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The Grill -- a decade of change served on a platter
By Aubrey Buckingham |
January 3, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IF you are hankering for a fancy meal, sometimes keeping things simple is best, and there are few places easier than grill restaurants. Unless you really want to get into technicalities, there's nothing wrong with walking in, pointing at the menu and grunting at the waiter, and bob's your uncle, you have your feed.
The Grill at the Grand Hyatt is one of those deceptively simple places where you really don't have think too hard about what you are ordering, but, if you happened to actually expend any brain cells when pondering your selection, you will find the kitchen well-equipped to expand upon your queries.
This year the classic property turns a ripe old 10, which, in this city where new constructions pop up like bamboo (did you know it can grow as much as a meter and a half a day? Incredible), a decade of existence frankly is quite a long time. To say this city has undergone a massive transformation would be stating the obvious -- a quick comparison of the Lujiazui skyline both then and now is the most obvious indication that Shanghai has come a long way.
Huge, massive skyscrapers are a chance for a city to activate the Keynesian multiplier, creating jobs and pumping yuan into the economy.
Another plus point for great big towers of hulking steel and glass is the bragging rights -- these things are symbols of a city's success. This is what you get when you choose to live and work in your city of origin.
But we digress. The Jin Mao Tower, now no longer Shanghai's tallest, is still an impressive structure, expertly combining elements of East and West as well as being a marvel of engineering. In comparison, the Shanghai World Financial Center looks a tad plain, even if it is sleeker.
It isn't just the physical makeup of the city that has come leaps and bounds in the past 10 years, it's also what is fondly referred to as the software. Access to premium ingredients, sourced both locally and abroad, has improved the dining experience considerably.
A meal at The Grill embodies this change. Walk in and order a dozen Virginian oysters on the half shell (330 yuan/US$48.40). AA Gill recently said there's a lot you can tell about a girl by the way she eats an oyster; similarly, there's a lot you can tell about a place by how they serve them. In this case, the shellfish came arranged on a bed of ice and with just two slices of lemon -- condiments were proffered, but ultimately unnecessary.
The hotel is proud to serve Wagyu beef from Vic's Meat -- one of Australia's top suppliers. Anthony Puharich, who runs the business with his father Victor, revealed his intense belief in the quality of his product during a conversation not long after setting up operations here mid-2007, and, as we enter 2009, is really showing the goods.
The 300-gram Wagyu rib eye (480 yuan) is worth every penny, with a lovely melt-in-your-mouth texture and fantastic marbling giving that richness with every bite. With a number of steakhouses benefiting from using Australian beef, The Grill's Wagyu is another notch in the belt for meat from the land "Down Under."
Address: 56/F, 88 Century Avenue
Tel: 5049-1234
The Grill at the Grand Hyatt is one of those deceptively simple places where you really don't have think too hard about what you are ordering, but, if you happened to actually expend any brain cells when pondering your selection, you will find the kitchen well-equipped to expand upon your queries.
This year the classic property turns a ripe old 10, which, in this city where new constructions pop up like bamboo (did you know it can grow as much as a meter and a half a day? Incredible), a decade of existence frankly is quite a long time. To say this city has undergone a massive transformation would be stating the obvious -- a quick comparison of the Lujiazui skyline both then and now is the most obvious indication that Shanghai has come a long way.
Huge, massive skyscrapers are a chance for a city to activate the Keynesian multiplier, creating jobs and pumping yuan into the economy.
Another plus point for great big towers of hulking steel and glass is the bragging rights -- these things are symbols of a city's success. This is what you get when you choose to live and work in your city of origin.
But we digress. The Jin Mao Tower, now no longer Shanghai's tallest, is still an impressive structure, expertly combining elements of East and West as well as being a marvel of engineering. In comparison, the Shanghai World Financial Center looks a tad plain, even if it is sleeker.
It isn't just the physical makeup of the city that has come leaps and bounds in the past 10 years, it's also what is fondly referred to as the software. Access to premium ingredients, sourced both locally and abroad, has improved the dining experience considerably.
A meal at The Grill embodies this change. Walk in and order a dozen Virginian oysters on the half shell (330 yuan/US$48.40). AA Gill recently said there's a lot you can tell about a girl by the way she eats an oyster; similarly, there's a lot you can tell about a place by how they serve them. In this case, the shellfish came arranged on a bed of ice and with just two slices of lemon -- condiments were proffered, but ultimately unnecessary.
The hotel is proud to serve Wagyu beef from Vic's Meat -- one of Australia's top suppliers. Anthony Puharich, who runs the business with his father Victor, revealed his intense belief in the quality of his product during a conversation not long after setting up operations here mid-2007, and, as we enter 2009, is really showing the goods.
The 300-gram Wagyu rib eye (480 yuan) is worth every penny, with a lovely melt-in-your-mouth texture and fantastic marbling giving that richness with every bite. With a number of steakhouses benefiting from using Australian beef, The Grill's Wagyu is another notch in the belt for meat from the land "Down Under."
Address: 56/F, 88 Century Avenue
Tel: 5049-1234
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