Taking over the space of VLV, Mimi Restaurant at Clarke Quay (which means “secret” in Chinese) is helmed by head chef Wei Jie who curates a modern Chinese menu, combining some of the Western techniques he has picked up at Michelin-starred restaurants.

They offer a range of CNY 8-course menus (until 15th Feb), starting from $288/$360 (4 pax/5 pax) to $428/$535 (4 pax/5pax). There is also a vegetarian option at $78 per pax. We were given the $288 set for this tasting.

The prosperity yusheng includes a bit of everything such as abalone, bak kwa and salmon sashimi. This is also available as an a la carte ($68 5 pax, $88 8 pax). What is special about this yusheng is that they use pomegranate sauce, instead of plum sauce, making it moreish.

Not quite sure what is in the braised 4-treasure soup, but there is no shark’s fin. It is comforting.

Scattered with roasted almond, the king prawn ball with preserved tangerine mayo is inspired and festive. The prawns are crispy and plump; the sauce is original and tangy. The gold colour is so auspicious.

Although the texture and handling methods are similar with the previous dish, the king prawn ball, the wild caught barramundi wrapped in a sticky soya-based sauce is tasty. However, if they had pan-fried instead of deep-frying it, the fish wouldn’t curl up and would make a better presentation.

These moneybags are dried beancurd puffs stuffed with minced Kurobuta pork, dried oysters, Chinese mushroom
and black moss – then deep fried. They are especially great paired with the slightly bitter braised vegetables.

The 5-spice roasted free range chicken is common enough but the skin is so crisp that we were amazed. However, Mimi has a chicken dish that they serve combust in flames. I thought they should have included that in the CNY menu – it is way more fun.

We didn’t quite like the last two dishes, the carb and the dessert. The carb dish, fried rice with abalone, doesn’t have much taste. They stir-fry it well, with each granule separate, but it is so bland that it made my family think that we all had COVID.

The desserts are not great too so they give two. The crispy Shanghai red bean pancake‘s skin is thick; it should be thin and crisp. The osmanthus jelly comes in a bowl of iced mixed fruit syrup, the fruits make the dessert feel cheap. It would be better if they remove the canned fruits and just put the osmanthus jelly in syrup.

This well-priced 8-course CNY menu is not without flaws–some dishes are similar and could have done with more varied styles of cooking–but, besides the last two dishes, the food is delectable and original and fun. My family enjoyed the meal.

CNY MENU

Mimi Restaurant
Clarke Quay #01-02 , 3A River Valley Road, Singapore 179020
tel: +65 8879 0688
Weekends & PH (dim sum brunch): 11am – 3pm
Tue – Sun: 6pm – 10.30pm
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Food: 7/10
Price: 6.5/10
Decor: 7/10

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Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho. This is an invited tasting.