[Shanghai] Cuivre French Restaurante by Michael Wendling

French dining experience is all about the journey, not the destination. It's about enjoying food and really appreciate what you put inside your body and enjoying the moment with friends and family rather than to just simply fill your stomach.

I personally really love the idea but unfortunately nowadays (including me), we are too busy to even have time to properly sit at a table and have a lunch or dinner. I often just grab a handful of something and eat standing at the the counter, or for lunch or dinner, if I did not have a plan with friends here, I often eat alone in front of my laptop. For a foodie like me, doing so did not make me full as it just did not fully satisfied and sometimes did not realize what I actually eat.

Realizing that, I started to decrease the amount of time I ate alone in my room and try to always spare time for at least a nice meal at a table, savoring the food and soak up the culinary experience. It is really an pleasure things to do.

So last time, I had a great meal at this French Restaurante along Huaihai Zhong Lu (Jiaotong University Metro station). It was one of a well known French restaurant with an affordable pricetag and not to forget a great and comfortable ambiance.

I went there last saturday night and they are not very busy. It just has enough people to fill around half of the dining room but like I said, French people love to enjoy their meal. So, each table stay there really for a good amount of time.

That night, we did not order the full course menu but instead just jump straight to the main course.

Risotto a la truffe (RMB 128)
Perfectly cooked arborio rice with black truffle served with shaved "iberico" cheese. This is probably one of the best risotto I have tasted so farr! The rice was cooked to perfection, the truffle was so fragrance, it infused well to the rice, eat it with the iberico cheese, just a complete culinary heaven.

Le Cochon Noir (RMB 158)
500g black pig rack. This is huge! The size of the rack was very memorable but more than that, the texture was even more so. I can't believe the meat was very tender, it's slide through the knife nicely and the taste was unquestionably great. The herbs and mustardy sauce definitely helps bringing out the natural flavor of this juicy pork. Oh by the way, the rack came with a lentil sides on a separate bowl.

Mousse au Chocolat (RMB 58)
Classic! For me though, the mousse was quite too dense and sweet to the point that I can only eat about 2-3 spoon of this. Fortunately, I did not have to finish this one since my friends like the chocolate. Hehe!

Les Pommes Tarte Tatin (RMB 68)
Another Classic French dessert.Not like the mousse though, from the presentation, you could tell that the this is a contemporary version of tarte tatin garnished with caramel sauce and milk foam. I really like the tart base that utilized velo pastry. It rich in butter flavor just the way I like to be! <3

All in all, this is just a pleasant dining experience that I had here in Cuivre. Definitely a recommended place to go. I actually did not mind coming back to try the foie gras terrine and soupe a la truffe that I heard a lot of good review about.

I just wished I could eat here everydayy. 

Vintage looking restroom!

Cuivre by Michael Wendling
1502 Huaihai Zhong Lu (near Wulumuqi Lu)
淮海中路1502号, 近乌鲁木齐路
Tel:+86 21 6437 4219
Email: restaurant.cuivre@gmail.com
Website: www.cuivre.cn
Operating Hours: 

Dinner: Monday to Sunday 6pm to 10:30pm (restaurant closed every tuesday)
Brunch: Saturday and Sunday 12:00 pm to 2.00pm

-YDW