Gourmet Month starts April 1, we have an early taste

Inspired by New York City's Restaurant Week and its various clones around the world, City Weekend magazine has organized Gourmet Month which starts tomorrow (1st April) at a selection of restaurants around Shanghai.

Over 25 restaurants have signed up to the idea, each offering a fixed price menu showcasing the best that their kitchen has to offer.

The restaurants involved are mostly high-end places- so we are still not talking about cheap food here, but even at 250-350RMB for a full meal there are still solid savings on some of the choicest food in town.

One of the participants is old-favorite Hamilton House (137 Fuzhou Lu, near Jiangxi Lu 福州路 137号， Tel: 6321-0586), and since Shanghaiist just happened to be in the neighborhood this weekend, we previewed their end of the bargain.

For 250RMB, Hamilton House is offering either the French Onion Soup which was so thick and rich it could date Paris Hilton, or the Poached egg on brioche which made our date's eyes glaze over as she licked the last bacon pieces from her plate.

For main courses, choose from the Rib Eye steak with thick doorstep french fries finished in Duck fat (previously 198RMB on its own), or Pan-fried Snapper with a garlic tomato confit and Escargots to compliment the freshness of the fish. Very French, and as good as we remembered.

Gourmet Month runs from 1st - 30 April. Booking is recommended at all participating venues, especially for the weekend.