Just steps from the Bourse, Bund’s gamble? Contemporary Chinese cuisine created by… a Japanese chef. Ryuya Ono reinterprets popular Chinese classics his own way: surgical precision paired with the generosity of dishes made for sharing. Quite a balancing act, yet one that never feels forced.
As for the decor, the dining room combines a hushed atmosphere with clean lines: polished enough for a business lunch, cozy enough for dinner with friends – or a table for two. Lunch is lively; in the afternoon, the restaurant shifts into tea-room mode, an island of calm amid the Parisian bustle; come evening, the lights dim and the crowd – stylish, plugged-in, half aficionados of contemporary Asian cuisine, half curious neighborhood regulars – settles in.
On the plate, sharing is the name of the game, with contrasts playing a starring role. The sauces and tofu are made in-house, and it shows: the balance of flavors is calibrated down to the last detail. Sweet-and- sour pork plays off steamed cod with mustard greens, while Tompolo pork comes with crab, and veal brains get the mapo tofu treatment. Further up the menu, Peking duck with cucumber and caviar and pollock with XO sauce sum up the whole approach: a cuisine that follows several paths without ever losing the thread.
Natural-wine lovers will find plenty to raise a glass to, with a selection tailored to these clean, direct flavors. And to finish, mango and grapefruit with tapioca and coconut milk extends the journey by exactly the right amount.
