ON THE FRINGE OF POSH YORKVILLE, Mimi Chinese is thriving on the merits of its convincing culinary geography lesson in the myriad streams of Chinese cookery. David Schwartz and Braden Chong’s menu riffs deftly on classics from Canton, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Shanghai. Flavours are clear and precise, and the execution light, eschewing gelatinous textures and heavy oil. Still, the food remains uncompromisingly authentic. Shrimp toast balances crisp bread with sweet, springy shrimp and a vinegar tang. The singular showstopper? A four-footlong belt noodle dressed with braised beef, numbing Szechuan peppercorn and cooling cucumber. Showily snipped into manageable pieces tableside, the dish is a perennial favourite with the Instagram-obsessed. Bow-tied staff provide guests with a solicitous dining experience reminiscent of old-world hospitality. Dinner here reveals the incredible depth and diversity of regional Chinese cooking and how exquisitely it can pair with a well-curated wine list (which runs the gamut from new-school natural producers to Alsatian legends), sake, cocktails that equally highlight Chinese ingredients, and baijiu. Finish up with mai lai go, a custard-covered brown sugar sponge cake.
