Avalon, the "wood grill and wine bar" opening soon on Changle Lu, had a small welcoming party last night, and we got the chance to go behind the scenes with owner and former ASC VP Howard Quan for a quick sneak preview.

The first floor of the restaurant will have a glass-walled kitchen with two wood-burning grills and a small tank to keep the fish fresh. The kitchen will be run by Hilary Ambrose Jr., who worked in Jean George's Spice Kitchen (in New York) and for NY-bigshot David Bouley. More recently, he worked in Hong Kong and at the Venetian casino in Macau. All impressive, of course, but maybe more so is the fact that Quan found him by putting a post up on Craigslist. Ambrose Jr wasn't even on the team's radar at the beginning of their chef search.

Quan tells me that they're also going to experiment a bit with the grill and truck in some grape vines directly from Grace Vineyards, China's best-known winery, to chuck into the fire (alongside the wood) for some added flavor.

The second floor houses a nice big wine cellar that will feature 150 wines (the original 190-plus wine list was painstakingly whittled down by Quan himself) and a more private ten-person dining area. The entire two-floor operation will apparently be able to seat 60; it sounds a little optimistic at this point but we'll have to see once they fit the place with tables and chairs.

We'll be back when it opens, if only for the RMB88 Canadian lobsters that Quan has promised they'll offer for the restaurant's first few months. Originally slated to open in March, Avalon's new target launch date is April 20.