Shi Hon Mei

257-259 Fulham Road, London SW3 Tel: 020 7351 7823
Cost: about £35 a la carte

Cuisines Collection, the restaurant group run by Claudio Pulze that includes Michelin-starred Zaika, as well as Il Forno and Al Duca has added another cuisine to its collection. Already representing Indian and Italian, the Collection now includes another UK top five cuisine, Chinese. Shi Hon Mei (‘To see, to smell, to taste’ in Chinese) occupies the former site of Zaika (now in the site occupied by L’Anis at 1 Kensington High Street), an intimate, graceful U-shaped dining room grounded by dark herringbone parquet floor. The re-design will undoubtedly come good, as Zaika did, but is still looking like it just moved in.

Hong Kong born chef Wai Ho has come from Harrods and the Zen group and is initially stressing the comfort end of his repertoire. Dishes like spring rolls, crispy won tons, hot and sour prawns and steamed fish represent more than half the menu, but they are well done. In the fullness of time, the menu will move more towards more personal dishes such as the starter of steamed oysters with ginger juice, warm and sensual. There is a competent crispy duck (quarters as well as halves) and Peking duck is promised soon. Poached beef in spicy broth with five-spice deserves to be a signature dish, hearty, lusty and good for chill weather so it should work well most of the year. Stir fried chicken in black bean sauce is well above the slightly gloopy standard. Wok fried mushrooms and stir fried soft noodles are all they should be, but tofu with Ma Po sauce was a genuine surprise in that it had both excellent taste (from the sauce) and texture of its own, rather silken and altogether more-ish. There is a good, short wine list that is reasonably priced and staff are keen.

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