After a successful Welcome Back Party at the Calypso Restaurant in May, the Bailliage was pleased to host a unique Japanese dinner. This time we met at UMAI Japanese Restaurant in the heart of the Bund along the Huangpu River.

The 30-seat restaurant caters for the serious Japanese culinary enthusiast and is known for traditional Omakase cooking. Sushi and kaiseki are at the heart of this style which adheres to the ingenious spirit of century-old Japanese cuisine which offers the ultimate service quality, as well as the freshest and best ingredients available. [NB. Omakase is a Japanese phrase used when ordering sushi in restaurants which means “I'll leave it up to you”].

We booked the whole restaurant and were treated to a custom menu for the night. Champagne Perrier-Jouët flowed as our members began to arrive and were immediately greeted by other members who they had not seen since the gathering in May.

The menu abounded with over 20 courses, every one of which was a gastronomic delight was meticulously prepared and artfully presented on hand-made porcelain which had been imported from Japan - each piece was unique.

Chef Chen, who has been a master sushi chef for over 20 years, prepared the following:

MENU

Appetizers
Milk bean curd and caviar

Cold noodles with abalone

Bluefin tuna akami, Hirame with sea urchin,
Akami, Jack mackerel, Botan shrimp

Hokkaido snow crab and Hokkaido sea urchin

Nagasaki eel with vinegar
Plum wine

Main courses

Grilled
Yun nan roasted matsutake

Deep-fried
Nagasaki tempura eel

Hot Dishes
Miyazaki beef, hots pring eggs

Nigiri sushi

Bluefin tuna otoro, sea bream, sea urchin,
hairtail, squid, amaebi, fragrant fish, tamagoyaki

Soup
Miso soup

Sake
Born, Kinshachi, Dasai

Dessert
Shizuoka netted melon
matcha black bean dafu

The plum wine and the fine gourmet sakes were served in unique hand-crafted sake cups, which were a wonder on their own. The beverages were masterfully presented. Everyone was overwhelmed by the precise pairing of the fantastic dishes and the beautiful sakes.

While dessert was served we celebrated the birthdays of two of our members: Jenny Tseung and Michelle Sun.

After dinner, most members did not want the evening to end so they converged on the tatami in the corridor and enjoyed Japanese whisky that was donated as a fine by three members who had forgotten their ribbons!

It was truly a delightful evening with fun and camaraderie; in fact, some of the members had even set up the next group gathering before the night was over.

Overall, we experienced the fascinating and enjoyable traditions of the art of Japanese cuisine, and we look forward to meeting again soon for more culinary adventures.

Vive la Chaîne!

Michelle Yi Sun
Vice-Chargée de Presse