Palladio at the Portman Ritz-Carlton
Add: 1/F, Shanghai Center, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu / 南京西路1376號 上海商城1樓, 近西康路
Tel: 6279 7188
Hours: 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm
Website: www.ritzcarlton.com
Price: Lunch 200 RMB/person, Dinner 500 RMB/person
Visited: Sep 2010
Venue now closed.
Restaurant Week stop #5: Palladio at the Portman Ritz-Carlton. A memorable lunch experience with impeccable service and beautiful food (the taste is…well, debatable).
Ordering wine somewhat defeats the purpose of Restaurant Week since the wine would most likely double the bill. However Manager Fabrizio was extremely helpful with the recommendations so we ended up ordering a glass each and had a fun time comparing notes.
Amuse Bouche, duck with walnut and vegetables.
Chilled Corn Soup, Crab Salad, Zesty Tomato Sorbet. They messed up the spacing of the pesto dots, tsk tsk! Other than that, the soup was a beautiful and innovative combination of flavors and textures. The tomato sorbet was sweet, fine-grained, and ultra refreshing. A intriguing treat for the palate when paired with the crab salad and the corn soup.
Durum Semolina Spaghetti, Saffron Pistils, Anchovy, Pine Nuts, Dill. I found this a bit bland despite its interesting ingredients list.
Smoked Red Sea Bream Filet, Spring Onion, Hazelnut and Green Pea Cream. The sea bream itself wasn’t all that impressive, but the green pea cream on the side was delightful – I could eat a whole bowl of this.
Coagulated Lemon Cream, Raspberry Foam, Licorice. Beautiful and delicious. The raspberry foam was coated in a delicate sugar ball topped with a little piece of gold. Divine with the coagulated lemon cream.
Turin Style “Bicerin” Grappa Ice Cream, Gianduja. This is actually a dessert from the dinner set menu, but I ordered it out of curiosity. The dessert is an innovative remix of bicerin, which is a traditional Italian drink made from espresso, drinking chocolate, and milk. The alcohol flavor from the grappa was too strong for me, but Chef Serafin subsequently explained that he purposefully designed the menu so that the dinner dessert is heavier.
Service was what made the dining at Palldio a very memorable experience. Manager Fabrizio Bosco was extremely helpful with his detailed wine recommendations, and personally introduced each dish we ordered throughout the meal. Chef Gianluca Serafin also came out at the end to greet us and to introduce the desserts. From the manager to the chef to the local waiters and waitresses, all the staff members at Palladio were warm, attentive, and genuinely there to give you the best dining experience. One of the best service I’ve had in Shanghai.
