New Wave by Da Vittorio

In January, New Wave by Da Vittorio – the innovative sister restaurant to three Michelin-starred Da Vittorio from Bergamo – welcomed Chef Andrea Fiori to head up their kitchen team.

Fiori recently made the move to China from Catalonia, after working at three Michelin star Lasarte in Barcelona for the last two years.

Before that, he cut his teeth at In Viaggo in Bolzano, Italy and with the Cerea family at Da Vittorio Brusaporto (Lombardy, Italy), where he grew up. 

Image courtesy of New Wave by Da Vittorio

Stepping into Chef Francesco Bonvini’s shoes – with the help of the close-knit team – he has seamlessly maintained the venue’s ethos with this newly launched menu, while simultaneously leaving his own footprint – his sharing-centric style of cooking.

Amuse Bouche – Mediterranean tuna under oil, potato foam, parsley powder; Bergamo “martini.” 

Meaning “sharing” in Italian, the Condivisione Menu (RMB1,388/per person, minimum of two diners – with optional wine pairing add-on for an additional RMB588 per person) centers around the concept of communal, family-style meals – an important aspect of both Italian and Chinese life – that builds a bridge between the polyglot culinary origins of the dishes on offer.

Taking that philosophy even further, Fiori employs many local Chinese ingredients – from produce to proteins – presenting them through Italian cooking techniques.

A prime example of this is the Hebei Scallop “Carbonara” served on the half shell. This locally-sourced mollusk is swaddled in a carbonara foam, at once buttery and airy, with the pecorino's salinity augmenting the supple scallop’s natural sweetness. 

Similarly, the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio is sheathed by feathery wisps of Yunnan black truffle...

… while Sichuan-sourced Oscietra caviar crowns pesto-laced Angel Hair Pasta, delimited by unctuous Dalian sea urchin, and steeped in a puddle of clarified tomato water. 

The Eggplant Parmigiana 2.0 features two batons of mozzarella cheese swathed in sun-dried tomato and eggplant, all draped in a holy trinity of sauces – parmesan, basil cream, and tomato reduction – finished with a dusting of black olive crumble. 

A favorite of the lot, the Fujian Amberjack Tartare sees interspersed dollops of corn purée and homemade mayonnaise, bordered by black potato crisps.  

The opposite of esoteric, the Deep Fried Primizie is the Italian answer to fish’n’chips – a dish that can be understood by just about anyone.

Tempura-esque batter coats the seasonal fish – in this case dragonfish – the corrugated nuggets acting as the consummate canvas for sopping up the parsley-based garlic and lemon sauce on the side. 

One of Chef Fiori’s favorite bites on the new menu, the Artichoke is presented in two ways – marinated and steamed artichoke heart adorned with artichoke leaf chips – brought together with a moat of horseradish, galangal root, and chive oil poured à la minute.

Springy Shandong Carabiner’s Shabu Shabu surround a painter’s palette worth of sauces: a lettuce reduction; yogurt; and a beetroot mayo.

Ideal for indecisive diners, the new menu’s focal point is the aforementioned bountiful banquet of all the appetizers, offered in sharing size portions – so patrons “aren’t confined to choosing only one or two plates, but instead won’t miss a single bite,” explains Fiori, while carting in a growing spread of breads to pair with the upcoming courses. 

Bread Selections – Focaccia, Black Olive Swirl Puff Bread, Corn and Mille Feuille Grissini flecked with Malton sea salt)

If this seems like enough for your appetite, you can order just this Carosello di Antipasti (RMB658/per person, minimum of two diners).

However, if you opt for the full Condivisione set, there’s an additional choice of pasta, secondi main, and dessert. 

We – obviously – leaned towards the latter, and so the feast continues with thin, ribbon-like housemade, applewood Smoked Fettuccine laden with Ningbo clams and fresh fennel.

The seafood’s brininess is tempered by a zippy sour cream sauce, slurpable until the last strand.

