculiar – in ingenious forms.

Zaodan. Image by Sophie Steiner/That's

That same ethos runs through the newly released spring menu, one that hones in on and draws inspiration from the ubiquitous seasonal rains, the Qingming season’s solar calendar and equinox, and the resulting produce that ensues.

Cucumber Sorbet. Image by Sophie Steiner/That's

Expect to find curious ingredients – like pungently fermented and koji-preserved Zhejiang Pinghu zaodan egg (糟蛋); Hainan hairtail fish; Ningbo conch; Shantou guava; and Jinan savory pancakes – employed in unexpected (yet delightful) ways.

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Beginning with the appetizer trio, diners work their way left to right: first, a Liaoning Scallop ceviche and spring pea purée atop a Shandong mixed grain crispy pancake.

Next, a coffee extract-infused Potato 'croquette' of sorts, coated in dried noodles, and inspired by the childhood convenient store snack gan cui mian (干脆面).

Rounding things out is a Mung Bean Paste roll bound in a thin cellophane layer (one that mimics a fruit roll-up wrapper) flecked with seaweed powder.

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Instead of the customary Western table bread, even everyday Mantou is reimagined, presented in three forms – twisted with scallions (花卷), grilled, and steamed.

They are proffered alongside two compound butters – zaodan preserved egg and chili fermented bean curd – plus an aromatic mei gan cai (梅干菜) flatbread chip.

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A Chardonnay from Ningxia that’s been fermented in clay pots lends a distinctly floral fragrance to the Liaoning Jellyfish course, plated atop seasonal vegetables and finished with a strawberry granita for a pop of acidity.

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An exceptionally plump Oyster from Rushan, Shandong arrives next – prized for its meaty flesh owed to the warm brackish waters in which it grows.

Perimetered by edible watershield (a perennial aquatic herb that’s part of the water lily family) and lily flower, the mollusk is submerged in an oyster water and seaweed vinaigrette, a testament to the ocean’s abundant bounty.

Returning to the seas for the next course, Zhejiang Conch and pan-seared squid are sautéed with garlic sprouts and bamboo shoots, tossed in a demurely sweet black garlic gravy.

Just as Qingming is a holiday meant for paying homage to ancestors, this dish is inspired by Sie’s grandfather’s Hakka roots, as you yu luo rou suan (鱿鱼螺肉蒜) is a dish consumed during special occasions by the Hakka minority group.

As guests finish the seafood, a double-boiled consommé made with the same ingredients is poured tableside in diners’ almost finished bowl, speckled with droplets of garlic oil. Translucent it may be, yet the broth is a tidal wave of oceanic flavors, showcasing an adept blend of Eastern and Western cooking techniques.

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Inspired by a poem about a rice porridge seasoned with shepherd’s purse greens by the famed writer Su Dongpo (after whom the coveted sweet and sticky Hangzhou dongpo rou (东坡肉), or red-braised pork belly, is named), the Shepherd’s Purse risotto is a grassy rice dish, crowned with crispy pan-seared belt fish, the buttery filet augmented by a soy bean and shepherd's purse relish.

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Further introducing diners to the diversity of Chinese regional ingredients, dry-aged and grilled Squab is painted with a sour and funky Pinghu zaodan paste, made from koji-fermented egg.

As a tart berry sauce may be used to contrast the gaminess of pigeon in French cooking, Wang leverages her culinary training and innovatively employs this culturally significant fermented ingredient from her hometown in Zhejiang to serve the same purpose.

A robust Burgundy Pinot Noir enhances the plate’s earthiness through notes of forest floor and soil minerality.

Dalian Wagyu chuck roll – Chives, egg, mushroom. Image by Sophie Steiner/That’s

Image by Sophie Steiner/That's

A pre-dessert of Shantou Guava, peaches and pineapple are hit with a fistful of chili flakes, just as they are enjoyed as a spring street snack in Guangdong Province…

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… followed by a Cucumber sorbet, sheathed by a crystalline green tea and apple jelly that elevates the ice cream’s velvety mouthfeel, with a juxtaposing crystalized star fruit chip garnishing the top.

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A burnt Xinjiang Date cream is piped inside a choux pastry, light and airy with puffed rice and mixed grains for textural crunch.

Shanghai-style Sticky Rice Bun (圆团) – Soy sauce Brittany biscuit, Taiwanese oolong tea. Image by Sophie Steiner/That’s

The venue currently offers a prix fixe seasonal menu (that covers 15 courses) for RMB668, with an option to add on three glasses of (mostly Chinese natural) wine for RMB259 or five wines for RMB429.

There is also an a la carte menu scattered with mostly 'best of' bites from previous seasonal menus.

Pride for China’s heritage weaves its way through every component of the restaurant – from dish inspiration to ingredients, from cooking techniques to design and décor – coupled with a goal to share the untold stories of China’s rich and abundant culinary history.

A journey diners travel through with each course served.

Collectif, D-101, 850 Xikang Lu, by Xinfeng Lu, 西康路850号 D-101室, 近新丰路.