Soundbites are pieces of food and drink related news and gossip to aid your digestion of the Shanghai dining scene.
Jade on 36, the French fusion restaurant situated on the tippy toppest floor of the luxurious Pudong Shangri-La hotel has just been given a facelift of Cher-like magnitude. They’ve gotten brand new décor, a brand new chef, and a brand new menu– all to match their new brand new informal dining ethos.
Gone are the days when you might have picked at coin-sized portions to the tune of smooth dinner jazz muzac, the new Jade on 36 is all about doing French food ‘sharing style’, with big portions and a much friendlier price point. On our visit, Miley Cyrus’s ‘Wreaking Ball’ and other club bangers were on the stereo, thus is the depth of Jade’s transition.
Jade on 36's spiffy view of Puxi
If all this sounds startling, fear not, Jade’s future is in the capable hands of Lyon-born Chef Jeremy Biasiol, a former protégé of master chef Alain Ducasse, and whose Hong Kong restaurant The Mirror was awarded a Michelin Star just one year after its opening.
Food-wise Chef Jeremy’s clearly had some fun devising a playful menu of both complex and simple elements alike. While certain hallmarks of his 28 years of French training remain in the form of bouillabaisses, rouille crouton, escargots, duck “a l’orange” and many more; nothing is quite what it seems, with each dish having been given a quirky and inventive twist to take on a more, shall we say, futuristic manifestation?
Eggs Mollet with spicy beef and wine sauce, RMB46 each
We’re told the idea is for Jade to be a laid-back spot where people might come for after work and pick two or three of the sharing plates between friends, with prices ranging from RMB98 for mushroom risotto to RMB368 for a whole slow-cooked Boston lobster with penne.
Whole Boston lobster with penne RMB368
Orders ‘by the piece’ (presumably individual portions) are cheaper still, ranging from RMB42 for soup of the day, RMB46 for egg mollet with spicy beef and wine sauce, to RMB48 for ‘oyster surprise’ with yuzu and champagne jelly.
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Grouper with bouillabaisse saffron sauce and ratatouille crouton, RMB268
On the upper end of this menu are things like beef Wellington, usually a very substantial dish, for RMB198.
For weekend diners there are also two brunch options; the first for RMB328 (unlimited soft drinks, coffee and tea) and the second for RMB448 (including two glasses of Champagne, cocktails or wine). Both of these options get you four courses: one egg dish, one soup, one main and one dessert. Portions look to be fairly substantial, with choices like Parisian style eggs ‘en cocotte’ with truffle and chicken breast, or lobster Thermidor and stuffed boneless suckling pig for mains.
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Poached frogs legs with light garlic cream, Thai chilli crumble and parsley sauce, RMB48 (2 pieces)
Given the friendly price point of the new Jade on 36 (although there’s still the obligatory 15% service charge, as is the case at all hotels in Shanghai) it’s definitely worth dropping by to sample with friends if you were a fan of its former reincarnation. Time will tell if the new Jade is better than before, but with any luck they’ll be setting a new example for informal, fun eating in a quality hotel setting.
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