Shanghai

The first thing you notice is a big blue hourglass taking pride of place on the table at Jade on 36 - that is, after you've torn your eyes away from the impressive window views of the Whampoa River. An hourglass? Is it to ensure an effi cient delivery of the classy business lunch the restaurant promises?

Sure enough. For the first time in its history, the restaurant that makes crawling out of bed on Sunday mornings worthwhile with its signature brunch is serving weekday lunch. (Jade on 36 only served dinner on weekdays previously.)

The hourglass is there to help you track every second of what it promises to be a memorable culinary journey.

To make it even more of an event, guests are invited inside the kitchen itself, where they can fill their plates with drool-inducing appetizers - from prawns with cocktail sauce to octopus salad, cured salmon with herbs to Tasmanian oysters delivered fresh daily.

We asked the chef why a warm-up party in his work station, a place which is mostly sacrosanct in other restaurants? Chef Fabrice Giraud smiles and says: "So they (the guests) can see real chefs cooking rather than just opening bags on a plate.

"If other chefs are sensitive about showing their kitchens, there must be a reason. Maybe it's dirty kitchens or messy chefs. But I am proud to show off my wonderful kitchen."

Giraud says that apart from communicating with guests on the spot about their preferences and special requests, inviting them into the kitchen also makes them happy.

"They can see the essence of cooking right here," he says.

The Michelin-starred chef also shows off his musical taste, playing a wide repertoire of music in the kitchen, depending on his mood.

"It gives extra dimension and feeling," he adds.

Although there are only five main courses to choose from, Giraud never gets tired of creating a new menu. He updates the main-course choices every two weeks and makes sure the sweet-toothed have new confections to try each week.

There is no wrong turn with the seared cod with anchovy butter and zucchini, roasted Wagyu beef sirloin on the trolley or a cast-iron cauliflower gratin with bchamel sauce. But eating at Jade on 36 without trying the pan-seared duck Magret with corn pancake is a recipe for regret.

The duck breast swims in a sweet sour-cherry sauce and comes with a few tiny sunshine-colored pancakes. Beyond the expectations of the Chinese palate, duck and cherry are a classic combination drawn from traditional Western kitchens as far back as a century ago.

The sauce is made with cherries from Montmorency, and brings just a touch of sweetness to the dish. Enhanced with cherry wine, red wine vinegar and lightly caramelized sugar, the tartness of the sauce cuts through the richness of the tender but succulent duck.

What follows is the cheese platter, on which lies a selection of European hard and soft cheeses. This is when you surreptitiously loosen your belts, but remember to leave room for something from the sweets trolley.

Chef Giraud says his two-tiered dessert trolley "is a little revival of old-fashion gastronomy and a tribute to the French art de vivre". For the diner, after the first three courses, it may be a little difficult to appreciate culinary aesthetics fashioned in sugar. But with fruit tarts, cheesecake, chocolate quenelles and more favorites so temptingly beckoning, the hardest thing yet may be to decide which one to fit in.

The meal costs 288 yuan per person with 15 percent service charge.

China Daily