By Bidisha Bagchi (Shanghai Star)
Updated: 2006-11-17 09:03

Located in the new business district of Pudong,the Renaissance hotel is a combination of traditional Chinese and contemporar y Western decor.

The majestic chandelier at the ground level is beautiful, and as we went up the escalator to the first floor that houses Wan Li,the immediate feeling was like visiting a palace. A beautiful mosaic covers the floor and majestic paintings adorn the walls.

With huge lamps shaped like dumpling baskets, the entire decor is truly ethnic. With traditional cutleries and gold colour plated chopsticks, the stage had already been set for the arrival of "the dish."

The first item we ordered her e was the traditional "Peking duck." While we waited for our meal to arrive on our table, we got to know a little about this dish.

Being one of the most sophisticated arts of Chinese cooking, it has to be prepared well in advance. First, air is pumped into the duck to stretch and loosen the skin. The duck is then marinated and basted with a sugar and water combination and air dried for three to four hours. This allows the skin to cook crisply and more tastily. It is then roasted in a barrel-shaped oven over a low charcoal fire until the meat is tender and the skin is crispy. The crisp skin of the duck is actually the most prized part and the charcoal adds a distinct flavour to the taste of the duck.

By this time a waiter had walked in with a trolley with the whole duck served on a tray. He artisticallystarted scraping out the skin into small bite-sized pieces with the help of a sharp knife and ceremoniously decorated it on a plate.

The other accompaniments were pancakes, green scallions,leeks, fresh cucumbers and a special sauce. We were taught the proper way to relish the Peking duck; slices of the skin,scallions, leeks and cucumbers and sweet sauce were to be placed on a t hin pancake and then rolled and eaten.

The rest of the meat was taken inside and later ser ved differently. Shredded pieces of the duck meat were cooked in soy sauce and served with onions and leeks. It could have been eaten with the pancakes, but we enjoyed it with a bowl of noodles.

The entire "art," as I decided to call it, was priced at 160 yuan (US$20) and was truly majestic;the way it was presented and its terr ific taste made us ask for more.

The other food items that we ordered were shrimp dumplings (25 yuan, US$3 for 4 pcs), bean sauce chicken (48 yuan, US$6) and last but not least, the dessert, grapefruit and sago cream (22 yuan, US$2.8). The creamy texture of this dish, with a handsome quantity of sago and shredded fr uit and occasional mango chunk s, was simply awesome,and the perfect way to end the lavish lunch.

Wan Li
Location: Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel, 100 Changliu Road
Tel: 021-38714888