A heart on the sleeve love song to Italian cuisine, the “Vittorio Style” Mancini Paccheri is a dish found on the menu at every Da Vittorio around the globe – including the original Bergamo location for over five decades.

And for good reason. 

One bite of these superbly al dente cylindrical tubes could make us forget we were just about anywhere... along with our name, date of birth and future ambitions.

It’s hard to see past the next mouthful of something so delectable. 

Pure tomato inception is the only way to describe the sauce, one that marries four kinds of tomato – two local Chinese, two Italian – with 16-month aged Parmesan, resulting in something silkily smooth, its rounded richness accented by tannic minerality.

Linguine Pasta – New Zealand scampi and mussels, tomato, Zarda, and pecan sauce

The sticky beef jus glazed- and black garlic dusted-Braised Australian Wagyu M7 Short Rib (RMB518) is 100 grams of pure succulence, a worthwhile must-order secondi add-on.

Accordion-like pleats of fat melt into this rosy bovine cut, one that separates into meaty shreds with the mere nudge of a fork.

Positioned astride a quenelle of caramelized onion and mustard purée, the tender meat is contrasted by agreeably tart beetroot juice-simmered onions.

Desserts, designed by Pastry Chef Pietro Sivelli, are all about taking traditional Italian sweets and reimagining them in a more whimsical, modern way – one that matches the UCCA Edge contemporary art museum in which this restaurant resides. 

Inspired by the works of the famed Jackson Pollock, a moreish mosaic is plated – aka created – by diners themselves tableside. 

A lashing of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry sauces mimic Pollock’s signature 'Jack the Dripper' painting style, while a splatter of chocolate and vanilla milk foam balls follows in the same vein.

Unsystematically placed tufts of vanilla, chocolate and spearmint sponge cake come next, trailed by vanilla and chocolate crumble and spoonfuls of seasonal ice cream and sorbet. 

Seemingly haphazard in arrangement, the dessert immediately proves its cohesiveness, each contrasting and complimentary flavor and texture forming a symbiotic relationship with the rest, resulting in a mouthwateringly messy whole greater than the sum of its parts. 

Interactive and playful is the name of the game with yet another dessert, this one paying homage to the mysterious street artist and political activist Banksy and his most replicated piece, Balloon Girl, first produced back in 2002.

A stencil-sprayed meringue balloon showcasing this renowned work encases the real treacly treat – one that can only be uncovered by diners smashing the balloon with a provided wooden hammer.

In the aftermath of the crash, guests are left with an equally imaginative (and enticing) strawberry shortcake... of sorts – a raspberry cake layered with strawberry jam, tonka bean whipped cream, strawberry ice cream, white chocolate snow, and a vanilla drizzle. 

Petite Four

As well as the above-described Condivisione Set, New Wave also has a Three-Course Business Lunch (RMB398), including an appetizer, pasta or main, dessert, and a fresh juice of the day, available weekdays from 11.30am-2pm.

New Wave by Da Vittorio, 3/F, UCCA Edge, Xizang Bei Lu, by Qufu, Lu 西藏北路88号UCCAEdge三层.

Maison Lameloise

Taking a three-Michelin star culinary experience with over 90 years of heritage out of its quaint hometown of Chagny, Burgundy to Shanghai is no small feat.

Luckily, six years ago, Chef Eric Pras of Maison Lameloise Chagny was up for the challenge

Now, over half a decade on, Pras is still here and still going strong – very strong – maintaining his three Michelin star status in France, along with a Michelin star in Shanghai, awarded in 2020.

READ MORE: 3 Michelin Star Chef Eric Pras: The Maison Lameloise Evolution

Cheff Yann Klein (left), Chef Eric Pras (right)

The seasonally updated Le Menu Dégustation (RMB1,888) – a collaboration between Chef Pras and Maison Lameloise Shanghai Executive Chef Yann Klein – is four courses, plus amuse-bouche and desserts.

