To impress me in Shanghai, some Chinese clients of mine decided to “surprise” me by insisting we eat… Italian. I should’ve known. Palladio, located in the Portman Ritz-Carlton hotel, is undoubtedly an excellent restaurant. The ravioli stuffed with assorted mushrooms was as fresh and light as I could have wanted while the veal vitello felt as if it had been FedExed straight from Italy. The Chinese chose a French wine for dinner (a lovely 1995 Château Calon-Ségur from the Saint-Estèphe region in Bordeaux) but it was so delicious that I didn’t mind the clash of cultures (European cultures, that is, since there was nothing Asian in the restaurant except for the diners and waiters).