[Shanghai] Coquille (2)

Coquille | Dianping
Address: 蒙自路29号 – 29 Mengzi Rd next to Scarpetta (卢湾区 Luwan District)
Date visited: 2014.04
Total bill: RMB¥2,722 for four people
Will return: Yes
What to get: Everything

I find that if I am particularly fond of a restaurant, there is inevitably a second review where I try to taste the rest of the menu (and re-taste some favorites, you know, purely to determine consistency for research purposes of course). So here I am, Coquille round 2. Thanks for keeping me perpetually round, John.

My first visit to Coquille was during the soft opening when they were rolling out dishes by the day and making adjustments to the menu based on feedback. During this second visit, the menu appeared to have stabilized and expanded with several additions, particularly in the dessert section.

Malbec (RMB¥498 for bottle) is the wine of choice as usual.

Yellow fin tuna “poke” tartare (RMB¥168) with Iberico ham, edamame, lotus root, avocado, sesame seed, pea sprout
Recommend: yes
A light and springy tartare incorporated with edamame and cilantro, topped off with a slight kick. Tastes like SoCal. I can eat a bowl of these lotus chips alone.

New Zealand venison tartare (RMB¥178) with pickled pear, pine needle oil, quail egg, crispy shallot, juniper vinaigrette
Recommend: yes
The taste of Bambi is so tender with a bit of sweetness and crunch from the crispy shallot. No sympathy.

Endive, celery root & arugula salad (RMB¥78) with Fuji apple, Roquefort cheese, candied walnut, Chardonnay-tarragon vinaigrette
Recommend: yes
I am a fan of this distinct Roquefort cheese, which is a sheep’s milk blue cheese from France. Since this is a blue cheese, it is pungent so it is a take-it-or-leave-it-dish depending on what your opinion of blue cheese is.

House-made duck charcuterie plate (RMB¥118) with duck pate de champagne, duck prosciutto, mustard seed-plum compote, caper berry
Recommend: yes
Super indulgent duck prosciutto with strips of fat across the thin slices.

Crispy frog legs (RMB¥98) with garlic cream, parsley-walnut pistou
Recommend: yes
Crispy and juicy at the same time. One of my favorites here!

Escargots (RMB¥88) with red curry, lemongrass-ginger butter, kaffir lime, cilantro
Recommend: yes
Another one of my favorites (among favorites) here. We kept the plate with leftover sauce to soak our bread into. Seriously good.

Oven roasted beef bone marrow (RMB¥138) with red wine braised short rib ragout, herb salad, fleur de sel, grilled baguette
Recommend: yes
Always generous amounts of bone marrow. The smoky charred baguette is spot on for the bone marrow.

Bavette steak frites (RMB¥298) with Australian wagyu M3, glazed pearl onion, thyme-beef jus
Recommend: yes
This fills a much needed steak frites void in Shanghai. These fries are amazing–I know that is not the focus of this dish but the fries are so perfectly crispy they deserve this sentence.

And our grand finale:

House-spice roasted whole Dungeness crab (Market Price; today’s price ¥800+) with garlic-parsley butter
Recommend: yes
I usually won’t lift a finger to eat crab. But for these, I will. The gold scissors aren’t too shabby either for my rare finger-lifting. This house spice is crack and I kept licking my fingers even though we had water bowls for rinsing. The garlic noodles were al dente, exactly how I like my noodles cooked. Epic does not even begin to describe it.

For dessert, the tarte au citron (RMB¥78) is a must at Coquille. A few new desserts popped up on the menu since my first visit so we gave them a try.

Green apple sorbet (RMB¥68) with ginger granita, apple crisp
Recommend: if you like fruity sorbet (but I don’t)

Creme brulee (RMB¥58) with Earl Grey and lavender, vanilla shortbread
Recommend: yes
I saw this on the dessert menu, which was not there during my previous visit, and I had to have it. A very special creme brulee with flavors of Earl Grey, lavender, and mint at the same time.

Layered crepe cake (RMB¥68) with Grand Marnier Diplomat, macerated strawberries
Recommend: yes
Soothing cream sandwiched between layers of crepes. Make sure to eat the crepe cake together with the strawberries!

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