Stiller's Restaurant (Shanghai, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Stefan Stiller was our radar screen ever since his days at Club Shanghai and Mimosa Supper Club but we never did get the chance to try his innovative cuisine there. We were glad that we finally did get that chance at his latest venture at the Cool Docks.

The Stiller's restaurant was located on the 7/F of Building 13 at the Cool Docks and it has a decent view of the Bund. Chef Stiller himself was on hand this night directing traffic in the open kitchen.

We ordered some of his signature dishes including the opera cake of foie gras and tuna variation (tuna three ways) along with other main dishes (ravioli, seabass etc) to share among the four of us. However, apart from the opera cake, the rest of them were rather disappointing. If it's any consolation, the presentation did score fairly high marks.

Perhaps we have set the bar a bit too high. Luckily for us though, Shanghai does have some new intriguing options. Next up, Mr and Mrs Bund.


The restaurant and cooking school are located on the
6th and 7th floor.



The view of the Bund from the restaurant.



Signature dish - Cake of foie gras, black truffle
and spiced pineapple (6/10).

 












Tuna variation - ahi tuna, tuna mousse & tuna tartar
(3/10).



Ravioli with braised beef cheek (4/10).

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: ￥￥￥
Address: The Cool Docks Building 13, 6/F and 7/F, Shanghai, China

Closest Metro Station: None

Website: www.stillers-restaurant.cn

Hyatt on the Bund (Shanghai, CHINA)

Hyatt on the Bund is one of celebrities' favorite in Shanghai and the place to see and be seen. Strategically located on the banks of the Huang Pu River at the northern end of the Bund, this brand new hotel offers stunning views of the Bund and Pudong and is just a quick 10-minute walk to the Chen Yi Square (陳毅広場) and famous Nanjing pedestrian street.



At first, I thought the hotel was a bit to the north side of the city centre; thus making the walking tour a little inconvenient but after receiving a fantastic corporate deal on their "Bund View" room, it was difficult to say no.

The moment we walked into our "Bund View" room, we knew we have made the right decision. The view of the Bund and Pudong was totally jaw dropping.



It's as close to the Bund as it gets without getting drowned! Waking up every morning to this picturesque view simply made our 5-day stay that much more enjoyable.



And the view simply got better at night with the glittering light show on the other side of the harbour.




Not only does the hotel's executive lounge serves up very good breakfast in the morning, it's also open throughout the day for complimentary snacks and finger food. Trust me, it's like a buffet here.

Apart from the parade of snacks including spring roll, cheese tart, macaroon etc etc, all the soft drinks and bottled water are complimentary. Talk about being treated like a VIP.




We've stayed at many luxury 5-star hotels in mainland China over the years and disappointingly, many of them tried too hard to put in an oriental twist, or an "east meets west" kind of design which more often than not, fails miserably in execution. What separated Hyatt on the Bund with the rest of the competition in Shanghai, was that it managed to stick with the design basics and a contemporary approach.

This is not just a luxury 5-star hotel in Shanghai. It's THE best hotel in the city by a country mile. 




Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Price: €€€€
Address: 199 Huang Pu Road, Shanghai, China
Tel: +86 21 6393-1234
Website: shanghai.bund.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

Amber (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Amber is probably my second favorite fine dining restaurant in Hong Kong, right behind Caprice (Who else?). Led by Culinary Director Richard Ekkebus, Amber never fails to impress us with their contemporary interpretation of classic French dishes.

The two Michelin-starred restaurant also has the contemporary décor to match its cuisine. Elegant yet not too flashy. No wonder it's becoming a fixture in the Michelin guide and World's 50 best restaurants.



We quickly found ourselves right in the middle of the action with our first amuse bouche but the chestnut panna cotta was slightly off the mark (3/10).



Though our second amuse bouche, their signature foie gras lollipops more than made up for it (8/10).

Amber always has one of the best foie gras terrines in Hong Kong and that would be my choice for starter on this day.

I really enjoyed the silky smooth foie gras terrine but the passion fruit jelly had a little bit too much acidity (5/10).



Poached line-caught cod fish with what looked like onion crumble on top was served on a pool of green peas. It was an enjoyable dish but one that would not be considered as overly impressive (6/10).



I didn't bring my camera along with me so bear with me on this out-of-focus picture of my beef tenderloin.

Trust me on this one. It was nothing to write home about (5/10).



Dessert was slim picking and I had the dark chocolate tart with banana sorbet.

Not a big fan of dark and bitter chocolate (4/10).



I have had much better days dining at Amber on different occasions in the past. This was not very indicative of what this kitchen is capable of.


Food Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 15 Queen's Road, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, The Landmark, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2132-0066
Website: www.amberhongkong.com
S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants: 90th (2010)