A birthday dinner party entitled 'Indulgence'

Certainly any birthday dining experience is indulgent, but when the theme of the entire dinner is ‘Indulgence,’ you know you’re in for something else …

One of my favorite Shanghai gal pals, aka - my BCG twin on the other coast (we’re convinced we’ve lived parallel lives), graciously threw me a beautiful and yes, utterly indulgent, birthday dinner party. From the shiny, fur-trimmed hats and bright pink feather boa to the assortment of fine wines and meticulously prepared hors d’oeuvres, my lovely hostess prepared a gastronomic feast that incorporated the fun and flair of childhood birthday celebrations.

We started with an appetizer of Thai lettuce chicken wraps, with the skewers of breast meat marinated in a curry paste I had brought back from my recent visit to Thailand and plated alongside a host of accompaniments – cold glass noodles, a cucumber and red onion salad, julienned vinegared carrots, and crushed peanuts. What followed as our main course was a wonder to all the guests – a perfectly grilled flank steak, done medium rare and served with what may have seemed like an unassuming side of macaroni and cheese …

However, it was this macaroni and cheese that had me murmuring sighs of contentment and the other guests cleaning the bowl. We called it ‘Shanghai style mac & cheese,’ given that the city is of want of ovens and our hostess thus had to improvise a cooking method to put it together and select the appropriate cheeses to match. Her choice of cooking – a simple stainless steel pot and the cheeses – gouda and gruyere, a creamy and mild flavored combination that melded perfectly in the lightly spiced mushroom butter sauce she had created. It was, by far, my favorite part of the entire meal – which says a lot given how much I love dessert …

But our dessert itself hit the spot as well – and certainly reinforced the theme of indulgence. We began with a green tea gelato cake because what’s a birthday without cake? And in the spirit of excess, complemented the iced dessert with more ice cream – and the richest kind at that – Coldstone Creamery. Our hostess had planned for my menu ‘make your own sundaes’ with all the toppings from whipped cream to colored sprinkles; there was even crushed Butterfinger, a candy bar I haven’t had since I went trick or treating in elementary school.

I ate … and ate until my mind, stomach, and spirit were bursting in all senses of the word – from the bliss of fine food, the glow of fine wine, and happiness of the finest company, my friends. It was a truly indulgent affair.

‘Shanghai Mac & Cheese’

½ stick butter
¼ cup cream
600 grams creamy cheeses (Used Gouda and Gruyere)
500 grams shell pasta
1 cup mushrooms (Used shitake)
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmigiano reggiano (to top)

Sauté the mushrooms in butter and olive oil; season with salt and butter to taste. (Optional: Add garlic, onion, or fresh herbs such as thyme, per your own taste).

In a large pot, heat the butter, cream, and cheeses; stir consistently until all ingredients have thoroughly melted (sauce will be more stringy compared to that in more traditional creamy mac & cheese dishes)

Slowly mix sautéed mushrooms, followed by cooked shell pasta until thoroughly combined
Finish with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano on top. Mange bene!

Birthday celebration at Hamilton House

One thing I love about Shanghai is that new venues open up every day and when that venue relates to some sort of dining experience, I’m doubly excited.

For my birthday, A brought me to the recently opened ‘Hamilton House,’ a French brasserie featuring Chef Philippe Leban and located right off the bund in a 1930s-era Art Deco tower. I don’t have the most favorable opinion of Bund dining, finding it slightly snobbish with sub-par service and food that rarely lives up to its name or price tag; however, perhaps because it’s new or perhaps it was the celebratory ambiance of the evening, but I found Hamilton House supremely delightful.

The brasserie’s menu itself is quite short; however, A and I still found ourselves taken with more items than we could order. I settled on an appetizer of poached eggs with spinach, shallots, and pork belly on a slice of homemade brioche. A’s selection was far healthier – boudin blanc, a freshly made chicken breast sausage. Both were done extremely well. My dish melted in my mouth (the joys of butter) – the brioche had a crispy crust but was still moist and was made more rich by the red wine butter sauce dressing it. The texture of A’s boudin blanc was amazing – less of a sausage and more of a mousse, with a mild flavor enhanced by the tomato and pesto sauces decorating the plate.

For our main course, I had the pot au feu of pigeon, a roast pigeon breast in a light broth on top of a fois gras ravioli. A settled on the sea bass over a fennel puree with a creamy sherry reduction. Both were done quite well, though with my fois gras ravioli, the texture of the skin and consistency of the filling made me think more of hearty Chinese dumpling than the creamy Italian ravioli I had expected.

At end the meal, A and I decided to share dessert given how full the rest of our meal had left us. It’s a good thing we did because the apple tarte tatin we ordered was both large and thick – the size of a small personal pizza. I usually order chocolate desserts to fully satisfy sweet cravings, but this tatin gives chocolate fondant a run for its money in terms of how rich it was. The thick halves of caramelized apple were set on a soft, flaky crust whose layers were melded together by the warm syrup of the apple and cold vanilla bean ice cream that topped it. The taste and experience can only be described as a sweet goodness that comes from indulging in a hearty classic dessert on one’s birthday. I enjoyed every bite.

Maybe it was the birthday … maybe it was the company … or maybe it was the anticipation of classic French food after watching Ratatouille … but my dinner at Hamilton House was definitely a highlight in my Shanghai dining experiences and a wonderful way to celebrate my start to a new year.

Hamilton House
137 Fuzhou Lu (near Jiangxi Lu)
福州路137号，近江西路
Shanghai, China
+86 21 6321 0586
http://www.hamiltonhouse.com.cn/