The town of Sainte-Maxime might best be described as the poor relation of Saint-Tropez. Though it boasts the same sun, sand, sea and Provencal style as its more famous cousin, it has been less successful in courting the attentions of artists and jetsetters to its shoreline. Where Saint-Tropez is the belle of the ball, and one of the hottest destinations on the French Riviera, Sainte-Maxime is the retiring flower, just as gorgeous, but forced to languish in the shadow of its more gregarious neighbor, undervalued and underappreciated. Far from the Cote d’Azur, that egregious error is about to be rectified in Guangzhou.
To those with a love of French cuisine, Le Saint-Tropez has established a reputation over the last few years for its unabashedly loud color scheme and for food that nods at tradition, without getting pedantic over the details. By the same people, Sainte Maxime is the new and improved version; a tad more formal and a lot more chic – some may like their restaurants verging on the outre, but there is something to be said for understated decor. It’s smart and suave, just like the food, and the owners have rid the name of that distracting little hyphen.
The menu consists of overtly French-influenced dishes and more universally popular fare. Thus, do not be surprised to find mini beef burgers (RMB48) and bruschetta with chicken salad (RMB35) mingling with the delicious, melting morsels of breaded and deep-fried brie (RMB78), which is paired perfectly with a cranberry jam.
At its best, Sainte Maxime really knows how to balance flavors. Grilled sea bass (rMB88) has a nice, lightly charcoaled skin, meshing seamlessly with the sweetness of the bell pepper confit and the savory potato wedges. Beef bourguignon is the kind of hearty fare that warms the cockles of the heart on a blustery day. Nicely seasoned with rosemary and thyme, it comes with a ramekin of mashed potato. If it is possible to have too much Burgundy in your bourguignon, however, Sainte Maxime is pushing the boundary, and at RMB158, there are better examples of this classic peasant dish for your money.
Going all out on steak, a whole page of the menu is dedicated to Australian beef, ranging from the 350-gram tenderloin (RMB188) to the one-kilo tomahawk (RMB668) – a slab of meat you could definitely kill someone with. Cooked to your specifications, you can have it blue or done to a crisp; either way, you’ll have to add on RMB20 for sauce and another RMB28 for a side.
A modest selection of wine is available, both in terms of choice and price; if you go for a bottle, most are between RMB200-300. Or, if you want to be in vogue, have a Corona-rita (RMB80), a drink that seems to be sweeping fashionable bars around China. As its name suggests, this mix sees a bottle of Corona stuck into a pint glass that contains margarita. Strange, but addictive. We’re sure that, given a little time, Sainte Maxime’s staff will be more uniformly competent, rather than just one or two of them. It isn’t entirely conducive to dinner when you find yourself desperately hoping that the girl with the blue dress sees you waving your hand before the one in black.
// No. G19, 11-17 Xingsheng Lu, Liede, Zhujiang Xincheng, Tianhe District 天河区猎德兴盛路11-17号兴盛汇G19号铺 (3810 9300)
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