Mei Ume, the Chinese and Japanese restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square, has launched a festive menu and intricately hand-crafted mooncakes to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival from 23 August to 10 September 2022.
One of the most significant dates in the Chinese calendar, the festival celebrates the harvest moon, with friends and families gathering for celebrations of feasting and toasting.
In honour of the auspicious festival, Mei Ume's dining room will showcase a glowing moon installation, encircled by red and gold lanterns symbolic of the season's new moon and new beginnings. Illuminating the restaurant with soft, ethereal light, the installation aims to bring diners together and rejoice in each other's company while feasting on a special menu to celebrate an abundant harvest and symbolise gratitude and togetherness.
The Mid-Autumn menu starts with edamame, miso soup and deep-fried Teochew prawn and crabmeat rolls with salted egg yolk, followed by a selection of assorted sashimi and nigiri and the "dim sum trinity" of lobster har gau, crabmeat dumpling and deep-fried prawn dumpling. For the main, guests can opt for a 130-gram 150-day aged Angus beef fillet or a 130-gram Kagoshima A3 wagyu beef; both served carefully seared with black bean sauce and steamed jasmine rice.
Mooncakes, a symbol of the festival and traditionally exchanged on the eve of the harvest moon, are available as part of the menu or for purchase as a gift in a beautifully embellished East-meets-West style box. Head Chef Tony Truong has crafted four iterations of traditional mooncakes and snow-skinned mochi mooncakes. The delicate pastries come in the following flavours:
- Red bean
- White lotus seed with salted flavours of autumn, including red bean
- White lotus seed with egg yolk
- Rose jam
- Chestnut
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is such a joyous time of year when family and friends gather for celebrations and exchange mooncakes," said Truong. "I have so many fond memories of the festival from throughout my life, both as a child playing with lanterns to coming together with loved ones now, especially after so much time spent apart these last few years. Nothing is more magical than sitting beneath a full, glowing moon eating mooncakes - it's the highlight of my year!"
