A Chinese for the Collection

10 April 2012

This review was first published in November 2001

To their "Cuisine Collection" Claudio Pulze and Raj Sharma have this month added a Chinese restaurant, SHI HON MEI, located at the Fulham Road premises that were latterly Zaika (now at 1 Kensington High Street). In case you were wondering, the hard-to-remember name Shi Hon Mei translates as "to see, to smell, to taste".

To take the first, a reconstruction of the awkward U-shaped premises has opened up the space at the top of the room, increasing the number of desirable tables.

Details of the interior designed by David D'Almada elicited the responses of drab and elegant from my two companions. I rather liked the understated look, with its play on the colours of Chinese ceramics and porcelain. We were shown to one of the tables covered with a white cloth laid with black chopsticks in sleek bamboo holders. Some other tables were bare and sported red chopsticks. Make of this what you will.

Tastes were better in the middle and main courses we chose than in the slightly etiolated first courses where the desire of chef Wai Ho (ex-Zen group) to be "contemporary" and "innovative" introduced flavours that seemed to belong in a Thai establishment. A definite tang of lemon grass was present in the dipping sauce for mussels baked with a cuttle fish paste and also, more intrusively, in the muli (or, as we know it, mooli) and prawn clear soup. Very good prawns though.

Another new-fangled dish of shredded chicken with kelp and star anise oil was somewhat less arresting than it sounds and although priced at a reasonable £3.95, a skimpy serving.

A middle course of fresh whole lobster in spicy sauce was completely different in style to the refined starters; shiny, lacquered scarlet and irresistible in its sweet piquancy, it provided the sort of flavours children love, as do most adults. It was a large lobster too for £19.95.

Braised lean duck breast with chestnuts showed nicely rare, tender meat but a rather prim amount of chestnuts. As a contrast in technique and texture we also ordered steamed sea bass with cloudy (or as we know it cloud-ear) mushrooms. It was good but increased familiarity with the concept of this dish and the farming of sea bass has reduced its impact.

From the side dishes we tried only soft aubergine spice sauce which is the sort of reduction ideal to strafe through steamed rice. Other tempting combinations in the vegetable course, whose potential is so often ignored in Chinese restaurants, are stir-fried bok choy with smoked garlic and wok-fried enoki, shiitake and oyster mushrooms. The one Chinese dessert that seems worthy of that description, red beanpaste pancakes, was our choice to share. They were crisp on the exterior, a savoury fudge inside, just as they should be.

The wine list, divided by vaguely subjective concepts such as Aromatic, Full Bodied and Creamy, and Rich and Spicy, is well-assembled and not wolfishly priced with a quite wide range of bottles under £20.

Shi Hon Mei
257-259 Fulham Road, SW3

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