Mei Ume - The Cherry Blossom Menu 2019 Reviewed

Where: Four Seasons Hotel, 10 Trinity Square, London, EC3N 4AJ

Cost: The 2019 Cherry Blossom menu is available for lunch and dinner until the 22nd April (although many of the dishes are also on the permanent a la carte menu). The menu is not set and items are priced individually, and includes a special seasonal Cherry Blossom cocktail at £12.50, starters from £16 to £21, main courses from £14.50 to £34, and desserts at £9. 

About: The Four Seasons Hotel at Trinity Square opened in 2017, in the beautifully restored former headquarters of the Port of London. A grade II listed historic building, it has a magnificent view overlooking the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and beyond.  We loved the Chinese-Japanese restaurant Mei Ume on our first visit (read the review here), and were keen to return to try their latest Sakura menu.

The restaurant is gorgeously decorated - a large screen at the entrance made with enamel paint on glass depicts the plum blossoms which give the restaurant its name (Mei and Ume being the Chinese and Japanese words for plum blossom respectively).  There is a long and glamorous bar, while the main dining room is dominated by two stunning red lacquer frames holding a guilded triptych of Chinese life as focal points. The ceiling is amazingly high, with gorgeously uplit Corinthian columns supporting it. Dimly lit, it is a soothingly chic place to spend a few hours. 

What We Ate: From the starters menu, we chose the seared tuna with spinach salad in a sesame-rich Japanese wapo dressing (£18). This was beautifully presented, and tasted fresh and light.

Yellowtail carpaccio with ponzu sauce and micro-coriander was refreshingly citric, with wafer thin slices of fish, lifted by a touch of luxury in the form of black truffle (£19).

Next up were some deliciously meaty king prawns served tempura-style with a creamy spicy mayo (£24).

The Mei Ume dragon roll, topped with gold leaf, was light and well-made, with its combination of unagi (eel), Alaskan crab and avocado (£21). We loved the golden bling.

From the main course menu, we chose slow-braised Dongpo pork belly (£24) with Chinese herbs and broccoli. This classic of Chinese cooking from the Hangzhou region, which we could not resist from the regular menu, had perfectly tender pork belly formed into an elegant pyramid with a glossy reduction of Shaoxing wine, ginger, sugar and soy sauce and an intense aroma of star anise.

The grilled miso Chilean seabass served on a tea grill, was buttery and sweet (£34) though a tad dry.

To accompany, a portion of prawn and scallop fried rice with XO sauce (£16) was one of the highlights of our dinner.

For dessert, from the Cherry Blossom menu we had the snowflake matcha cake with vanilla ice cream (£9) - sadly the matcha cakes were disappointing, with little or no discernible flavour or texture.

Marginally better was the chocolate crunch cake, with a black sesame mousse and Valrhona chocolate sorbet (£9). Similar to an opera cake, this was oddly lacking in sweetness and interest.

What We Drank: There is an extensive range of sakes, and wines by the glass or carafe.  For bottles, the entry level white is a Picpoul de Pinet (£38), while the red is a Corbieres (£35).

The special seasonal Cherry Blossom cocktail (£12.50) was a delicious blend of Japanese Roku gin, with its unique blend of six botanicals including yuzu peel, alongside yuzu juice, ginger, cactus, chilli syrup and refreshing Italian Rinomato aperitif, finished with a splash of sparkling sake. This was aromatic and off-dry, with the sweetness balanced by chilli heat and bitterness with a good hit of alcohol. It was fantastic.

With the main courses, we shared a bottle of Tourraine Chenonceux, La Voute 2017, from Domain Joel Delaunay (£50).  A Sauvignon Blanc, this was about as different from a New Zealand Sauvignon as it is possible to imagine, with rich, luscious aromas of white flowers, peach and tropical fruit.

With dessert, we had a refreshing glass of sparkling Mio sake (£29 for 300 ml). 

Likes: Friendly, helpful service. The fried rice with XO sauce plus the Dongpo pork belly were both lovely, and the wines and cocktails were well chosen and interesting. 

Dislikes: Desserts were a real let-down. 

Verdict: Mei Ume is a unique restaurant serving both fine-dining Chinese and Japanese cooking under one roof. We love the gorgeous setting within the Four Season Ten Trinity Square, the food and friendly service. Recommended.

Mei Ume - Finest Japanese and Chinese Cooking All Under One Fabulous Roof!

