New & Noted: Bistro 321 Le Bec
What: Michelin-starred chef’s China debut
Where: 321 Xinhua Lu, near Dingxi Lu. Tel: 6241 9100
Why: Nicolas Le Bec’s arrival cements Shanghai’s place in the top gastronomic world
A household name in France, Chef Nicolas Le Bec garnered three Michelin stars and opened a world-famous “concept market” complete with florist, fromagerie, delicatessen, boulangerie and restaurant by 2009. Then he unceremoniously abandoned it all one day in 2012, informing his staff with just a note on the shuttered door, before heading off to China (his wife’s homeland) and leaving behind a multimillion euro pile of debt.
It’s been almost two years since, and the continental shift hasn’t been easy for the famed chef. Construction on the century-old villa in Changning where he set up shop hit snags after an accidental fire, but the slow drip of openings in the building has started with his namesake bistro.
The place is quintessentially French, from the laissez faire service to the cramped-but-convivial layout in the dining room. Le Bec himself is on full view in the tiny open kitchen, catching every plate before it goes out to the rustic tables packed almost exclusively with Hermes-bedecked Shanghainese diners.
With one of the best bread baskets in town as an edible aperitif and chilled wine served in a quaint turquoise garden pail, we were smitten before the dishes even arrived; once we tasted the duck pâté (RMB 90), we had fallen in love. Wildly gamey, the jar of minced meat shot through with piney juniper essence and surprised with crunches of whole pistachios. Creamy pork rillettes imbued with star anise’s fragrant liquorice notes (RMB 90) would have been delicious at almost any other restaurant in town, but here they paled in comparison to the pâté.
This is a problem worth having, and one that repeated itself throughout the meal as excellent components overwhelmed otherwise-delicious plates. Roasted cod (RMB 180) is elegantly executed, but the rich, earthy brown butter it swam in was so otherworldly that the fish just became a vehicle for the sauce. Headcheese baked into a loaf of bread (RMB 100) was overshadowed by the sharp vinaigrette served on the side salad, but that’s a compliment to the greens rather than a slight on the pork offal.
If sweets aren’t to your taste, try the tart yogurt (RMB 70) made even more lip-puckering with a layer of sour cherries, or the rum baba (RMB 70), a boozy treat served with a flask of rum on the side so you can regulate the cake’s alcohol content. Grandma’s caramel flan (RMB 60), high praise for nana, is one of the silkiest sweet puddings we’ve put in our mouths.
Bistro 321 is just one element of the 100-year-old villa housing Le Bec’s newest culinary complex. A focused 40-seat fine dining restaurant is slated for a mid-summer opening. Cigars and private dining will find their respective spots in the building, and a shimmering garden will host a bar bubbling with Champagne. Chef Le Bec, Shanghai welcomes you.
