has been open in Shanghai for as long I can remember. The owners have made good in Shanghai with a , a , and . But it all started with Saleya. My first visit, which was more years ago than I care to even ponder, had left me cold, and I'd never really bothered to return. When they remodeled at the beginning of the year, the bistro seemed ripe for a revisit.
The place still gives of a great first impression. It's spacious outdoor seating area will always remain a big draw, even in the sweat drenched months to come. Fortunately, it appears they've expanded their footprint to accommodate more seating here. Inside it still has that classic bistro look鈥攓uaint and comfortable shabby chic, Edith Piaf on the speakers (if memory serves me).
Service is better than I remember, too, with prompt responses and thorough, friendly explanations of the chalkboard menu. Though, to be fair, on my visit I overheard another patron saltily ask for her butter "for the third time," so perhaps it's a touch uneven... or maybe she was just unreasonably demanding. Neither would surprise me.
They're holding their own with the food, too. It's nothing ground breaking. I've in around town, but, to be fair, I also paid more. This is bistro food. It's supposed to showcase a chef's respect for tradition, not his or her flair for innovation. This is the kind of stuff that I imagine much of Shanghai's French contingent likes to tuck into when they don't want to think too hard about what they're eating. And we could all use a little of that sometimes.
Escargots are a fine place to start. Saleya's taste pretty much the way they should taste鈥攊ntensely herbal and lavished with clarified butter. My only complaint is that they're served out of the shell. I'm sure it has zero effect on taste. But there is something about gently extracting the meat from the shell with that tiny fork and those purpose-built pliers that enhances the experience of eating snails.
If snails make you squeamish, they do a solid duck carpaccio. As far as I can tell, they're only using four ingredients in this dish: thin slices of duck breast, a generous drizzle of olive oil, a few granules of fleur de sel and a lemon wedge to pull it all together. Simple, straightforward, good.
Some mains show reasonably well, too. They're hachis parmentier is worth ordering. If that term is unfamiliar to you, this is basically what the French call shepherd's pie. It's usually a thick, blanket of mashed potatoes over a simmer of minced beef or mutton. Saleya swaps the meat out with tender duck leg confit to satisfying results.
But then then there is this...
Slow-cooked cochon de lait, or suckling pig. Our server pushed this item hard, telling us it was his favorite thing on the menu. But who are we kidding? Is slow-cooked suckling pig really a hard sell? Unfortunately, Saleya's interpretation left me scratching my head. I've got no beef with the pork. Putting the tender mince in a ring mold and slightly browning it on top gives it an extra dimension of texture. But it comes to the table floating helplessly in a runny puddle of bland cream sauce with cabbage. Why?
Desserts, thankfully, make up for this. This apple tart is a fair effort. It's got kind of pineapple upside down cake thing going on, but it's alright.
But it's no match for their profiteroles. It's pretty hard to mess up choux pastry lovingly smothered in chocolate and dolloped with fresh whipped cream.
All told, the bill was 795rmb for three courses for two people and a couple of high gravity Belgian beers. You could certainly do a lot worse around town.
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