Jade on 36: Parental visit = best meal ever!

Where has this guy been? - Jade on 36 has been around for years. Try telling us something new about Shanghai; blogs should be of-the-moment, not historical record.

Fine.

Fill Shanghaiist with "I went to a restaurant and I liked it!"

Morons.

nice post, but I just have to say- something about starting a restaurant review with "my parents have come to town so I'm goin' somewhere fancy!" and following up with "even WE were impressed by it" strikes me as awkward.

guest #1 / guest #7:

>What night of the week did you go?

>How busy was it?

>How far in advance did you book?

So you're saying there should be more of these scintillating details when someone at Shanghaiist writes about a visit to a restaurant. Okay, got it.

I hope you're writing this down, Shanghaiist staff! We don't want to see you straying from the path again. Goddamit!

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Jordan Calinoff is right. I respect him very. I hope he continue to do more review.

Hi, this is Jordan Calinoff. I do agree with the above commenters that this is not a restaurant review. While I don't want to speak for the entire Shanghaiist staff, I do beleive the goal of our blog is to inform, entertain, and perhaps inspire our readers to experience and learn about Shanghai to its fullest. In addition, by its very nature a blog is personal and subjective. I wasn't aiming to write a detailed review, I was just trying to describe a very memorable experience I had in our great city.

While Jade has some drawbacks, namely the price tag, it is one of only a handful of restaurants in the world where food of that style and quality can be found. As a Shanghai blogger I hope that my experience might be helpful to others trying to enjoy the city to its fullest.

In reference to poster #6, three of the menus are brand new, which may be the reason for elevated quality, and for those of sufficient means it might warrant another visit in the near future.

guest #3 -- it's not 'just' a blog - Shanghaiist shoud be and is usually above the standards of others blogs = a person saying "I ate at this restaurant and it was nice" or other inane personal crap - they give out info and news. (or just copy and paste from Shanghai Daily - but it's still news, just recycled)

I've eaten at the restaurant three times before, but my experience there least week has elevated it to best meal in Shanghai.

I don't know what they have changed but it was exceptional.

The vegetarian set meal was also outstanding.

Oh come on now, he gave full disclosure that its not his regular haunt so we understand the perspective of where he is coming from when complimenting all the niceties of Jade on 36. Reminded me of when i was in College and my parents came to visit and we went to some nice places to eat, places I never would have bothered to even walk into... sigh those were the days.

But here in SH, I must say there are very few places worth the amount they charge at Jade, but if one has the money and its worth it to them, then so be it. I will stick with my "regular people" food for now. :)

It's about time molecular gastronomy has come to Shanghai!!!!

> What night of the week did you go?

> How busy was it?

> How far in advance did you book?

> How was the service?

> Write a review goddamit!

Or, write whatever you want. It's a blog, goddamit.

I generally eat burgers in bars, so I'm hardly 'uber-gourmet or overly-pretentious', but I ate at Jade two nights ago and loved every second of the experience. I tried the medium-sized menu and was stuffed by the end of it. Plenty of substance there, including huge chunks of lobster, a great wedge of beef cheek, and hearty desserts. Why go on about price? It's a high-end restaurant on the top floor of a luxury hotel in a pricey city. Of course it's expensive.

No question, Jade36 strives for and achieves something very unique in Shanghai. I respect Mr. Calinoff's enthusiasm and am glad he and the folks enjoyed their meal atop the Shangri-La. I went there last Fall and left with some different opinions. I did enjoy the experimental feeling of trying something unique, but everything was designed to make your eyes and tastebuds say "Huh?". Some will love the place for that, I did not.

The space is indeed great, it's the right setting for fine dining both in terms of location and decor. But I felt the food was so high on concept and totally lacking in substance. I don't recall the actual dishes though I distinctly recall the waitress giving arduous descriptions of each course. There are set menus, priced something like 698, 898, 1198? Something like that. And with a pricey wine list and some cocktails, we must have run up about 1200-1400 per person. Don't forget the 15% automatic surcharge on top of it.

I felt like every course was the amuse-bouche, you know, where they've mixed something gelatinous with something brittle added something foamed and put it in a shot glass?! Ugh. If I'm spending that kind of coin, I want an Old Master or an Impressionist, not an Abstract Modernist.

I think Jade36 is for the uber-gourmet, the overly-pretentious, or someone who's been eating too many expense account meals across the river at JG & Laris and finds themselves bored. Curious what others think...

Can you tell us more about all of the dishes and how they taste?

I hate the pretentiousness of things being served in an ashtray etc. but I guess the taste was supreme.

Also you left out the critical factor - how much did it cost? "thousand or two kuai" doesn;t tell us exactly how much or exactly what you got for it.

What night of the week did you go?

How busy was it?

How far in advance did you book?

How was the service?

Write a review goddamit!