Just returned to the home office/garden from a lovely luncheon at T8 with the folks behind the Puli Hotel, the lux pile going up across from Jing’an Temple, and sked’d for an October launch. A few other media types and myself were invited for the very first public showing of their new chef, a Mr. Dane Clouston, formerly of Opia—the critically-acclaimed hotspot inside Hong Kong’s Jia hotel (the first interior in HK done up by the goth and drama-loving designer Phillip Starck). Dane will be heading up the Puli’s restaurant, named Jing’an.

At Opia, Dane’s skills attracted lots of media accolades, including Conde Nast’s “Hot Tables” list, and a spot on Wallpaper’s top new restaurants in the world. The delightful and witty food blog Chubby Hubby (“dining, whining & marriage”) raved about Dane’s cooking at Opia in a March 2007 post. (Photo credit for the above shot of Dane's foie gras also goes to chubbyhubby.com)

Dane is a young, soft-spoken guy originally from New Zealand. When I first shook his hand, I wasn’t sure if he was just someone along for the lunch—he doesn’t radiate ego or loud opinion, like many other renowned people who cook.

He told us the menu he is designing will be “modular” meaning that diners can construct their own meal by combining “proteins”, “garnishes”, etc, so that every meal can be customized and different from the last. Sort of a culinary mix-n-match, in the style of the fêted Craft in Manhattan—although Craft’s modular menu was written in such a sparse unorthodox manner that it was sometimes criticized as being confusing for diners. Dane also described a foie gras dish he created for Opia that combined chocolate mousse, caviar and a crispy potato slice with a soy mirin reduction. It was his first time cooking with foie gras, and he said he was pretty pleased with the results—as were his diners. It’s still on the menu at Opia now.

Dane told me he’s really looking forward to exploring local ingredients, and incorporating them into his menu. He also told us a funny story about accidentally buying an outrageously priced dog blanket (he mis-read the price tag and by the time he noticed what he'd been charged, he was already on his way home) in Hong Kong for his English bulldog, Winston, and how the shop owner gifted him with a huge selection of “doggie cannoli” and other ridiculous specialty dog pastries.

Incidentally, T8’s Chef Jeno Friedl prepared us a gorgeous menu which included a silky white asparagus soup and a stunning appetizer of scallops, chives and mascarpone, and topped with a clear ribbon of ginger jelly, and tiny cubes of mango and watermelon which looked like juicy jewels, scattered together with purple and yellow violet petals. Truly a pretty and unique summer dish.

Dane said he bought some beautiful broad beans at Freshmart yesterday which were remarkably fresh and tasty. I encouraged him to explore his local wet market to find the freshest in-season veggies in Shanghai. I’ll be meeting up with Dane for a meal sometime soon; I plan to introduce him to one of my favorite local holes-in-the-wall, and to chat with him more about his vision for the cuisine at Jing’an.