Samyukta Nair to launch Chinese-inspired townhouse restaurant MiMi Mei Fair
Called MiMi Mei Fair, the multi-faceted restaurant will be spread across three floors with inspiration for the interiors drawn from the Forbidden Palace of Beijing, ancient folklore tales, and whimsical 1920s Shanghai.
The opening marks a change of direction for Nair, whose two previous London openings are both high-end, Indian-focused restaurants.
"My passion for Chinese food, art and culture began whilst living and studying in China, and it has remained an obsession," she explains.
The MiMi Mei Fair kitchen will be led by Chinese-Singaporean executive chef Peter Ho, whose CV includes the Michelin-starred Lei Garden in Singapore; My Humble House, Beijing; and Hakkasan London.
Ho's food will lean on traditional techniques honed under the traineeship of his father, and feature contemporary Chinese dishes from across Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China.
The menu of sharing dishes will begin with appetisers including crispy golden langoustine with Périgord truffle; apple wood-smoked Chilean seabass with Shaoxing wine, sweet soya and fried leaks; and steamed xo okra with shallot and enoki mushroom crumble.
A specialty dim sum menu will feature a sea urchin and turnip puff with white mooli; spicy Szechuan pork wontons; and a seaweed and spinach jade dumpling. There will also be a 'signature' range of xiaolongbao in 'jewel-coloured skins' of beetroot, purple sweet potato, Chinese chive, and heritage carrot.
Larger dishes for the table will include a traditional apple wood-roasted Peking duck with homemade pancakes; and lobster cooked three-ways – wok-baked with spring onion & ginger, steamed with Mimi’s pickled chili, or braised with “Yung Chun” noodles.
The ground floor dining area at MiMi Mei Fair will include 'snug-like' dining booths separated with mirrored panels, and be decorated with art deco glass wall lights and a marble fish scale mosaic floor.
Upstairs will be the 'playfully feminine' Wedgewood blue and coral-accented Parlour room with double height ceilings; as well as the cosier Library, which will be adorned with Chinese ceramic vases, dark wood tables with brass antique wall lights, and bespoke chocolate brown herringbone flooring.
Underneath the two dining floors will be a mirror-walled Moon Bar, which will serve cocktails including a chestnut sour with chrysanthemum flower and mastiha and chestnut liqueur; and the 'Green Park', a gin-based cocktail made with homemade pandan leaf and osmanthus flower extract.
Dreaming the individual spaces to life and curating the menu with Peter has been such a wonderful experience," adds Nair.
"Moreover, Peter has worked with my family for years, I’ve known him since I was a teenager, so it is so exciting to be working together now as colleagues."
MiMi Mei Fair will operate under newly-formed parent company LSL Capital, which was founded by Nair and her father Dinesh.
Jamavar and Bombay Bustle have also been brought under the LSL Capital umbrella, having previously been part of Indian hotel group Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, which was founded by Nair's grandfather, the late C. P. Krishnan Nair.
