Stay a little while at S.T.A.Y: Wicked Sunday Brunch

Posted: April 6th, 2012 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Foodies & Dining Scene | Tags: Blu Lobster, Brian McKenna, Pastry Library, S.T.A.Y., Simple Table Alléno Yannick, Weekend Brunch | No Comments »

S.T.A.Y. is a point of destination. The acronym actually stands for Simple Table Alléno Yannick, but take away the acronym and they should really just leave it as one word: STAY, in all caps.

Because of its location and price point, this is not a place you stumble upon, but something you prepare yourself for.  When you dine at STAY, you should prepare to sit back, relax and indulge in all food-related guilty-pleasures that exist…cause you won’t be leaving any time soon.

Proof in point, on my first visit to STAY for their Sunday brunch (only Sundays from 11AM-4PM), I basically spent my entire Sunday at STAY with a group of us there for at least 5 hours (we hung around awhile after brunch was over because we couldn’t move). Part of the reason was because we wanted to make the most of the journey there, but mostly because we wanted to take advantage of the free-flow champagne and their magnificent dessert buffet called their “Pastry Library” for as long as possible.

To give you a bit of background, this is the new chef and concept that took over Brian McKenna’s legendary Blu Lobster restaurant. Knowing the creative capabilities of Brian McKenna, I know in its heyday, Blu Lobster was famed and relished for its exuberant molecular gastronomy cuisine.  But alas, Brian is long gone from this space, having first opened ROOMbeijing in the Park Hyatt followed by his newest projects like INO, his 16-seater private dining concept serving 30 dishes per person at a price point of about RMB 1,500 per person (more info coming soon).

While Brian’s style of cooking can be labeled as fantastical with so many unique dish creations, Chef Yannick Alléno has taken a different approach to fine dining. Also titled a “Michelin Star Chef”, he was the chef for Paris’ 3-Michelin Star restaurant Le Meurice and 1947 Restaurant at Cheval Blanc. Rather than serve fancy food, Chef Yannick is all about French basics with signature dishes like the quail egg with coral sea urchin and lobster tart (which is still pretty fancy to me).

Massive Mural of the Restaurant’s Hero: Chef Yannick Alleno

Regardless of how “basic” they claim their food to be, we’re still talking very high-end French cuisine in a Shangri-la hotel with a ceiling full of chandeliers so you can still expect to be impressed.

This quality of dining is created for those with an appreciative palette.  

Granted, this is probably the most expensive brunch in town and it’s a trek to get to (this Shangri-la is in the west side of Beijing close to the Beijing Zoo), but it was a brunch I won’t forget about for a very long time. It’s almost been a week since my visit and I can almost remind myself of the rich flavors that linger just that much longer.

LumDimSum Snapshots Stepping into STAY:

Feels more and more like Spring

A ceiling full of chandeliers

The Communal Table is a highlight in STAY

Enough about the chef, the restaurant decor and it’s concept, let’s get down to business and talk food.

Photos speak for themselves so feast your eyes on the LumDimSum Photo Gallery of my brunch at STAY.

LumDimSum Snapshots of STAY’s Weekend Brunch:

STAY’s Freshly Baked Croissant Basket

Complimentary Bread Basket

Happy Start to Our Brunch

 

With a few of us not going for the free-flow champagne option, I thought it was lovely when the staff came around with a trolly full of fresh juices – carafes fulls of fresh kiwi, watermelon, orange, honey melon and grapefruit juice.  Almost everyone got one and we were happy until the bill came in the end and we realized that they failed to mention that each glass of juice was RMB 70 aka, the most expensive juice EVER!  This was poor form on STAY’s part. They really should have said up-front that the fresh fruit juice was not complimentary and that it came with a hefty price tag.

BEWARE: Most expensive fresh fruit juice EVER (RMB 70 per glass)

 

With expensive juice and champagne in hand and some freshly baked bread baskets to nibble on, we were ready to begin our brunch feast. Each of us chose from one of three appetizers (pasture, sea or healthy) followed by one of three main course options (meat, fish or pasta of the day).

STAY’s Weekend Brunch Menu

Designed for carnivores, this set is sure to satisfy your meat cravings.  If anything, after finishing off this set, you might want to go for anything other than meat. In my opinion, it’s a meat overkill.  Good thing we ordered a variety of sets so we could all pick at each other’s dishes.

The highlight of this set was by far the Foie Gras (served in selection of charcuterie) and the Wild Mushroom & Pancetta Egg Cocotte.

STAY’s ‘Pasture’ Appetizer Set:

STAY’s Pasture Appetizer Set: Angus Beef Tartar

STAY’s Pasture Appetizer Set: Selection of Charcuterie

STAY’s Pasture Appetizer Set: Wild Mushroom & Pancetta Egg Cocotte

STAY’s Pasture Appetizer Set: Green Lentil Salad & Homemade Black Truffle Sausage

As you might have guessed, I went for the ‘Sea’ appetizer set.  There was no way I could turn down Fresh Oysters, Lobster Carpaccio and Sea Urchin Scrambled Eggs.  The presentation was stunning  (scrambed eggs served in sea urchin shell) and uniquely creative ( smoked salmon sliced to look like salmon sashimi).

