Dao Restaurant & Art is the new restaurant replacing the “O d’attente” at 55 boulevard Saint Marcel in Paris 13^th arrondissement. A restaurant that is really worth the trip especially if you’re a demanding Chinese food enthusiast.

The big asset of this restaurant? Its renowned chef, LIU Gaojin, one of the rare Chinese chefs to have received a certificate of excellence in Grand Master in Chinese Cuisine. There are only 200 of them in China to have received this distinction, in comparison to how dense the population is, so we must say that not everyone can have it.

In this restaurant, don’t think about eating eggrolls or other classic specialties that you can find in Paris, the chef offers us to taste genuine, typical and traditional dishes from the Sichuan region and Shanghai prepared in a creative and original way. And we have to say, he really masters his art.

So, on the menu, we have dishes with unpronounceable names but oh-so flavorful. It’s a real explosion of flavors that this tasting brings, and we’re yet used to discover the best tables in town. A truly favorite.

So much that, let’s be honest, the menu is more than affordable in light of the quality of the dishes. Allow about €25 per guest. The chef offers a menu that is deliberately short but giving pride of place to fresh and seasonal produces.

Moving on to the décor, we find ourselves in a clean and arty setting. Two rooms are open, a first one at the entrance, that is bright and large, and another in the back, perfect for groups and parties or even family reunions.

Please note that this place also hides 3 karaoke box rooms for groups going from 6 to 15 persons in the basement, but only with Chinese music so far, let’s keep an eye on it since we are amateur singers.

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Among the dishes we tried, and that we can recommend, there’s the exquisite starter with pork belly and green soy sprouts (Dao Ke Bai Rou). Fine, fresh and flavorful, we love it. If beef in all its shapes is your go-to, then don’t forget to discover the Mo Fan Fu Qi Fei Pian (I told you it was unpronounceable).

Portions are hearty and plates very full. But you have to keep some room left for the main course! We chose the fresh sea bass, green soy sprout soup and it was gargantuan (DAO-Shui Zhu Yu). Discover this dish served for two.

Do you like tofu? Well, go for the sweet Kou Dai Dou Fu, a dish combining tofu and chicken in a mushroom and chop suey cabbage soup. Atypical and original. We could die for it.

Note that the place also provides a lovely selection of sophisticated teas. The Chrysanthemum tea is just divine.

To wrap up beautifully, go for the amazing selection of pastries from L’Osmanthe, a patisserie specialized in exotic desserts. We fall for the revisited matcha green tea opera or the jasmine, oolong tea, raspberry jelly and pistachio lettre d’amour. But maybe the blueberry-black sesame tart or the lemon-kumquat tart will have delighted us just as well.

In other words, a wonderful discovery we recommend you.