It’s hard not to take note of this unique restaurant where cuisine is an art form and “playing” with your food is part of the program. Having received yet another award as one of the top 50 hotel restaurants in Asia from Food&Wine China magazine and the same from World Traveller in December, Jade on 36 continues to sit at the top of Shanghai’s kingdom of fusion fare. Why?

Let’s put it this way. Here, an amuse bouche is truly amusing. A Foie Gras BonBon offers a bite-size morsel of candied foie gras to be consumed in one bite immediately followed by a shot comprised of herbal tea topped with champagne foam. “We’re taking the risk to do something different,” says Chef Paul Pairet. “If you try to please too many people you become, by definition, average.” It’s like a game where each dish excites you for the next level.

Entertaining presentation and plating is part of the fun but it’s the attention to detail and the marriage of flavors that is truly spectacular. The buttery and rich Truffle Burnt Soup Bread comes with a small sliver of garnished seasonings that alone contains over five ingredients while the Sashimi “Steak Frite” combines a steak fry, a strip of succulent toro and Dijon mustard ice cream to create an surprisingly delightful mixture of tastes.

“Most combinations [of flavors] could work but it depends on how you play with the details,” says Pairet. “You need to avoid the copies and come up with something completely new.” Classics like the Jumbo Shrimp Citrus Jar and the Lemon & Lemon Tart are painstakingly prepared, infused with flavor, and well-deserving of their requisite fame. Pairet’s latest creations debut in February and are well worth saving up some kuai for.

On our recent trip, I chatted with Chef Paul Pairet about his craft.

What do you enjoy about your work? PP: That I've got the freedom to work. We've got basically everything you need to work. There are not many places that are open to doing [something] like this. Hotels are usually reluctant to take a risk, [but] the hotel world is changing."

Can you make something delicious out of any ingredients? PP: Everything could work depending on the approach. It might take time.

What's been the most challenging part of constantly creating new dishes? PP: I can pull something [together] very quickly. What's difficult is to come up with a new concept for a dish. I have to create something myself first. Other people in the field have similar ideas and influences can be very subconscious. If we think there may be something similar already we run a check--in French, German, English, etc.

What's the oddest taste you've ever used? PP: Well, modernity has nothing to do with machinery, approach or design. Sometimes [what I do] doesn't require new techniques. For example, a piece of frozen watermelon with rice wine and vodka just exploits the qualities of the watermelon, its ability to absorb. It could have been done 200 years ago. Generally I play on a new concept but ground it in tradition. It's all very modern and new but there is a reference somewhere in the dish. Have I answered the question? ( he laughs ) Because sometimes I don't.

Not quite ( He also mentions a dish that combined seaweed, rice, green tea, black tea and scallops--yum ).

PP: [I like to work with] tastes that can be exceptionally familiar, despite appearing to be so very far apart.

What about presentation? It's so intricate. Do you usually see an image / presentation that sparks an idea for a dish? Where does the inspiration come from? PP: It's an ongoing process of finding product and presentation. The design is usually the consequence of the dish, though sometimes a tool can generate an idea or inspire a dish.

Have you ever done anything with bubblegum? PP: Lots of people have done bubblegum. I try to avoid things that are already trendy. I've tried to using a combination of the ingredients in bubblegum to make something that tastes similar before but it didn't work.

( He describes the intricate process of trying to combine sorbitol and other ingredients into a fizzy drink ).

PP: Something might become more common but it depends on how you use it. There was a dish I did once using avocado--crushed, with sugar, caramelized on top and a bit of hazlenut and truffle oil. It depends on people's tastes but the goal is to do something that I love, not cater to the people. But I don't insist on it, if people don't like it then I take it off the menu. It was one of my favorites but not everybody liked it, it was too different for some, others loved it. What people like and dislike is very personal.

( He took the avocado dish off the menu but keeps it on the back burner should he ever was to bring it out again. We love avocado. Maybe with a little coaxing ... )

Is there something you would never use? A flavor you don't like? PP: Vegemite. There are few products I hate, but this is one of them. It made me doubt that there was a natural good [in the universe]. Although, the people at Shanghai Talk have challenged me to make a dish with it so I might take on the challenge later this year.

Do you use many Chinese-influence flavors? PP: When in France, the restaurant I was at was considered a more Asian restaurant. I experimented more with Chinese ingredients in France. There were some great Asian markets that had a wide range of products together all in one place. But here, I don't force myself to be Shanghainese.

Nothing specific here that you like working with? PP: There's a fish, it's in between a mackerel and a king fish. It has a texture that is absolutely incredible. You can't cook it, it's like butter--the challenge is to remove the fillet as a whole piece.

Are all the awards important to you? PP: It's more word of mouth that makes us popular. It would be good to get some more official awards--Michelin, for example. There's a need to create a real gastronomic market in Shanghai. Today, most magazine awards are [drawn from] popular vote, not critics. It would be interesting if [the latter] were happening. It's hard to get the perception of what we're doing here to spread internationally. I go to present at St. Sebastian, Singapore and Madrid conferences. For us to go and present, being only two years old, is unusual--it's great.

What do you eat when you're not at the restaurant? PP: My wife's tuna sandwich. My wife thinks I should eat something different but I need something basic and consistent to come home to, as a reference.

Do you have a favorite Western dish? PP: Eggs Benedict.

Chinese? PP: Xiaolongbao.

What's one of your favorite restaurants? PP: Crystal Jade. It's good and has a large scale of products on the menu. The roast pork is a particular favorite. This was the first place I tried when I came here, and that the first dish. I rated it a three Michelin star!