26th September 2008
Treat Yourself
I was treated to dinner at Umu by my wonderful boyfriend and what a treat it was. On approach down a back alley in Mayfair, the facade of the restaurant isn't particularly imposing. I liked the panel which said 'Touch Here' - by placing your hand on it, the entrance door slides open. A bit cool.
On first impressions, the restaurant was very sleek indeed. Dark wooden tables lined the windows and there was a central bar style of seating, with a chef concentrating hard on slicing some fish.
We were talked through the menu by our charming waiter, and a rather hefty menu at that. There was normal a la carte, and then a sashimi and sushi menu, and lastly the Kaiseki menus. Kaiseki is a speciality of Kyoto and is a banquet style of meal. It is said to be an art form that balances the taste, texture, and appearance of food.
We decided to go with a Kaiseki menu. Two seasonal appetisers came cold; delicious. The flavour combinations were very clever indeed. A highlight was slowly cooked eel wrapped in marinated ginger.
Next, the sashimi. Yellowtail, fatty tuna (I dribble at the memory) and sesame crusted mackerel. All super fresh, all delcious. Our waiter told us that the Japanese usually save a piece of fish for the end, whereby they wrap this fish and some grated daikon with the shiso leaf provided, and dunk it in the soy sauce. This we tried; it was interesting. The boyfriend proclaimed it delicious with the fatty tuna, but I found the slightly astringent tang of the leaf overpowered my yellowtail.
Next, a tofu-like (but was actually egg) stuffed with minced prawn in a savoury broth. Great texture and wobble. Here, our menus branched off as one of us had chosen the sushi royte. So while I had cold vegetables such as aubergine, pepper, turnip and okra with two pieces of octopus in a bonito jelly, the boyfriend had 3 pieces of nigiri. This was my least favourite dish of the meal. The flavours of the vegetables were very pure and fresh, balancing the octopus well, but there wasn't a lot to it.
We then had a Shabu Shabu; a box each, complete with stock and a fierce tealight to keep it all cooking. Vegetables such as mushrooms, leeks and cabbage were provided as well as some thinly sliced fish and dipping sauces. All good fun, and the ponzu sauce was a favourite.
The meal was drawing to a close with just a couple of courses left. A rather plain mushroom rice was jazzed up with all sorts of pickled vegetables and a deeply savoury red miso. Dessert was a highlight; plum seed jelly with seasonal fruits. Light and refreshing.
I loved the meal we had here; it's unlike anything I've eaten before, and it was all beautifully presented. The waiting staff were charming and inobtrusive. My only gripe is that they served some (ok, I counted; 3) of the courses while I had popped to the bathroom and so I missed some descriptions. So that's what that 1 remaining star is all about really.
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