Is there a certain charm, a certain magic to feeling like one is in France, when one is really in Shanghai? A French chef, a French hostess (his wife) and a French owner, walking the boards in a 44-seat varnished wood and glowing copper-toned restaurant in the middle of the former French Concession, have combined to pluck from the thin Shanghai air a thoroughly Francophile experience, in nearly every aspect--except perhaps the friendly, crew-cut, round-faced young man wearing an apron embroidered with the word "sommelier." He is decidedly Shanghainese, but suitably proud of the extensive selection of 600 fine wines from 140 labels. "For a restaurant of this small scale, it's unheard of to have this many labels," says Eric Ji.

Chef Jérôme Lagarde came to Shanghai after stints in L.A. and Russia to head the kitchens of Sens & Bund at Bund 18. Last month, with investors and an ideal location, he launched his own enterprise, La Grange (French). Upstairs in the quaint, beamed, peak-roofed dining room, the hostess--who is trim with bobbed hair--keeps a hawk eye on every table.

An amuse bouche of asparagus emulsion with parmesan foam goes down cold and tingling, thin and pure tasting. The chef's specialty foie gras macaroni is a giant slice of pan-fried goose liver lying atop precisely al dente ziti pasta coated in shredded black truffles. Truffles again plaster the mashed potatoes on top of tender 12-hour cooked pork leg.

Lagarde runs a strict kitchen. He's neither smiley nor chummy as many chefs are. He uses Shanghai's premium suppliers: Gusto Fine Foods, Planet Caviar, Sinodis. He liberally employs his native Basque Espelette pepper. "We use the best products, and make it simple. This is my way," says Lagarde. "We make everything fresh every day: veal, lamb, fish, lobster stock. My 10 staff work for eight hours to make mise en place. Most guests say it's the first time there has been a really French restaurant in Shanghai."

Breads are baked at 5am daily in scrumptious varieties including bacon, cheese and walnut. The cute petit fours are painstakingly crafted. Macaroons have a poofy, then chewy texture; lemon tart filling is sour and silky. Lagarde taught the bakers himself. "Every day for a month of training, we cooked everything, then threw it out. For the whole menu," he says. Lagarde's pear dessert trio includes a moist soufflé, a cooked whole pear which is delightfully sauced with sea salt caramel, and a pear sorbet which brings one's palate full-circle, echoing the delicate clarity of the asparagus soup amuse bouche.

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