Name: MiMi Mei Fair
Address: 55 Curzon St, London W1J 8PG, https://mimimeifair.com/
Cost: £50 plus per person for a 3-course meal on the a la carte menu, check the menu - https://mimimeifair.com/files/MIMI-MEI-FAIR-A-LA-CARTE.pdf
About: Few new London restaurants have caused such a buzz since their recent opening than MiMi Mei Far – and of course we had to check it out.
Photo by @stevenjoycephoto
Glad to report we had an EPIC meal at MiMi Mei Fair - we loved the strong & well-made cocktails, the impeccable service and the plush and sexy décor (possibly one of the most beautiful restaurants in London right now), but it was Chinese-Singaporean Chef Peter Ho's food (of HKK and Hakkasan fame) that really stole the show for us.
Photo by @stevenjoycephoto
Inspired by Empress MiMi’s travels across Hong Kong, Singapore and the provinces of mainland China in particular Guangdong, Sichuan, Fujian and Hunan, Chef Peter Ho's menu brings to life dishes like roasted Cantonese char siu pork, Hunanese crispy fish, and Hokkien seafood noodles to name just a few, all under one gorgeous roof.
Photo by @stevenjoycephoto
What We Ate: There were many highlights - Chong Ching chilli chicken with Sichuan peppercorn and dried chilli (£14) was wonderfully crispy and aromatic with the mouth-numbing spice.
Roasted Cantonese char siu Ibérico black pork with wildflower honey (£15) was beautifully marbled, tender and sweet, and what a treat to have Iberico pork in London.
Better still was a platter of simple steamed okra topped with their homemade XO, shallot and mushroom crumble (£11.50), this was my favourite starter.
Crispy golden langoustine with Perigord Truffle (£22) were deliciously crispy yet soft and creamy inside.
We also enjoyed MiMi’s Xiao long jewels – a selection of XLB (Shanghainese soup dumplings) filled with chicken, chilli crab, king prawn, purple yam and pork (£20). They were very flavoursome though we felt they could have been a tad more soupy and the skin more delicately thinner.
For mains, the star dishes were Hunanese crispy Atlantic seabass with a heady sauce of red chilli, coriander and lotus root £47 – this was a whole deep-fried seabass served on a Chinese platter and finished off at the table, a stunning dish.
Hokkien seafood noodles with scallop, prawn and sambal paste £17 was again delectable and a surprisingly generous portion bursting with umami flavours from the sambal.
Claypot slow-cooked leg of Welsh lamb was meltingly tender with hints of star anise and cinnamon (£32). We enjoyed this gentle yet flavoursome dish though we felt this was not the best main option to follow the full-on spicy Hunanese fried fish.
Side of Claypot black bean aubergine, chilli, garlic and spring onion (£13) much akin to a Sichuanese fish fragrant aubergine, the lusciously velvety vegetable was both tangy, savoury and spicy.
Brazed truffled trio of 3 mushrooms (shimeji, shiitake, eryngi - £17) was delicately flavoured with a strong scent of truffles, this was light yet full of flavour.
For dessert, Baiju Baba with green cardamom, and kumquat (£10) was beautifully made and soaked in the Chinese liqueur, it was an excellent ending to a fabulous meal.
What We Drank: Mimi of Mei Fair has a selection of well-made and strong cocktails, we loved ‘Chestnut Sour’ (£14) their version of an Amaretto sour flavoured with China’s symbolic Chrysanthemum flowers and chestnuts, it was nutty and bittersweet.
Also excellent was the Qi Pao (£13), named after the traditional Chinese long-necked fitted dress, this hard shaken, yuzu-infused Daiginjo sake based cocktail is made of a combination of bitters, blue tea and purple shiso leaf, it was lovely bitter and floral.
Likes: we loved the food (that Hunanese fish is the thing of dreams!), the gorgeous décor and the impeccable service.
Dislikes: the low lighting was great for the sexy ambience but it really didn’t help my images, so apologies for the grainy pics!
Verdict: MiMi Mei Fair is the perfect place to take someone you really want to impress; it is also where you go when you want to treat yourself, because we all need it sometimes. We loved the food, the service and the gorgeous location and décor. Highly recommended.
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