Best Food In China

Location

It was clear to us right from the beginning that the Fukami restaurant at the Sofitel Sheshan was Japanese through and through. A center room filled with natural lighting looks out over a traditional rock garden, and leads into smaller private rooms, some with their own sunken tables, others with dedicated teppanyaki tables.

We came for a tasting in the latter. We were assigned a private teppanyaki chef for the day and were sat down around his large stainless steel grill. The décor inside our private room was classic and elegant; subtle lighting carefully projected shadows onto geometric shapes and striking combinations of dark wood, stone and greenery.

We decided to not go for set menus, and instead opted to have our young and enthusiastic chef cook up whatever took his fancy – a task he seemed to take to with relish.

He kicked us off with a trio of fun amuse-bouches: a dollop of a pumpkin puree with a potato crisp, a mini tomato sliced open at the top and topped with a bite of raw salmon, and fresh veggies wrapped up in red sea bream.

These small portions of quite unusual but very fresh flavors had our juices flowing, and we segued smoothly into a beautiful presented lobster and codfish plate. A lobster head and tail were place upwards in such a way that it looked almost like dragon diving beneath the dark black surface of the plate. The lobster came with a refreshing and little bit sour cucumber sauce, while the codfish was drizzled with a light but slightly tangy lemon sauce.

Then in rapid succession came two staples of Japanese cuisine: tempura and sashimi. Both came out very fresh, with the tempura only just lightly battered, and the sashimi freshly imported from Japan. Of special note was the Japanese Basil tempura, which our chef explained to us not only promotes the digestive system but also kill viruses, and the large raw shrimp, whose body had already been peeled.

The Australian beef came out centered on a crisp white plate around asparagus and beans sprouts, with a small side of scallion crisps and a traditional yellow pepper dipping sauce that was personally designed by the head chef. But here, as with some of our other courses, the cooking was a visual treat in and of itself. Our private chef would swirl and clash together his spatulas in front of us, as he spun our beef around - an impressive show that was the result of 6 years of exclusive teppanyaki training.

As is typical in Japan, we sucked away our last pangs of hunger with a warm bowl of Udong Noodles, and finished with a small plate of fresh fruit. The hearty thick noodles are meant to fill you up, but the broth itself has several herbs in that are known to help relaxation as well.

It came as no surprise to later learn that all ingredients had been imported directly from Japan, and that the head chef, Mr. Nicolas Zhao, though Chinese had spent ten years studying in Japan. All the dishes had been very fresh and authentic, and we very much enjoyed the privacy and luxury of having our own personal chef and personal dining room.

-- by Royce Ferguson

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