If anything, this set was filling as a meal in itself!  It was so good, I finished every last bite with barely any stomach space left over for the main course…and pastry library!

STAY’s ‘Sea’ Appetizer Set:

STAY’s Sea Appetizer Set: Sea Urchin Scrambled Eggs

STAY’s Sea Appetizer Set: Lobster Carpaccio

STAY’s Sea Appetizer Set: Homemade Smoked Salmon & Cucumber Salad

STAY’s Sea Appetizer Set: Oyster, Red Wine Shallot Vinaigrette

See STAY’s ‘Sea’ Appetizer Set Together:

The “Healthy” appetizer set was much more boring by comparison to the first two appetizer sets. Healthy food can be just as delicious as rich, fatty, indulgent foods, but maybe the French have yet to master this.  Everything was quite bland and really nothing impressive.

STAY’s ‘Healthy’ Appetizer Set:

STAY’s ‘Healthy’ Appetizer Set: Grilled Vegetable Barigoules

STAY’s ‘Healthy’ Appetizer Set: Italian Burrata and Tomato Basilica Sauce

STAY’s ‘Healthy’ Appetizer Set: Egg White & Black Truffle Omelet

STAY’s ‘Healthy’ Appetizer Set: Vegetable Soup & Tofu

STAY was family friendly, bringing out a plate of baby sliders for our little 2 year old.

Little Sliders for Little Ones

Main Courses:

Fish of the Day:

STAY’s Fish of the Day Served Tableside in Pan

Final Presentation of “Fish of the Day”

Roasted Meat of the Day – Roast Chicken Main:

Creamy Mashed Potato

As much as I appreciated and enjoyed the brunch menu, everything I had consumed was completely overshadowed by the ‘Pastry Library’ by the very young and talented Pastry Chef Florian Couteau.  This guy’s only 24 years old and has been a professional pastry chef from the age of 12!  This is the most spectacular display of desserts and I couldn’t get enough.  For someone with a serious sweet tooth, I was like a kid in a candy shop.  Everything was like a taste of heaven.

The ‘Pastry Library’ highlights were the fresh fruit mix (mangos, pineapples, strawberries and blueberries in a mint syrup), their almond cheesecake balls, their cream puffs and strawberry tart.

The mini chocolate fondants probably would have tasted better hot out of the oven and the Creme Brulee was still undercooked (too liquid-y) even after being torched.

Now feast your eyes on these magnificent desserts!

LumDimSum Snapshots of STAY’s ‘Pastry Library’:

Review of S.T.A.Y’s Sunday Brunch: 1st floor of the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing,29 Zizhuyuan Road, Beijing,, Tel: 6841 2211 ext 6727. Sundays Only: 11AM-4PM

Best Part:

• Pastry Chef Florian Couteau’s ‘Pastry Library’ – the most magnificent, impressive spread of desserts.  Best dessert buffet in Beijing, hands down!
• It was so good, I would really make the trip back just for the desserts (I’d probably skip the brunch entirely to make more room for sweets).
• Must try desserts: cream puff, almond cheesecake ball, mixed fruit jar, triple layer chocolate bar, strawberry cups.
• Of the three appetizer sets, I was most impressed by the “Sea” set. Lobster Carpaccio, fresh oysters and sea urchin scrambled eggs was impressive. 
• Simple, roasted chicken was also very well-done.  A great testament to basic French food. 

Comments:

• Head Chef Yannick Alleno may come from a 3-Michelin star restaurant background, but I was honestly more impressed with the dessert buffet than I was with the main Sunday brunch.
• Really poor form that the staff failed to mention that the fresh fruit juice trolly that came around at the begin was 1. not complimentary and 2. that each glass was RMB 70!  
• The Sunday brunch was bare. We were a table of 10, but aside from us, there were only another 10 guests max.  It pains me to think of the magnificent dessert buffet that must have gone into the bin! 
• Very pricey brunch, if not the most expensive in town.  We were all fooled by the expensive fruit juice so that didn’t help the high prices of the final bill.  My total bill was RMB 620 for the brunch (RMB 468 + 15% service charge) + one fruit juice (RMB 70 + 15% service charge). 
• It’s really a shame this venue is so far west and also that it’s imprisoned in a boring hotel design.  It would really do so much better in a unique, stand-alone space like Capital M, Maison Boulud or Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB). If STAY was housed in a 600-year-old temple, that would be something special. Right now, it’s impressive, but just that much more out-of-reach and stuck to a confines of a corporate hotel chain. 

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 8
• Atmosphere: 6
• Service: 6
• Overall Experience: 7

Stay a little while at STAY

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