Upon hearing tell of the newly opened F.C.C. (Foreign Culture Club) restaurant in a re-renovated old colonial mansion (former CoChinChina) on Julu Lu with a Mediterranean terrace and patio, a Vietnamese restaurant (Club Vietnam), a patisserie serving many French breads and deserts, an H2O bar with 30 different waters from around the globe, two rooms showing short independent films, and two private dining areas my imagination immediately took off.

Photo taken at the opening ceremony of FCC.[Photo by smartshanghai.com]

When our taxi arrived and I saw the nicely lit restaurant nestled in a gorgeous courtyard with a long gravel driveway leading to its entrance giving off a feeling of something along the lines of an old European estate, I knew I would not be disappointed.

To settle my curiosity, the first thing on my agenda after entering was to tour all three stories of the restaurant to really see if one venue could functionally offer so many things under one roof, and I must say I was quite impressed. Designed by Shanghai's Kokaistudios the interior has a very modern and hip sense of style, all three stories execute a great use of space with very unique d¨¦cor, fashion, and music. I especially liked the brightly lit first floor terrace washed in whites and tans, and the more dimly lit Club Vietnam on the second floor with an array of vibrant colors and rather original sense of decoration and layout.

As for dinner, we dined in the Mediterranean terrace, and started off with the Grilled Scallops with Black Truffles (98rmb) a very refreshing and tasty salad and the mix of fresh scallops and black truffles was mouth watering, and the Thick Slice of Pan-Seared Goose Liver (118rmb) which was tender beyond description and exploding with immense flavor. For our main courses we selected the Australian Lamb Shank (178rmb) accompanied with potato gnocchi, baby spinach, and garlic confit, this dish was among my favorites, it was cooked to perfection with the right level of crispiness on the outside and juicy tender flavor on the inside, however, I found that the Spanish "Fideo" (188rmb) was also tasty, but a little less interesting than the other dishes, especially for a house specialty. Finally for our deserts we indulged in the Lemon and Ginger Creme Brulee (60rmb) and the Homemade Warm Chocolate Biscuit (70rmb) both of which were equally wonderful and up to par with the rest of the food.

Aside from the fantastically complex taste of each dish, my favorite thing about the food was its artistic presentation. Every dish seemed as if it should be hanging on a wall as opposed to being served on a plate, but none-the-less, after a few moments of appreciation we happily indulged one by one in our culinary masterpieces.

FCC
Address: Bldg 11-12,889 Julu Lu, near Changshu Lu
Tel: 021-64458082