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.

The Autumn Leaves Menu at Sake no Hana

Name: Sake no Hana

Where: 23 St James, London SW1A 1HA, http://sakenohana.com/

Cost: The Autumn Leaves menu is priced at £40 per person, with the option of a cocktail flight at £23 to share between two.  

About: Sake no Hana is the leading Japanese restaurant of the Hakkasan group which includes the eponymous Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant, as well as the fabulous Yauatcha, where you can find some of the best dim sum and patisserie in London, at any of their two branches in Soho and the City.  The London Foodie is a huge fan of the group, and I am always on the lookout for new menus. So I was intrigued to hear Sake no Hana was serving a seasonal menu, namely the Autumn Leaves.

We arrived on a Monday evening at 9pm to find the restaurant packed.  I had a great meal here (The Cherry Blossom Menu) not so long ago, you can read the review here.  The building is Grade II listed, dating back to the 1960s.

The entrance to the restaurant is odd, with a narrow entrance leading to even narrower up and down escalators.  But the restaurant, reached after passing through a sushi counter with a gaggle of chefs, is on the first floor and is spacious, elegant with a zen Japanese decor of cyprus wall and roof panels designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

The Autumn Leaves menu is available until the end of November, when the restaurant is adorned with autumn maple leaves, with a menu from Executive Chef Hideki Hiwatashi and a cocktail flight created in partnership with Belvedere vodka and Ruinart Champagne.

What We Ate: The meal started with an exemplary, heart-warming cup of miso soup.

A mixed platter of four starters followed, with an excellent combination of textures and flavours.  This included Maguro sashimi (tuna sashimi with black pepper ponzu); crispy truffle rice balls (fried truffle rice with seasonal mushrooms); shiitake tofu (shiitake mushrooms filled with homemade tofu and wasabi sauce) and Autumnal crisps (sweet potato and beetroot crisps with soba noodles).

From four main-course options, we chose the salmon and chicken dishes. Salmon kurumi miso yaki – pan-fried Loch Duart salmon with Kyoto Saikyo miso was delicious, with crisp, aromatic skin, and the combination with walnuts was a revelation.

The tori sumiyaki - char-grilled miso chicken with sesame chilli miso and padron pepper - was tender and succulent.

The other two options on the menu, which we did not get to try, were the Kisetsu tempura moriawase (prawn and seasonal vegetable tempura) and the Tofu Shanshu Sukiyaki (three kinds of tofu with seasonal mushrooms and a soy mirin broth)

Best of all, by far though, was the sushi course that followed the main.  The Gunma seared wagyu A5 beef maki, with asparagus, caramelised onion and kizami wasabi, was immensely concentrated, with the kind of complex flavours that I would expect from a slow-cooked oxtail dish.

The spicy chirashi maki was also excellent – this combined tuna and white fish with avocado and cucumber.

I'm a big fan of inari sushi - deep-fried tofu pockets filled with sushi rice. But Sake-no-hana's version, served with pickled mooli, shiso and kanpyo (dried gourd), and a  home-made soy sauce, was nothing short of superb.

For dessert, we had the Autumn leaf - hazelnut feuilletine, hazelnut chocolate parfait with chocolate and maple syrup soup, mascarpone mousse and fresh yuzu. This showed off the skill of the pastry chef, and was both rich and light, a difficult combination to bring off.

What We Drank: We shared a bottle of Albarino Marinero, Terras Gauda, Rias Baixas, Spain 2017 (£45). This was a crisp and well-made wine, with fresh citrus acidity and greengage fruit on the finish.  

Likes: The sushi and the dessert were the excellent. 

Dislikes: I could have done with some rice, vegetables or some other starch or carbs to be served with the mains, I was still a tad hungry after eating this meal.

Verdict: For good quality Japanese cooking, fantastic sushi and French-Japanese patisserie desserts, the £40 for the Autumnal Leaves menu at Sake-no-Hana represents great value for money and quality.

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.

Zuma - Celebrating 15 Years of Exquisite Japanese Cooking in London

Words and Photography by Greg Klerkx and Luiz Hara

In the jungle of London’s hyper-competitive restaurant market, claims to be the best of the best are as common as threats of a Tube strike. Few enough restaurants can make this claim in the first place with any hope for consensus; those that make the whispered short-list – ‘one of the best in the city’ – rarely stay there, whether done in by hubris, transient talent or just changing times.