The amuse-bouche sets the indulgently playful tone for the meal, with foie gras lollipops dipped in cocoa butter, sprinkled with roasted almond slivers and a trickle of blackcurrant jelly for a creamy morsel that melts like – well – cocoa butter. 

Other nibbles follow: a salmon salad puff capped with cured salmon and a daub of parsley aioli; beef and tuna tartare with avocado purée; a warm parsley and bread crumble coated sphere filled with snail and crowned with a charred octopus tentacle; and – like a Michelin-starred version of a sports bar snack – a homemade potato crisp stacked with dried sausage, French cheese, and a drizzle of red wine vinaigrette and olive oil. 

It wouldn’t be a French fine dining menu without the requisite foie gras, a dense slab of which finds its way onto the plate as the Duck Foie Gras, crusted in hazelnuts and encircled by dots of lemon caramel and marinated micro mushrooms.

Alternating pleats of steamed mushroom and daikon are pressed together – identically shaped and aligned – into triangles of 'cake,' exemplifying the chef’s adept knife skills.

A pillowy mushroom brioche is concurrently served (steam escaping when pierced) – the ideal canvas for a shmear of buttery foie gras. 

And, if the brioche wasn’t enough, the bread waiter pops by just about now, presenting diners with an assortment of five more baked confectionaries: mini crisped baguettes; demurely sweet raisin and walnut buns; flaky brioche croissants; crumbly scones; and a hearty sliced whole wheat loaf...

... the ultimate fodder for sopping and swiping up every last saucy drop in the courses to come. 

Case in point, the moat of peppery Chardonnay and galangal butter that soaks into the aromatic oil confit Coral Grouper, the new menu’s second course.

Although not native to France, after tasting it steamed and served whole in a Cantonese restaurant, the chef duo was immediately intrigued by the coral grouper's firm yet supple texture. 

“We now use this local fish, but cook and present it in a French way,” explains Klein. “It took us creating more than six different iterations of the dish before settling on how we wanted to showcase this regional protein source, combining the flavors and techniques of France with the ingredients of China.”

Said 'French way' involves a newly in-season white asparagus cake, bejeweled with a crown of shellfish and croutons.

Unassuming pearls of blackcurrant reduction lend a pop of brightness – in color and flavor intensity – to the monochrome palette, a plate that is at once muted and refined. 

A core ingredient on any Burgundy menu, Milk-fed Lamb became a monumental sourcing task during COVID.

A nearly three-year process – involving permission from the government, connecting with lamb farmers in Xinjiang and Gansu, and setting up a supply chain – was undertaken by the team, but “the payoff was well worth it for that first taste of home after so long,” remarks Klein. 

The currently Gansu-sourced lamb is young, usually only 2-3 months old, resulting in tender meat with only the faintest gamy aroma.

First marinated in cottage cheese and hazelnut, the lamb rack and saddle boast a ruddy glow, expertly cooked to a yieldingly tender medium rare. 

A masa-esque corncake is sheathed by torched sweet corn kernels, while a trio of artichoke – steamed, puréed, and crisped – is stuffed with a lamb shoulder sausage.

Crimson dots of red pepper purée, lamb jus, and a hazelnut basil pistou round out the vegetal, earthy plate. 

A Bali and Madagascar vanilla cream disc rests atop a raw and cooked blueberry jam, perimetered by a tuft of steamed egg white as the Blueberry and Vanilla.

Like minimalist modern art as a dessert – if shades of purple were the only color option against a white backdrop – dusky blueberry cream sauce is dribbled over the top, its splattering augmenting the dusting of dehydrated blueberry. 

Petite Four

The mantra “tradition is innovation” is what has developed Maison Lameloise into the powerhouse brand that it is today; the aim is to always be moving forward, always asking questions, always striving towards improvement and – ultimately – perfection.

The dishes scream innovation, living this philosophy of following timeless, classic French traditions while still evolving.

Maison Lameloise, 68/F, Shanghai Tower, No. 501 Yincheng Zhong Lu, 浦东新区银城中路501号上海中心大厦68楼.