Best Food In China

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Taking advantage of Shanghai's proximity to the sea, The Park Café at the Crowne Plaza Century Park Shanghai introduces its fresh seafood buffet, at excellent value for money.

Hotel buffets were once seen as something of a grey area in the culinary world. At their worst they were truly awful; sell-out chefs would serve up mediocre food at extortionate prices, which customers would shovel onto plate after plate - not exactly fine dining. In the past few years, however, the reputation of these once maligned dining experiences has been transformed. Shanghai's own hotels have stepped up to the plate, recruiting the best chefs in the land to turn out some of the city's finest food in epic 'all you can eat' proportions.

I am particularly fond of the buffet. I have an insatiable appetite and a weakness for fine food, and the Seafood Buffet at the Crowne Plaza sounded like an irresistible combination of the two.

The low lighting, soft piano music and burgundy walls fostered an intimate and relaxing atmosphere. Yet the dining area was depressingly empty. At 198RMB per person, including free flow beer and soft drinks, and a buy two get one free deal, the buffet is great value, and I was surprised that the hotel hadn't attracted more customers.

The menu consists of three options: the seafood buffet, a main course and the desserts. I began by making a beeline for the star attraction - the seafood. It was all wonderfully presented and fresh, so much so that I could almost taste the sea on the sashimi. Taking advantage of our proximity to the coast, the buffet serves up predominantly Shanghainese produce, bought daily at the market, with the exception of a few specialities. Scallops, king prawns, river shrimp, mussels, crab claws and crayfish were all suitably impressive (and shamelessly demolished within minutes). I hastily made a dash for the main course spread; anticipating an abundance of dishes taking advantage of the fresh local produce that made the seafood specialities such a delight. What I found instead was disappointing. The few seafood dishes on offer were passable at best, often smothered by thick, creamy sauces that obscured the flavour, failing to make the best use of the freshness of the fish. Moving along the chef's counter, desperately searching for something special amongst the barbequed ribs and potato wedges, I began to feel more like I was in a school cafeteria than a plush hotel. All-you-can-eat buffets are great when the food is good, but you begin to resent having to get up from your seat to peruse unimaginative fare like this. I headed back to the fresh seafood.

It was the dessert that restored my faith. One of the restaurant's staff proudly boasted that the hotel was often complimented on its sweets, and, happily, I found such praise to be justified. Rows and rows of miniature, delicate creations awaited me: lemon meringue tarts, strawberry mousse and chocolate brownies to name a few, which were all very tasty. A chocolate fountain and a freezer of ice cream were both on hand in case you felt it wasn't quite enough.

All in all, a potentially first-rate buffet was let down by the dearth of good main course options. My advice is to keep it simple, and stick to the seafood buffet. In its fresh fish dishes at least, the Crowne Plaza succeeds in that difficult balancing act - delivering quantity without compromising on quality.

-by Katherine Petty

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