Grill 79 offers healthy concept menu, 300 meters above ground

Grill 79, the capital's highest restaurant on the 79th floor of the China World Summit Wing, Beijing, is an ideal spot for some good photos. Even more so, now that chef de cuisine Deivid Paiva has introduced a new a la carte menu at the restaurant, with a natural health concept and beautiful food presentation.

Grill 79's views make it an ideal place for a meal to remember. The China World Summit Wing, Beijing, soars 81 floors over the China World Trade Center complex, standing at 330 meters tall.

That means, when you are sitting in the chic and modern dining hall of Grill 79, you are more than 300 meters above ground. You only realize that when you look around, and find that all the other architecture appears so small.

Last week, chef Paiva introduced his new menu at a degustation menu tasting to a room full of media representatives. He started off with a show of molecular gastronomy - making Champagne sorbet with liquid nitrogen on the spot, with a smoke effect.

The sorbet was part of an amusebouche of pickled shrimp and caviar "cocktail", a refreshing way to start the meal. Each course that followed was as beautifully arranged with flowers, herbs, a range of different sauces and greens to make them a treat both for the tongue and the eyes.

In a following appetizer, roasted beetroot was used to wrap cream cheese and the two flavors were a very good match. The thing with beetroot is that some Chinese people might find the taste a bit too strong, but the cheese works to make it more acceptable to the unfamiliar palate.

The menu is designed around a healthy concept, with a poached Boston lobster as the second appetizer and grilled wild sea bass as the fish course.

The main was an ever so tender venison tenderloin, paired with grain crust. It was a very healthy match and offers an interesting comparison in taste. The meal wound up with a white chocolate parfait that's far lighter than the ordinary white chocolates that we might find too sweet.

Paiva, 33, is from Portugal, and has more than 10 years' culinary experience, working in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He was appointed chef de cuisine at Grill 79 in October last year. On June 1, he was promoted to executive sous chef of the China World Summit Wing, Beijing. Before joining the restaurant, he worked as chef de cuisine of Yabby, a restaurant at Shangri-La Hotel, Doha in Qatar.

Talking about his cooking philosophy, Paiva says his cuisine is "ingredient and product-driven".

He explores the possibilities of "combining quality ingredients and products using the best possible techniques". He describes his cooking style as "a fusion of East and West, inviting the age of modernity in cuisine, but still with deep respect to its tradition".

Grill 79's average price is 500 yuan ($73.1) per person for lunch and 800 yuan for dinner.

yejun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/24/2017 page10)