One cannot help but imagine what an ad for this locality would look like; an urban hipster sitting at a dining table with a hairstylist trimming her long mane of hair in the latest fashionable look, while the tattoo artist brands her right forearm with that playful floral pattern all the girls in town are now wearing, as from her left wrist dangles a funky bag she is inspecting closely while somehow having managed to miraculously slurp up a helping of spicy spaghetti with no free hands to spare.
Sounds too busy and unbelievable to you? Yet, at La Mason (sic!) those are all the things you could do rolled up into one stylish establishment.
The bag-selling resto-bar-hairdresser cum tattoo salon is the latest addition to the IST family having opened only weeks ago, oozing urban style and 21st century efficient dining. After all, everyone is so busy being important in China’s metropoles nowadays that there’s only time for food and coif if you offer both at the same time.
For the more traditional diner who likes to take a minute or two to actually enjoy the experience, La Mason indisputably has an outstanding range of deviations from the standard pasta and pizza. The restaurant with the attempt at a French name offers high-quality, Shanghai-imported mediterranean delicacies, coming together in the ultimate mixed cheese & ham platter, available in small and large; though for “small” read enough for a satisfying entree for four people at very good value. A veritable mound of Grana Padano, Camembert and Manchego, Parma ham, salami and other cuts presents itself with a delightfully light side salad. Not for vegetarians or the lactose-intolerant, this is a dream come true for any cold cut and cheese enthusiast missing a fix in China. Even better news are the Merguez sausages from South Africa, mouthwateringly spicy slabs of ground lamb neatly rolled up, a variety of the meaty pleasure that you generally are unable to find anywhere else in Nanjing. Though the Byzantine ham salad disappoints on account of what seems to be an over-sugared “Kewpie”-type thousand island dressing, the pasta aglio and peperoncini turns it around again.
The beverage section ensures you won’t be going home thirsty with a delectably non-sweet Champagne Mojito, that is sheer brilliance, and truly fresh Mango juice with actual pulp.
While we did pass on the tattoos for the time-being, La Mason is definitely worth a visit for traditional relaxed diners and hip combo junkies, who think that doing just one thing at a time is so last century, alike.
