This is a restaurant that has been controversial since its inception and was once pushed to the forefront. The rumor I heard was that because Chef Eric was unable to come this year due to the pandemic, the creative team in China started using local ingredients and was able to cure the problem of acclimatization. So the day before yesterday, a high school classmate whom I hadn't seen for a long time asked to visit me, so we made an appointment to meet here.
The Shanghai Tower, towering into the sky, broke the previous three-legged pattern. There are only two restaurants on the 68th floor, Yunshang Qianwu and Lameloise. The plans of these two companies to compete for the high-end Japanese and French cuisine in Shanghai seem to have failed one after another. The latter quietly lowered its prices a year after its move in, and has lost its former arrogance.
When making reservations, the staff who answered the phone thoughtfully asked about dietary restrictions, seat preferences and dress requirements. I asked casually, can I bring my own wine?
"Yes, but you may need to buy a bottle of the same grade of wine on our wine list to reduce the corkage fee."
This was unheard of. After saying that we may not be able to finish two bottles of wine, the staff changed their words after coordination:
"Our sommelier will charge a corkage fee ranging from 800 to 2,000 yuan based on the quality of the wine you brought."
"Yes, thank you."
The corkage fee was 800 yuan, and there was a precedent for Bombana on the other side of the strait, so Lameloise doubled the ceiling by himself. I asked again if I could have the wine list sent to me, and was told that our wine list is confidential and cannot be disclosed.
There is a vague sense of unhappiness, not directed at this restaurant alone, but the fact that the entire Shanghai catering industry seems to have failed to establish a complete information system. Different menus and wine lists can only be glimpsed from the pictures returned by a certain review software, which is an extremely unfavorable habit for restaurants. If we leave all the say to the market and can only learn about a restaurant from numerous and uneven reviews, then how can we talk about independent spirit?
After we were seated and waiting for our friends, the waiter thoughtfully brought us snail-flavored popcorn, one of their signature dishes, and then handed us the menu. After the four- and five-course menus comes the A la Carte, a small detail being that a table can choose different menus, and dishes of the same price can be switched around at will.
I went through two sets of tasting menus that night, which basically covered the entire menu. Here I will write about the ones that left the deepest impression on me.