A culinary surprise on the Bund

As its name suggests, Mr & Mrs Bund offers a homey feel, backed by a large, enticing menu

One's first experience with Mr & Mrs Bund is like opening a jack-in-the-box - you never exactly what is going to pop out and thrill you until the moment it's revealed. In the case of this restaurant, surprises come in a jar of jumbo shrimp or a bag of black cod, among many others.

Beginning the unique dining experience is like going to a friend's house for dinner. Guests ring a doorbell to enter the sixth-floor restaurant in the iconic Bund 18. Greeted by casually dressed staff in Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers and elbow-patch shirts, diners instantly know this isn't a typical, highbrow Bund eatery. Even on a Monday night, the place is buzzing with people, with no empty space in this 150-seat restaurant.

Departing from his avant-garde culinary experiments at Jade on 36 at the Pudong Shangri-La, star chef Paul Pairet has developed something different. He refers to it as a "daily restaurant" offering French and global cuisine.

"I guess everybody watched (the movie) Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and that's the inspiration for our name," said Pairet. "I want this restaurant to be a very open place for everyone. I want people to feel like walking into somebody's home when they spend time here, not for a special occasion but a few times a week."

With more than 100 dishes on the menu, selection takes time but not a lot of effort, especially with the friendly restaurant staff on hand. The staff help guests choose the right food and pair it with the best wines and cocktails.

If you feel like trying different wines during your meal, Mr & Mrs Bund offers one of the largest by-the-glass wine menus in town with a one-of-a-kind twist. Resembling a soda fountain, a dispenser allows guests to fill their own wine glasses after choosing from a selection of 32 wines.

"Our Enomatic wine serving machines dispense wine directly from the bottle using inert gas preservation technology," said Rene-Pol Bouldoires, operations manager of the restaurant. "This technology allows the flavors and characteristics of each bottle to remain intact - as if the bottle had just been opened - for over three weeks."

Start the meal off with one of chef Pairet's famous appetizers: tuna with tuna foam, accompanied by crisp bread for scooping the salty, savory spread. For another tasty appetizer, the duck foie gras terrine is revelatory. Perfect in its form, it retains its taste, ending with a creamy spread with a faint mineral tang. A thin layer of caramel with hazelnuts and fruit coats the terrine, adding an interesting fresh and sweet flavor to the classic French dish.

The jumbo shrimp in a citrus jar comes after the appetizer. Dressed with lemongrass, vanilla leaves and orange peel, the scent of early summer jumps out of the glass jar once opened. Not just a container, the chef uses the jar when steaming the shrimp for 20 minutes before bringing it to the table. And most importantly, you're the first one to open it.

Another highlight with a similar concept is black cod in the bag. Prepared inside a heatproof bag for 48 hours, the cod, with a Chinese twist of Cantonese sauce, is tender, juicy and melts in your mouth.

The desserts are more creative and complex than you might expect from a restaurant going for a basic feel, with the lemon & lemon tart as a favorite example. Candied for three days, the dish, with its lemon sorbet fill, will satisfy your sweet tooth.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/28/2010 page46)