Lunch at Mimi Kakushi’s is the best I have ever had.
Some meals are memorable for different reasons. It might be the atmosphere, the service, view, a particular ingredient or indeed an entire dish that stands out. Mimi Kakushi brings all of these elements together to provide a very, very memorable meal for all the right reasons.
Upon entering the restaurant we are immediately transported back to 1920’s Osaka. Mimi Kakushi intentionally invokes the golden age of jazz and swing. An era when the East was experimenting with Western culture, giving rise to a new oriental age when Japan ‘danced to the beat of it’s own drum’. Days of modern art and western fashions, where traditional values were challenged to the point where a whole new era was ignited.
“Mimi Kakushi embodies this brave new world to bring you a dining experience like no other. Independent, expressive, limitless. It blends time-honored cuisine with new thinking, serving far eastern flavors you’ll recognize with western influences you’ll love.”
Mimi Kakushi
This vibrance of attitude flows through the restaurant and continues to imbue the whole affair: from the colored glass window shutters to the demure light fittings; from the beaded wooden curtains to the lushness of the greenery; the delicate ponzu and ume (plum) flavors; from the warmest of greetings to the last goodbye.
Once seated, the menu is promptly explained and drinks ordered. I choose a saki to begin. When in Rome, so to speak…
Bites and Starters
Before we even receive our drink order, the food starts to arrive. We begin with bites: tender steamed and salted edamame, pickled yuzu daikon and spicy kimchi cabbage.
Next, the cold and hot starters, served in no particular order with enough time to savour each mouthwatering morsel. Of particular note are the salmon and beef tataki dishes with succulent cuts and luscious flavors. The hints of chilli, soy and mint perfectly compliment the salmon whilst the combination of the woody truffle and sweetness of the ponzu elevate the beef to another level altogether.
The other starters include: seaweed salad, yuzu apple chips & sesame dressing (delectable); black cod & prawn gyoza with citrus miso sauce (delicious); yakitori chicken thigh with sweet soy & shichimi (delightful); and kushi Angus beef with shiso mayo (divine). Plus a platter of assorted sushi and maki which is undeniably fresh.
After finding the saki not particularly to my liking, I decide to switch to the Japanese grapefruit smash. This (after a delay in its arrival*) is a flavorful gin based cocktail, both sweet and tart. Perfect to settle into for the afternoon.
Main and Sides
After such an array of bites and starters, our waiter thoughtfully suggests a pause before our individual choice of main is served. When these arrive they are equally splendid with succulent sides worthy of being the main event.
While my grilled Angus ribeye is undoubtedly cooked to medium perfection, it is the sweetcorn, asparagus and crispy potatoes (served with ume butter and shirodashi espuma) that I long for more of. Any Japanese restaurant worth its Maldon sea salt should be capable of a decent ribeye dish, however, nowhere have I had (not one but three) side dishes that practically outshine the main.
The asparagus is chargrilled tender, the sauce another perfect compliment. The sweetcorn is sweet, the sauce creamy and tangy. I simply can’t get enough. Then the potatoes! Barely visible under the foamy butter that is more remicient of icing (in appearance if not flavor) than anything I have ever seen accompany potatoes before, I am lost in their magnificence.
Pause and Dessert
As plates are cleared we sit back, sip and chat. We are catching up with good friends and the conversation flows amicably into dessert after another sufficient pause is unobtrusively imposed.
Dessert is another platter of impeccably executed cuisine. A selection of fruit, brownie, mochi, lychee pudding and skillfully creamed and artfully flavoured morsels are laid before us. After a taste of each, the cheesecake is determined as my favourite, following which I am beaten. I cannot possibly fit another morsel of food, no matter how incredible. There is no other choice but to determine to return on another occasion.
Good To Know
Mimi Kakushi offers brunch on Saturdays with a 3 hour sitting anytime between 12pm – 4pm. This feels more like a degustation than a brunch, nevertheless, our meal with the house beverage package (including a selection of 3 cocktails, house wine, saki and beer) was AED490 per person (booking recommended). The restaurant is located at the Four Seasons Resort, Dubai.
Not convinced? Here are 5 other notable lunches:
Would I Return?
Yes, undoubtedly. If only for the beef tataki (and if only I could stop there).
*One Last Note
Despite the impeccable line up of dishes, the restaurant maintains a rule where only one drink per person is permitted at a time. This is fair enough. I have been to many brunches where drinks are lined up on the tables and as a result the atmosphere may become a little more rowdy as the afternoon proceeds. This is clearly more classy affair.
However, if this rule is going to be openly communicated and enforced with customers during a brunch (where drinks are included, it must be noted), then there must be reciprocity. Namely, the service of drinks when one is low or finished, should be prompt. If this is the case then the rule can be a silent one, managed by a promptness of service that can be measured and matched with a customer’s consumption. Perhaps a more delicate way to deal with the matter than outright refusal of service. It was the execution of, rather than the rule itself, that blemished an otherwise perfect afternoon.
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