A cigarillo of foie gras rolled in strawberry crystal, presented on a silver Starck ashtray with slivers of black truffle ash aptly named Cant Quit, is indicative of the fabulous humour and inimitable talent behind the cutting-edge cuisine served at Jade on 36 – Shanghai’s shiniest culinary gem.

Located on the 36th floor of Shanghais Shangri La hotel, here the meticulous detail shows that food shouldnt satiate one sense alone: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste should all contribute. Life’s too short to be dull.

Headed up by Frenchman Paul Pairet, previously of Costes Paris, and designed by acclaimed interior design guru, Adam Tihany, Jade on 36 juxtaposes elements of fine dining with modern, minimalist touches – enhanced by the incomparable Shanghai Bund view.

The colour-coded menu offers four options: Crimson, Magenta, Cyan, and of course Jade, each made up of four, six or eight courses.

The first course is aptly named Breakfast, and consists of duck à lorange “sunny side up”: cubes of sublimely tender duck is presented around a deceivingly realistic egg of orange (for the yolk) and coconut (the white), encircled by pea puree and green vegetables.

Next up is Bread, inspired by sauce meunière: a finger of fluffy brown bread flounced in warm butter on one side and a fluff of foam on the other – all finished with a hint of truffle. Decadent comfort food at its best.

Then its on to the signature Jumbo Shrimp, whimsically presented in a glass jar. A huge shrimp is shot through with a stick of lemongrass and then poached in the jar with citrus peel, leaves and juices. It emits a steamy puff of flavours when opened.

Tuna is a 6cm slab of sashimi served with a 30cm-long french fry, a dollop of zesty mustard sorbet and a miso reduction.

And just when you think its impossible to fit any more in, youre presented with a tiny rectangle of laced watermelon sorbet as digestive.

The grand finale is the spectacular Lemon – a very thin, whole lemon peel that has been candied by soaking it in sugar water for 72 hours, injected with a lemon curd sorbet. It reportedly took Chef Pairet 300 painstaking tries to reach a version of this dish that he was entirely happy with.

The food is nothing short of avant garde, and everything is presented with a light-heartedness and sense of irony, but without compromising quality. Such as the lightest, cloud-like mousse presented in a sardine tin.

A sardine tin? In a country where china and linen are of the worlds finest? Pairet sniggers at criticism. “How else shall I present it?

Jade on 36
Shangri La Hotel, 33 Fu Chen Lu, Pudong, Shanghai, China. 
Call  +86 21 6882 3636 or visit www.jadeon36.com

Images sourced from www.jadeon36.com