Weekend Brunch at The Alchemist

Spring means temperate weather, sunny days, and the hopes that it will last a while before the wretched heat in Shanghai. Popular for its molecular gastronomy cocktails, Kelley Lee decided to expand the appeal of The Alchemist by offering a brunch starting on a particularly lovely early spring day. Inside tables were void of people as most diners opted to sit outside to soak in the sun. The brunch menu featured 3 set specials: Brunch Set A - 1 brunch item with choice of drink +30 RMB; Brunch Set B - 1 brunch item with choice of drink & brunch buffet +50 RMB; and Brunch Set C - brunch buffet with choice of drink 100RMB. The drink choices include coffee, tea, juice, sodas, sparkling Chandon, mimosa, red wine, white wine, Bloody Mary, and cocktail of the day. Attentive staff was on hand to take your food and beverage order and make sure everyone was comfortable sitting outside. It was the first run of the brunch, so we just must be honest with the experience.

It did not take a while for the food to come out. Each table had a bread basket to pick at in the meantime which had a few slices of white bread, squares of rosemary and olive foccacia, and a sweet muffin. If you ever tried the brunch at Azul, the muffin looked and tasted like it came from the same supplier. If the brunch buffet was part of the set, you could walk inside and help yourself to the plates of Mediterranean-influenced antipasti, meats, fruits, and salads. The yogurt served at the buffet came with unfiltered honey. However, the runny yogurt tasted like the regular plain yogurt you can find at the local supermarket or convenience store and was not anything special.




A few brunch and non-brunch items were ordered. The Farm (58 RMB) was a dish of grilled asparagus, slow cooked farm egg, parmesan cheese, and hollandaise sauce. You broke the yolk of the runny egg (the yolk was a bit more solid than gooey) to mix with the parmesan and hollandaise, creating a rich sauce that went well with the crispy asparagus stalks. The dish was really wet, but at least the bread basket had pieces of country bread to soak it all up. This item was on the small side to really be considered a brunch main. The Soft Scramble on Toast (88 RMB) was soft scrambled eggs with fresh herbs & roasted bell pepper-tomato coulis with a side of chorizo sausage and potatoes. The scrambled eggs were definitely not wet and cooked through all the way. The combination of flavors was comforting and slightly on the sweet side. The chorizo was mild and tasty, though the potato was underwhelming and slightly undercooked. The Caramelized banana-wheat pancakes (48 RMB) were wheat pancakes made with toasted wheat germ and served with coconut cream. This was a highlight breakfast item. The caramelized bananas tasted like it was cooked with a good knob of butter and some rum, which made this terrific sauce to go with the pancakes so maple syrup was almost unnecessary. No one could really taste the coconut in the cream, but there were enough bananas, cream, syrup, and pancakes to create several perfect bites where every component was represented. The Croque Madame (98 RMB) had thick sliced grilled ciabatta, jamon iberico, fried farm eggs, bechamel, and Gruyere. Cutting into the egg, the gooey yolks spilled over in this bright orange mess over the entire croque madame. The jamon iberico was a little difficult to cut into, but offered a nice salty bite to the dish. Burgers were also an evident feature on the brunch menu with The Alchemist Burger (138 RMB) being the most decadent. The large burger is made with 100% Australian ground beef layered with seared foie gras, caramelized onion, truffle-balsamic glaze, and crispy bacon and served with skinny fries with braised oxtail gravy.

Some criticisms include some confusion on the wording of the set menu deals. For example, for Brunch Set B, would you pay the price for the brunch item and drink and an additional 50RMB for the brunch buffet OR is the drink and brunch buffet equal to 50RMB? With the way the bill was printed, it also looked quite confusing. Perhaps better wording could have cleared this up. Also, individual pricing of each drink was not listed on the menu, as if to suggest diners are not mindful about the costs associated with the drink. The brunch at The Alchemist was a great value for standard Western brunch fare. It was also nice to lounge on cushioned garden furniture to digest after the meal. A return visit is a must to try the smoked salmon eggs benedict to see how they stand up next to the plate at Kabb.

The Alchemist. Sinan Mansions, Block 32, 45 Sinan Lu, near Fuxing Zhong Lu 思南路45号32号楼，近复兴西路. Shanghai, China.

Karuzo

WikiTravel has become one of the go-to websites to get an idea of which restaurants to check out in a new area. When people edit the page, you would like to think that throughout the edits, the cream of the crop will rise to the top, as in best foodie sites under the above mentioned budget category (budget, moderate, splurge). Currently, Sarajevo as a travel destination is slightly off the beaten track of tourism, especially to Western nations. As a beautiful city with friendly people, Sarajevo should not be skipped over despite its war-torn past.

As the rare vegetarian restaurant in town, Karuzo is the best place to find veggie and fish dishes where everywhere else focuses on meat. The owner, Saša Obućina, greets you at the door and is your server and chef (along with his assistant). His aim is to transform Bosnian cuisine by promoting a healthier livelihood using his menu preference of "a combination of vegetarian, macrobiotic and Mediterranean cuisine" and no trace of meat or eggs. Let the games begin.

The whole experience was made more personal when the chef and owner asks for your order and presents your plates with great care. The aromas and flavors are heavy on the Mediterranean flair. Simple vegetables were tossed with herbs and covered with cheese before being blasted in the oven and brought to the table in its pan to introduce the palate to the flavors of the night. Lightly toasted brown bread drizzled with a sort of parsley or herb pesto was a great medium to soak up the juices from the vegetables. The best part of the meal is the deep red seafood risotto, which was also highly recommended from travel websites and was listed on the menu as the house specialty. The bits of clams offered a very meaty texture and taste to a dish that did not have a hint of animal. Well-seasoned with a touch of heat, the fruits of the sea explode in your mouth. The variety of seafood and vegetables with the risotto made each bite completely unique. Delicious. To conclude the meal, the chef recommended his ice cream with black sea salt and extra virgin olive oil as well as the pineapple sundae. The ice cream was creamy and smooth with the black sea salt bringing out the tang and sweetness from the cream. The olive oil was an interesting touch and not directly noticeable, but did offer a more smooth texture as the ice cream slid down the throat. The pineapple sundae was one hot mess. At the base was a couple large rings of grilled pineapple covered with ice cream and more fruity goodness.



All in all, so satisfying and tasty. The experience was made more unique only by the presence of the owner who gladly offered friendly conversation when invited. To hear a story of a man born in Bosnia and traveling out to Western Europe and bringing what he learned to his home culture brings you back from the Mediterranean to the charming city of Sarajevo where you are listening to the Saša Obućina.

Karuzo. Ul. Dženetića Čikma bb (71000), Sarajevo. www.karuzorestaurant.com