Er’s Michelin-star service is a ‘place to be’
The Er is the only Chinese restaurant inside Columbia Circle, the lifestyle complex tucked inside Panyu Road, where real estate developers and architects built beautiful garden houses during the city’s treaty-port days.
The Shanghainese owner, Eric Xue, chose a stunning building to be the home of his lovely modern restaurant. The Colombia Country Club was once the “place to be” for American socialites between 1927 and 1942. And for the past several months the refurbished building has become a hot spot for a new cosmopolitan crowd.
The Er boasts 30 seats inside and only 12 seats outside next to the pool. The exposed walls reflect a historic link to a glamorous past, yet the sleek, minimalist furniture gives off a modern and soothing vibe — a perfect intimate ambience for trendy locals and foreign tourists.
Good first impressions were made entering the establishment. The lighting, elegant deco and impeccable service that followed made it a memorable evening.
The staff professionally introduced the menu and highlighted recommended dishes for visitors to try. The Er kitchen took a refined approach to local specialties and, if you have a sweet-loving palate, you will love this restaurant. However, Shanghainese dishes are not all about sweetness but rather how they are multi-layered and fascinating. The Er doesn’t disappoint in this department. The menu is full of dishes you wouldn’t dare to try without some inspired guidance.
The restaurant makes the menu compact for easy selection. My guests and I ordered eight dishes to share between four and most of them received flavorful comments. Shanghai-style crispy swamp eel was perfectly done with its crispy, crunchy textures and balanced tastes of sweetness and sourness. It tantalized our appetites for later dishes.
Highly recommended is the Steamed Mud Crab with Huadiao wine.
Huadiao wine is generally added for steaming the delicacy, due to its sweet and pleasant aroma given to the crab meat. It lifted the dish to a whole new level of deliciousness.
During my dinner, the most impressive part was the service. The staff professionally changed our plates and poured the wine without any of us noticing. Our group all agreed Er provided a Michelin-star service.