Maison Boulud a Pekin

For those of you in NYC/Boston, you'd be happy to know that restaurant week here in Beijing lasts an entire month. All of the classy places in the city are feting their ultra-fancy decor and ultra-delicious cuisine. Multi-course dinners ranging from three to eight courses are only 250rmb. (Approx $36) How much was it for ours in Manhattan? $24 for lunch, and $35 for dinner right?

The first place we tried out for Gourmet Month (as its known here in Beijing) was Maison Boulud à Pekin, which won 8 awards from the Beijinger's 2009 Restaurant awards:
Best Decor
Best Service
Best For Impressing Visitors
Best Wine List
Best for a Romantic Meal
Best Business Lunch
Best French
Restaurant of the Year

(PS: for those outside of China, the beijinger is Beijing's biggest monthly events/features publication for expats, with something like 500k copies floating around in any given month)

I've been dying to go to Maison Boulud since I landed in Beijing, especially because I'm such a fan of Bar Boulud and DB Bistro Moderne in New York. Pristine service, innovative cuisine, and always a delightful experience. This is Monsieur Boulud's first venture into China, and oh..my..god..

From the second we stepped into the impeccably restored former US embassy, the service was 5-star all the way. The building that Maison is housed in is a huge draw to me as it is so steeped in history.

Here in this exact building is where Kissinger met secretly with Chinese officials almost 40 years ago to discuss establishing formal relations between the US and the People's Republic of China.

We were quickly led into the tastefully renovated main dining hall. The off-white walls are framed by dark slats of cherry oak, the tapestry on the chairs is late 18th century, and there are huge mirrors reflecting off of each other from across the room. Even redone, the room reflects how the embassy would have looked in the early 1900's. You can easily imagine the ambassadors and legion staff sitting in the corner and discussing the appropriate response to the Boxers.

I could spend pages describing each course of what became an 8-course banquet (Boulud is known for showering his clients with complimentary surprise courses, and here in Beijing, its no exception.) Pâtés, Pea Soup, vegetable tasting plates, Salmon, Coq au Vin, Lamb with spring vegetables, trio of chocolate desserts, french expresso, freshly baked mandarin madeleines, spring fruit inspired dessert tasting plate, endless supply of 3 types of freshly baked rolls, cherry & basil martini....

Running the ship when Boulud is jetsetting around the world to visit his epicurean empire is general manager Ignace Lecleir, a very handsome Belgian man, who used to be the general manager for Daniel, the two-Michelin star rated restaurant in NYC. Ignace was brought over by Boulud one year ago to help with the preparation for Maison's soft opening in August. He stopped by several times during the meal to make sure everything was up to par, to learn more about us/what we do in the City, to tell us about himself, and he ended the wonderful evening by being the perfect gentleman and escorting us into the beautiful Beijing spring evening. I am definitely looking forward to seeing him again. ;)

If you've been complaining about service in China, I challenge you to find ONE thing wrong with Maison's service. All the servers are dressed in full suits, the dining room is carpeted so you don't hear footsteps/chairs scraping, plates are cleared from your table simultaneously by as many waiters as there are diners so no one is reaching across you, silverware is changed after every course, each course comes out piping hot from the kitchen-no pre-made dishes here. There is constant communication between the kitchen and the dining managers to make sure each course is prepared as you are finishing your previous. Every wish is answered with a prompt "of course! it'd be my pleasure." As soon as you finish your drink, there's someone coming across the room to refill it. As soon as you stand up, waiters emerge smoothly from all corners to guide you to your destination, to refold your napkin, and to rearrange your table. When you're sitting down, chairs are pulled out for you and the tablecloth is held in so you don't snag it. Butter is presented on a miniature block of wood. Freshly baked madelines are brought out in a hand-crafted napkin basket. Nothing is brought out from the kitchen on plastic trays, everything is hand carried (butler style) to your table or taken away on a heavy circular silver plate.

For those in Manhattan (my Merrill ladies!), I know we went to literally 100's of places these past couple years, but I honestly think the service at Maison is the best I have ever experienced anywhere. In addition to all of the complimentary tasting plates Boulud kept sending out, we got a gift bag to take home for breakfast the next morning. Seriously? I can't stop smiling. Thank you DB and Ignace.