By shanghai daily
Updated: 2006-09-30 15:02

A word that sometimes springs up in reference to Germans is "Teutonic." This "German-ness" is often associated with being thorough, but can also imply boring. On Wednesday night the Hilton Shanghai dismissed this myth and demonstrated in the process that Germans are more than capable of enjoying themselves.

The hotel has delivered some of the best dinners of the year, and top marks must go to executive chef Emmanuel Souliere and his team for what has been a sensational year of culinary flair thus far.

The Hilton have also been shopping around for a Michelin-starred chef, and this week invited Michelin two-star chef Stefan Steinheuer to demonstrate his proficiency in the kitchen to a select audience.

The German chef spent most of his first visit to Shanghai busy in the kitchen, getting the feel of local ingredients to present the best possible representation of his native fare. Having cooked at the residence of the German consul general the night before, he further enhanced his reputation as one of Europe's finest chefs in a private event hosted by Hilton Shanghai General Manager Volkmar Ruebel.

Steinheuer achieved 19 points out of 20 from the well-respected Gault Millau guide for his Steinheuer Restaurant in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, near the Ahr River in Germany. The Gault Millau is one of the most influential restaurant guides in France, and unlike Michelin, awards points based solely on cooking ability. As Hilton general manager Ruebel pointed out: "(Steinheuer) is at the pinnacle of his culinary career."

The 47 year-old chef certainly proved to be at the top of his game on Wednesday evening. His cuisine reflects the region in which he plies his trade, some of his dishes were absolutely sensational.

Distinguished guests such as Dr Wolfgang Rohr, the German consul general and Dr Victor Han, managing director of TransCapital International Ltd enjoyed such dishes as lobster in pumpkin and anise foam, and oxtail stuffed with veal fillet on beans in a burgundy sauce.

The highlight of the five-course extravaganza was the sea bream with a Perigord truffle crust and celery cannelloni. The entree was immaculately conceived and executed, with the truffle aromas delighting everyone at the table as soon as the plates were served. The salty bream mingled with the celery so intimately it was as though angels were copulating on the tongue.

The Cologne native was visibly pleased with his work, and was quick to acknowledge that the purpose of the evening was to showcase the outstanding wines that had been brought in by his good friend Peter Reiger. Reiger, general manager of Terroir Wines Worldwide, had brought in 17 different wines to go with dinner, in the hope of raising awareness in the quality of German wines.

"Most of the wines available here now are not very good," Reiger said. "The wines that I distribute are all of good quality, and are comparable to the French equivalent of Grand Cru or Premier Cru."

Indeed, German wines do not instantly come to mind when thinking of fine wines, and Wednesday's dinner did go some ways towards changing this mindset.

One of the most exceptional wines of the evening was a 2003 Heymann-Lowenstein Uhlren "R" Riesling. The white wine was compared to the renowned Chateau Yquem and is worthy of the comparison. Full of finesse and tropical fruit, the sweet wine was light-bodied and utterly seamless. Easily one of the best whites in the world, the fact that it came for the little-known area of Mosel is astonishing.

Hilton GM Ruebel summed up the evening accurately when he said: "(Germany) don't just know technology, and engineering, and cars, but we know how to enjoy ourselves too."

Dinner guests that night are sure to agree.

Address: 250 Huashan Road
Tel: 021-6248-0000