Le Domaine du Lac is known for its foie gras, fancy cuisine, organic vegetables and extensive grounds. It's owned by a millionaire Hong Kong business man who keeps it as a "hobby" restaurant. Must be nice!
For those of you who care about these sorts of geographical details, the restaurant is in the village of Dongqin, in the Song Jiang district of Shanghai. For those of you who don't, it was about an hour bus ride from Shanghai.
What I noticed immediately when we arrived was how fresh the air was. If I noticed, then you know there had to be a HUGE improvement in air quality. I was actually thrilled to get out into Nature.
Not what you would expect in the Chinese countryside
Looking down the road
We gathered at the gate.
Rakesh
Close up of the gate
Rakesh standing in front of what the Chinese consider an especially beautiful rock.
He was holding up four fingers to remind me that there are four
criteria in determining the beauty of such rocks.
I can't remember now what they are, only that there are four of them.
So much for visual mnemonics.
The restaurant grounds...
...and pond
Another angle
The little garden pagoda
Old carved stone
The restaurant, actually a new building constructed in the old style from
reclaimed material collected by the owner.
We'll see this again.
We walked a little further and came to the guest house.
This was the courtyard.
One of the guest rooms had a (locked) wine cellar.
The manager was very proud of it and more than willing to show off various bottles.
These vintages meant nothing to me.
The restaurant owner certainly likes his cognac!
This red's for you, Dad.
Detail of a guest house door
We continued on.
Gorgeous wisteria
Rakesh moonlighting for GQ magazine.
Inside the goose coop.
I deleted the photo I took of the goose being force fed.
I don't want PETA to come after me.
It was also disturbing to see.
The happy geese with non-fatty livers.
We walked around the restaurant's vegetable gardens.
Their bonsai
Tiny trees
So cute!
We then headed over to see the greenhouses that supply the restaurant.
You guessed it.
The greenhouses
Great at growing stuff, not so great at spelling
Look at this greenery!
Did I mention the fresh air? I couldn't get enough of it.
Having worked up an appetite, we made our way back to the restaurant.
Rakesh doing that GQ thing again.
The windows
Up close
Detail of the beam support
Can you tell it's a deer?
Reception area
Bar area on the first floor
The second floor dining room
This would like nice in a certain someone's dining room...
Let the lunch begin!
Warning! Animals were hurt in the making of this meal.
I started with smoked goose breast.
Rakesh had the goose liver, which was more like a fine pate as it was served chilled.
My chicken main course
After lunch, and before dessert, we all had more goose liver.
The chef cooked it for us right in the dining room.
This one's for you, Wendy.
I believe I had my annual intake of goose liver all in that one sitting.
Rakesh's strawberry dessert
My chocolate mousse
Fabulous!
After lunch, we waddled outside onto the second floor balcony.
I was in a foie gras stupor.
Love the light fixture!
There was still more to see of the restaurant grounds.
We needed to walk off lunch, too.
An item of architectural interest
Close up of detail
Another garden pagoda
Look how lush everything was!
I'm breathing deeply as I type. Really.
Loved that fresh air!
Rakesh striking a pose.
After we finished walking around Le Domaine du Lac's property,
we visited a nearby home in Dongqi village.
The inhabitants were kind enough to invite us in.
Another first-seeing the inside of a Chinese farmer's house.
The kitchen
This was the old style stove, wood powered with built-in woks.
Wood for the stove
There was also a gas stove.
The house was quite spacious with two full baths, three bedrooms and a sitting room.
Grandmother and grandchild saying good bye.
They were both too shy to let me get any closer.
Remember the rice harvest?
We had the chance to see what happens to it afterwards.
I love it when there's closure to a process.
Rice was emptied into the rice mill.
Milling....
... milling...
After the first pass
It took two to completely remove the rice husks.
Too soon it was time to return to Shanghai
and reality as I presently know it.
Yes, this is what we came back to.
Sobering.
It made me want to stop inhaling.
At least we were fortunate to have had a break.
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