CITY GUIDE >Food Reviews
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CITY GUIDE >Food Reviews
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Maison Boulud
By Jeremy Webb (bestfoodinchina.net)
Updated: 2009-03-30 15:11
 In the summer of 1900, murderous anti-foreign rebels known as the Boxers amassed in Beijing. Diplomats, foreign civilians and Chinese Christians hastily retreated to the capital’s legation quarter, where they held out for 45 days until the Eight-Nation Alliance came to their rescue... Since then, there have been more than few changes to the city. Not least, the legation quarter – just a xenophobic stone throw from Tiananmen Square – is now under new management and is home to, among other up-market restaurants, Maison Boulud. This French restaurant, so good it almost made me feel inadequate as a critic, would, without a doubt, be my first choice of siege destinations if things started to turn as ugly as they did back in 1900.
I was told that Daniel Boulud – the French restaurateur behind some of the world’s most acclaimed eateries - has remained “very, very involved” since he left his Maison à Pekin in the capable hands of his general manager and three head chefs, all of whom have worked for years with Boulud in New York. It is a team that has experience impressing the world’s most formidable critics - people who regularly review the finest eateries of New York, London and Paris, people that don’t miss a trick. My recent frame of reference is Beijing - an average Western dining landscape that is dotted with a few sporadic success stories. With this in mind, I feel slightly insecure as I approach the imposing stone building which was once housed the US ambassador. “I do know what I am talking about,” I remind myself, the gravel of the stately courtyard crunching beneath my feet, “even though it might have been a long time since I was truly spoiled over dinner in Beijing.” After being shown through a spectacular entrance hall, Maison Boulud’s main dining room immediately impresses. High ceilings and a large sprawl of tables make me feel important, while soft lighting and the privacy of our corner table put me at suitable ease. I am in just the right place for what is to come... After canapés and champagne, one of my favourite of the eight courses arrives – a fantastic gnocchi and escargot fricassee, served so beautifully that it said as much about front of house and it did back. Almost as many waiters were involved in this dish as there were snails on the table. Two waiters each brought a plate of snails for me and my companion, after which another two men arrived, each holding a jug from which they poured a full silky veloute which nicely rounded off the piquant escargot. |