Name: Mei Ume 

Where: Four Seasons Hotel, 10 Trinity Square, London, EC3N 4AJ, http://meiume.com/

Cost: There is a tasting menu available at £75 per person, with the option of matching wine flight for £39 or £75 for classic French wines. 

About: The Four Seasons Hotel at Trinity Square opened in 2017, in the beautifully restored former headquarters of the Port of London. A grade II listed historic building, it has a magnificent view overlooking the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and beyond. 

The hotel has two restaurants on the ground floor, the Michelin-starred French restaurant La Dame de Pic, and next to it, Mei Ume which is the first restaurant I have come across in London aiming to offer a blend of Chinese and Japanese fine dining - think Hakkasan and Sake no Hana all in one.  In fact Mei Ume's Sushi Chef Mun Seok Choi, South Korean born, trained at Zuma and Sake no Hana itself.

Mei Ume's Head Chef Tony Truong learned to cook Cantonese food in China's Guangzhou province, and has been in the UK for 30 years. His last job before moving to Mei Ume was as Head Chef at Royal China, where he worked for 17 years.

The restaurant is gorgeously decorated - a large screen at the entrance made with enamel paint on glass depicts the plum blossoms which give the restaurant its name (Mei and Ume being the Chinese and Japanese words for plum blossom respectively).

There is a long and glamorous bar, while the main dining room is dominated by two stunning red lacquer frames holding a guilded triptych of Chinese life as focal points. The ceiling is amazingly high, with gorgeously uplit Corinthian columns supporting it. Dimly lit, it is a soothingly chic place to spend a few hours.

What We Ate: Rather than the tasting menu, we opted to go a la carte. Rock shrimp tempura (£14) was succulent, served with a spicy mayo that packed a punch. The batter was crisp and well seasoned, although I prefer my tempura batter to be a tad lighter.

Salt and pepper squid with lemon leaves and shallots (£13) was also crispy and delectable.

Next came a Sushi Moriawase (Chef's selection) - nine pieces (£34) of expertly made and dainty nigiri sushi, including mackerel, eel, squid, octopus, scallop, yellowtail, salmon and tuna.  The rice was perfectly seasoned, the fish tasted super fresh and was meltingly tender - the nigiri showed real skills of the sushi chef.

The uramaki (inside out) roll of Alaskan and Californian crab (£14) was very good, and I  could only admire the very fine layer of perfectly cooked sushi rice on the exterior, which I know from bitter experience is mighty tricky to achieve.

But the best was still to come. The wasabi king prawns (£28) were outstanding, creamy but spicy, and encrusted with orange tobiko (flying fish roe). A real winner.

The lamb shank (£28) braised in a Sichuan spicy broth was magnificent, with chillies, Sichuanese peppercorn, cinnamon and five spice, the meat fell off the bone, was succulent and extremely tender.

Equally good was the San Pei Chicken with Thai basil and chilli, served in a seasoned toban (£24).

To accompany, we had some crunchy choi sum, wok-fried with garlic (£10), and stir-fried glass noodles with duck meat (£12.50) that had a fantastic wok-breath. They were both excellent.

And just when we thought we were too full for anything else, along came the dessert menu which was too tempting to resist. The chocolate moelleux was filled with runny dark chocolate, and paired particularly well with a slightly bitter matcha ice cream (£9).

Better still was the yuzu creme brûlée with lychee granita (£9). The yuzu creme was layered over a base of raspberry jelly, and the combination (aromatic yuzu and raspberries) was surprisingly effective.

What We Drank: Cocktails are priced at £16. There is an extensive range of sakes, and wines by the glass or carafe.  For bottles, the entry level white is a German Auxerrois (£39), while the red is a French Corbieres (£35). For those wanting to splurge, there are first growth Bordeaux such as the Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru £3200.

We started with glass of Delamotte Brut NV (£16), which was crisp and refreshing.

With the meal, we had a glass of Chablis Premiere Cru Cote de Lechet, Domaine Bernard Defaix 2016 (£16) - wonderfully aromatic with elderflower and greengage, and a long, complex finish, complimenting the wasabi prawns.

A glass of Langhe, Azienda Agricola 499 2015 from Piemonte (£12) was medium bodied with cherry and vanilla notes that were a good match with the lamb.  

Likes: Stunning setting, great Sichuanese lamb shank, wasabi prawns and yuzu creme brûlée.  The sushi was also expertly made. Friendly, well informed service though a tad erratic, see below. 

Dislikes: Our hot stone rice bibimbap of sea urchin and scallops did not show up despite being ordered. I am still craving that dish!

