The most luxurious ingredient, for both royal and ordinary cuisine, is Korean beef. And royal cuisine lavishes it on salad and in stirred rice, barbecue and soup.

Beef-brisket soybean paste stew is what chef Ma takes most pride in, but he's most keen about the soybean paste. Fermented from yeast made by Ma himself, the paste, like Japanese miso, gives the stew a particularly savory taste.

"It's kind of like cheese, the longer you age it, the stronger the flavor gets, and its more expensive," says Ma.

After all, that's what was prized by the royals, and perhaps the modern home cooks as well－time.

Another feature of the flagship location: On the first floor of the restaurant is an outlet of CJ Group's bakery chain, Tours les Jours, and more than 70 percent of the offerings are available at this store only. The vast collection of rye breads use yeast made in-house.

Contact the writer at xujunqian@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

Bibigo (flagship store)

09, 1F, East zone, Jing'an Kerry Center, Jing'an district, Shanghai. 021-5298-5708.