Pastis

Bon Vivant

Of Peter Mayle, and his trilogy of “A year in Provence”, “Encore Provence” and “Toujours Provence”. That, and the sharp, sweet twang of fennel it brings to mind – after a particularly satisfying meal.

And then the actual taste of the wonderful Pastis itself. An alcoholic drink that is as French as the charming bistro I stumbled upon, on an afternoon jaunt of Yongkang Lu – the “the new NEW street” in Shanghai, flanked by bars and cafes on either side, right off a left from Yongjia Lu. Yongkang Lu seems to have distinctly Lan Kwai Fong ambitions, of the Hong Kong kind. Not bad in itself, but not quite the parking spot for a shy, young, soft-spoken French bistro.

So it is perhaps serendipity or otherwise real-estate-dictated good fortune that Pastis is cleverly and nicely tucked away – at the other end of Yongkang Lu. Not to be mistaken for its more rowdy cousins up the street. Not that I have any bone to pick with its rowdier cousins – am actually quite fond of “The Sailors Fish & Chips”…but if you’re on that street, and you happen to be a new kid on the block, you might get bullied by the older kids, and perhaps suffer a bit of a cultural and an existential crisis, that publicity-shy, brand-new testing-the-waters restaurants are prone to do.

So having tired of the usual, I walked down the other side of Yongkang Lu – simply out of curiosity. And Voila! Curiosity is most always rewarded, and generously at that! Right across my view was a lovely French bistro called Pastis, with pretty red checkered table cloths covering tables laid out in the sun. And enough tables to seat a good bunch of maybe 25-30 people packed to the rafters on a good day, but homey enough, nonetheless.

I like homey. I dig homey. The same reason I like Cotton's.

Especially when I stumble upon homey on a day before its soft launch, and hardly any customers!  Joy to my world!

I ask to be seated outside, and instantly, the very young and very shy Augustin de-seats his girlfriend from one of the outside tables, to seat me. And I am somewhat guilty, but somewhat secretly kicked at having secured an al-fresco table on a lovely spring day at a quaint French restaurant called Pastis.

It being about 4pm, I start off with something in-between – not quite lunch. I am an in-betweener, by the way, with everything in life, so suits me just fine.

Prawn Appetit

So Flamed Prawns with Pastis, it is! The salmon miso with mashed potatoes has incredible promise, but then again, it is 4:00pm, and daylight soft on my shoulder. I am conscious of not over-eating at the wrong time of day. And the wine is already making everything mildly floaty, in a good way, of course. Augustin has recommended a good red from their suppliers – a heady Comte Laborde.
Merci, Augustin!

The wonderful thing about Pastis is that it has a small menu customized everyday by Emanuel (or Manu), Augustin’s father, and is chalked up on a blackboard for the day. Which means what you get is immaculate. Almost.  And while Manu is still overseeing the soft launch and training the kitchen staff, he is doing the actual stirring, cooking, and the creating of sinful pleasures – all on his lonesome.

The prawns were nearly there, although personally, I would have preferred to have them doused in Pastis a tad bit more! Maybe that's just my severe alcoholism speaking!

The bread is freshly baked and good as freshly baked bread goes.

Halfway through my meal, my girlfriends arrived and it was time to head straight to dessert and coffee.

Pastis-serie
Aah, to be served crepes with nutella, made right, the French way! I have to say here, that I have been forever spoiled rotten, as far as crepes and quiches go, because of my French room-mate in grad school, who insisted on turning out perfectly made crepes and quiches every Sunday morning. If she forgot or felt lazy, I would gently remind her of how a good French Sunday morning back in Marseilles would be incomplete without a quiche and crepes. Like any good, duty-bound room-mate ought to. So anything less, is no-can-do!

And thus, emerges my yardstick for a good French restaurant. One that turns out crepes, as soft and as delish, as from Stephanie’s kitchen, all those years back!

I have to say that Manu’s crepes totally hit the sweet spot. Even as the prawns could have been more drunken.

And their coffee is very good too – sourced as it is, from Café del Volcan (up the road). I ask for the Guatemalan, a little nutty, a little chocolatey. Perfect for rounding off a satisfying meal in a cozy little bistro off a charming street with friends, and cheery red tablecloths and two perfect hosts in Manu and Augustin, for company.

On the whole, I am definitely going back, for the salmon miso!

You should too, while Manu wields the ladle! And long afterwards.

Pastis is also very easy on the pocket -the right value for money, as you can see from the menu chalked up on the board. We paid no more than 200 odd quai for the prawns, a glass of wine, crepes and the coffee!

And yes, the pastis is on the house the next time. Nah-uh. Not for you, regular folks. Don't let that send you off rubbing your eyes in the pre-dawn haze of morning to Pastis, for the promise of free pastis. The offer is only for us three ladies. Just because.

No wonder then, that I am waiting for a restaurant called Absynthe to open up, and for me to stumble upon it by accident before its soft launch. For obvious reasons.

Here is where to find this slice of heaven:

111, Yongkang Lu
(Off Xiangyang Lu)
Xuhui district

Bell them at: +86 21 6415 4377