It’s been quite the dramatic year
for Taian Table. Opening first in
April of 2016 on eponymous
Taian Lu, the hidden private-dining
restaurant garnered much acclaim,
rolling through the spring, summer
and into autumn when it gained a
star in Michelin Guide’s inaugural
installment in Mainland China. One
day later, for licensing reasons,
Taian Table was forced to close.
A whirlwind of a beginning.
And yet, you wouldn’t know
it when you step into the dining
room. Opening a short two months
later, the new location, tucked up
in Changning district just north
of Yanan Lu, is a peaceful retreat
from the heaving city of 20 million
plus outside.
It feels like coming home – always
a relief, even if you didn’t expect
it – which is exactly as Chef Stefan
Stiller intends, and which makes
for an inarguably unique evening
of dining. Having lived in Shanghai
for over a decade and seemingly
unperturbed by the insanity of the
last few months, the German chef
and his easy, affable manner sets
the tone. Dinner party at yours
tonight? Yes, please.
It’s an incredibly civilised affair.
Yes, it’s costly at nearly 1,400RMB
per head for the full 14-course
menu, but there’s no sneaky service
charge. If you’d rather opt for the
edited ten-course menu, feel free
– but there’s no insurance against
jealousy when the rest of your party
digs into their foie gras and lobster.
Oh, and those are the choices:
14 or ten courses of the kitchen’s
choosing, the menu for which
changes every month.
Stiller’s food is flawless. There
won’t be a dish you dislike. On
one January evening, the meal
opens with a plate of beetroots.
Small tangy rounds of the tender
vegetable arrive atop verdant green
waves of sauce from rocket painted
onto the plate, plated next to a light
sponge cake of beetroot perched
on an insanely creamy pillow of
unforgettable stracciatella di bufala.
An exceptional dish of corn, chorizo
and one magnificent seared scallop
is topped with etherally thin slices of
water chestnuts, which crunch in the
most singular way.
Remember parsnips, those old
things? Rarely seen, and only at a
price, in China, they’re here. Both
sweet and sour, the parsnip confit
is visually arresting, draped in a
pale jade green foam, sprinkled
with chilli flakes and showcasing a
single egg yolk. Fork-tender loup de
mer – European seabass – arrives
perfectly crisped on one side,
swimming in a ginger beurre blanc
and perched on a subtle white bean
mash. Exquisite. Then there’s a
quivering medallion of seared foie
gras on an apple
chuntey and a
dusting of pale
purple red cabbage
powder. When is foie
gras not delicious? Later
comes a puree of Jerusalem
artichokes spiked with black
truffles, a lobster egg custard with
dill oil and caviar and a venison rump
with a black and white pepper jus.
It’s all fantastic.
But while the food is flawless,
it’s not particularly challenging. It
will taste delicious, very much so,
but not like nothing you’ve ever
had before – which may, in fact, be
what you’re looking for at close to
1,400RMB. Still, an exceptional
venue from Stiller and his team,
Taian Table is a unique space and
experience that Shanghai is lucky
to have.