Verdict: Fine-dining Chinese and Japanese food in the heart of the ancient City of London. In stunning surroundings, Mei Ume is a real treat for the eye and palate. Very highly recommended.

CAU - Carne Unica Argentina (An Argentinian Steakhouse)

Name: Cau (Carne Argentina Unica)

Where: St Katharine's Dock, 1 Commodity Quay, London, E1W 1AZ, www.caurestaurants.com

Cost: Small eats are priced from £3.75 to £7.95, burgers from £10.95 to £11.95. Steaks range from £14.50 for a 220g cut of rump, to £38.50 for a 600g cut of top rump, while the Cau feasting plate, with 1.2kg of meat for sharing between two, weighs in at £84.95. Aside from steaks, there are fish, pork and vegetarian mains ranging from £9.95 to £15.25. Sides are £2.95 to £3.95. 

Cocktails are all priced at a reasonable £6.25, and the wine list is mostly Argentinian, but with entry level options including a Yecla Macabeo white and a Finca Valero Carinena red, both from Spain, and priced at £17.50 each.    

About: The sister restaurant to the Gaucho group, this chain of restaurants is a less ostentatious version (no calf skins on the walls or chairs here), but serving a similar quality of Argentinian beef. It has branches across the UK.

The restaurant overlooks the lovely St Katherine’s Dock by the Tower of London, making for a beautiful setting. Inside, the decor is simple, with charcoal grey floor tiles, white chairs and black wooden tables, and walls clad in corrugated sheets of shiny white plastic.

On the evening we were there, the restaurant was busy with a mixed clientele ranging from City types to 20-something diners.

What We Ate: From the small plates menu, we started with the salt and pepper squid (£5.95), served with chilli and spring onion, and chipotle mayo. This was very good, crispy but with deliciously tender squid.

Also good was the belly of pork tempura (£7.95) -  meltingly tender pork belly in a thin crispy batter. Delicious as it was, it had little resemblance to tempura, being made with a standard fish-and-chip style batter rather than a superfine crispy tempura batter. It was served with 'CAUchup' - a spiced tomato ketchup with a dominant, perhaps excessive, flavour of cloves.

Moving onto mains, tempting though the other options were, we plumped for the 1.2 kilo Cau feasting plate (£84.95), and what a feast it was! With 400g each of lomito, asado de chorizo and tira de ancho cuts, it was easily enough for 3 or even 4 people. The lomito is a fillet of rump, said to combine the flavour of the rump and tenderness of the fillet, and was served at Cau with a delicious blue cheese sauce. The asado de chorizo was a sirloin steak in a churrasco marinade of smoked paprika, aji molido (crushed chillies), garlic and parsley. This was a good cut of beef, although I thought it was a little overpowered by paprika. The tira de ancho was a spiral cut of rib-eye, marinated in chimichurri and grilled slowly. Perfectly cooked, medium rare, this was excellent, and my favourite of the three.

To accompany, we had some very good, triple-cooked thick cut chips. The truffle mac'n'cheese had a delicious truffle aroma, but the macaroni was sadly lacking in both cheese and salt. For dessert, we had the churros (£4.95) - Argentinian-style doughnuts, dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with dulce de leche.

Dr G opted for the alfajores ice cream sandwich (£5.95). This was a dulce de leche ice cream sandwich made with Argentinian cookies and desiccated coconut. The dessert was intensely sweet but authentically Argentinian, and reminded me of desserts I had a few years ago in Buenos Aires.

What We Drank: We shared a bottle of Andeluna 1300 Malbec 2014, Mendoza, Argentina. £29.50. This was a full-flavoured, straightforward wine with plenty of blackberry fruit, soft tannins and an easy-drinking finish.

With dessert, we had a glass of Susana Balbo late harvest Torrontes 2010 from Argentina (£5.50 for 50ml). With honey and jasmine on the nose, this sweet white wine had luscious sweet fruit but I thought it lacked balancing acidity. The Zuccardi Malamado Port-style Malbec from Argentina (£4.50 for 50ml), had a lovely weight of intense, sweet blackberry fruit. 

Likes: The quality of the beef served at Cau is very good, the pork belly tempura and salt and pepper squid too. Service was friendly, well- informed and entertaining. There is a lovely view over St Katherine's dock. 

Dislikes: The only snag we had during this meal was the mac’n’cheese.  I love this dish when it is well made, but Cau’s lacked flavour and needs looking at I think. 

Verdict: Cau is a casual restaurant serving good quality, well-cooked beef at reasonable prices.  Cocktails are also commendably affordable. Great service and location. Recommended.