CITY GUIDE >Food Reviews
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CITY GUIDE >Food Reviews
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Genuine French cuisine
By J. Harold Meyer (bestfoodinchina.net)
Updated: 2008-11-11 15:58
Truly authentic French cuisine is still a rarity in Beijing. Wannabes there are plenty, but finding the right and convincing mix of food, wine and dining atmosphere is still a challenge. What a pleasant surprise to discover that the food served by the JAAN Restaurant at the monumental Raffles Beijing Hotel is truly approaching the highest standards of French cooking. True, the venture to dine at JAAN’s is a rather pricey one. The five course Dégustation sampler menu goes for 680 RMB, which even for Beijing standards is at the heftier side. The three-course lunch with Langoustine Vichyssoise, beef & carrots and dessert with rhubarb variations sounds more affordable at 220 RMB. At any rate, as a tasting experience, a visit to JAAN cannot be missed. The flavors served are inspired by the food traditions of the Château de Curzay. Located in the lovely surroundings halfway between Paris and Bordeaux, the castle boasts its reputation for being the preferred location for promenading, dining and escapades amoureuses of the French jet set. The starter with the light textured cream of cauliflower and goat cheese by all means presented a tingling sensation. With the mild and yet very distinguishable flavors of goat cheese, our taste buds were primed for the first highlight of the dinner, the most attractively presented grilled duck liver. The elegantly brick-shaped foie gras can only be described as a strong and deep tasting extravaganza in the best of Southern France’s cooking traditions. The rich fish soup that followed was populated with scampi, oyster and clams and brilliantly enriched by the idea to present the ingredients also outside the soup bowl on a mirror plate. It all was a feast that harmonized well with the nice Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. White wine from the French Eastern region of Alsace accompanied the fifteen herb lobster mousse, an amazingly light and charming creation that demonstrated that complexity can serve the purpose of higher culinary goals. The undisputed pièce de resistance was the main course: Succulent roast lamb chops, pink and tender, served with gorgeous black rice and light gravy. It found a strong contestant in the dessert, a three-part creation that consisted of a refreshing yogurt and citrus fruit sorbet, a chocolate soufflé and a mille-feuille with a very creamy, classical taste that recalled memories from a first class French patisserie. As for the atmosphere, JAAN takes you back to the glamorous 1920s when Raffles Beijing was known as the Number One hotel in the Far East. The original 1924 dance floor and sparkling crystal chandeliers recall the days when the hotel served as the meeting place between Chinese and foreign dignitaries. Nowadays, on certain days live performances on the famous Bösendorfer grand piano can be enjoyed. Undoubtedly, the hotel is the right setting for the light and innovative French cuisine crafted by Chef de Cuisine Guillaume Galliot who tries his best to the re-create the pleasures of the Château de Curzay. JAAN
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