Orange power

Fifty 8° Grill's duck liver poached in persimmon

Beyond dessert

Several chefs told us that, much as they like the flavor, the soft texture is something impossible to handle.

But in the Chinese culinary art, a higher form of xian (savory) is xiantian (sweetish savory). Chef Philip Taylor from the Fifty 8° Grill at Mandarin Oriental Shanghai achieved that, almost accidentally, by using a fruit he has never tasted two years ago－Shanghai's sweet persimmons. Relocated from Beijing last summer, Taylor was inspired to replace common fruit pairings like cherries or figs for his pan-seared duck liver with the utmost seasonal and local fruit for his latest autumn menu. The idea was to use the caramelized persimmon, as well as peppery radishes, to cut through the richness of the duck liver. But since the liver is light enough, even savored alone, the fruit works more to help bring out the savoriness.

The chef says he wasn't using the persimmon for texture anyway, so he just cooks it with olive oil and lets it "sleep" on the duck liver.

One of Beijing's most creative bar gurus, Frankie Zou at Botany, uses the small "crystal persimmon" from far south China for the vodka-based "Harvesting" cocktail on his fall-winter menu.

"It's sweeter than the more tannic ones we get in Beijing－more delicate, with thin skin like a tomato," he says. Balanced with lemon juice and spiced tree bitters, he says, the sweetness of the persimmon asserts itself.