It’s all the more remarkable, then, that Knightsbridge stalwart Zuma finds itself celebrating 15 years in business still among that happy few at the top of the pack. Pick your blog or guide; pick your year of review. There you’ll find Zuma, unwavering in its place as the go-to spot for inventively Japanese cuisine.

That’s something worth celebrating and we recently did just that at the invitation of Zuma’s founder Rainer Becker and his team, who’ve put together a 15-year tasting menu – an exclusive collection of the most iconic dishes from the past decade and a half.

Spoiler alert: there was absolutely nothing on this menu that was anything less than delicious. Not a duff note when it came to presentation, creativity or flavour. That makes for a potentially dull review, so we’ll work the thesaurus hard to find creative superlatives to describe what crossed our table.

First, like London buses, came a trio of starters. Suzuki no sashimi (thinly sliced sea bass with yuzu, truffle oil, and salmon roe) was so delicate that it practically levitated off its dish, the nearly translucent sea bass held in gravity’s check by a fine balance of tangy yuzu and earthy truffle oil. The salmon roe added that touch of the sea, and not a little complication to the balance, yet not a flavour was out of place.

The second dish, chu toro no osasshimi kousou fuumi (thinly sliced semi fatty tuna, chilli, coriander and sesame), was something like the sea bass’s cheekier cousin; the flavours turned up a notch, the spark of chilli held in check by aromatic coriander and sesame. It was almost a relief to tuck into the hourensou no goma ae (steamed spinach with sesame sauce), which hit our tastebuds like an earthy palate cleanser.

All three starters paired nicely with the Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve NV, slightly flinty but with a long finish that cradled each of our starters with loving care.

Next arrived a favourite dish of the afternoon, and how could it not be? Wagyu no tataki, kuro toryufu ponzu gake (freshly seared wagyu sirloin tataki with black truffle ponzu) was every bit as unctuous and complex as its long title suggests, the black truffle ponzu – a palate-dazzler all on its own – bringing out the wagyu’s notes of summer grass and, well, pampering. We had the thought that if an Earth-annihilating meteor struck at that very moment, this would be a fine dish to go out on.

As with the starting trio, the wagyu/truffle juggernaut was accompanied by a simpler, more restrained dish, in this case piri kara dofu to abokado salada (fried tofu with avocado and Japanese herbs). The Wieninger ‘Wiener Gemischter Satz 2015, an Austrian speciality a-brim with gorgeous grapefruit and stone fruit yet with sufficient acidity to ensure it wraps nicely around the decadent flavours and textures of the wagyu.

Zuma wisely shifted gears at this point in the menu, offering a selection of nigiri sushi, premium sashimi and ‘chef special’ maki rolls, all made to the high standard of everything that’d come before. This beautifully presented array was paired with Kimura Junmai Ginjo, a clear, crisp sake hailing from one of Japan’s most venerable producers. Taken alone, this combination would have made us happy at most other Japanese restaurants in the city.

Our final three savoury dishes felt like the last burst of fireworks at an epic Guy Fawkes display, where what’s left in the arsenal is lobbed into the sky in one, spectacular go, the intention to dazzle and amuse. Ainame no koumi yaki to kousou (grilled Chilean sea bass with green chilli, ginger dressing) and gyuhire sumbibiyaki karami zuke (spicy beef tenderloin with sesame, red chilli and sweet soy) seemed like a reprise of our first course, with that much more body, depth and punch. 

The straight man in this lively trio was shitake no ninniku fuumi (shitake mushroom with garlic and soy butter), so deep and flavourful it was practically another meat dish. Castello di Albola Chianti Classico Riserva 2013 made for a snappy, peppery match across all three dishes. It was a marvellous display, and we felt somewhat bereft that it was finished.

Becker surely anticipated such a let down, because the real sky blossom was still to come. Describing our pudding as merely ‘Deluxe Dessert Platter’ is somewhat like calling Big Ben a clock. Our recommendation is to savour the photo here, though you unfortunately won’t be able to savour the mango and raspberry sorbets, the carmelised banana cake, or the variety of tunnel-dark chocolate offerings; ganache and fondant and more. It was a symphony of sweetness in a playful suit, matched with Yume no yado, Yuzu shu, a cheeky, sharp sake reprising the yuzu notes we began with.

It’s hard to know what else to say about Zuma at 15, except perhaps the obvious: here’s to at least 15 more years of inventive, precise, exquisite Japanese cuisine.