MEE: A MICHELIN-STARRED ASIAN RESTAURANT INSIDE BRAZIL’S MOST FAMOUS HOTEL
The Cost -$60 per person
The Atmosphere – There is no question that the Copacabana Palace in Brazil is synonymous with luxury. Now owned by Belmond, the hotel has been the choice of guests such as Ginger Rogers, Paul McCartney, Princess Diana, Madonna, and Justin Bieber. The famous hotel boasts not one, but two Michelin-starred restaurants: Cipriani, which serves classic Italian cuisine, and Mee, which serves Asian cuisine. Both restaurants are on the formal side but Mee has a more modern feel to it; from the very pretty onyx bar to the colored glass spheres hanging from the ceiling, the restaurant features some nice design elements though it still feels a bit dated and is far from trendy. The restaurant’s atmosphere sets the scene for a romantic dinner or special occasion for a middle-aged and older crowd. Reservations are accepted and are highly recommended for weekend evenings as well as any high tourism periods. While formal attire is not required, we would not recommend arriving in a t-shirt, shorts, or light jeans.
It is not easy to prepare food from one country extremely well but the team at Mee attempts to prepare dishes from seven Asian countries at a world-class level. The restaurant serves dishes from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in either a tasting menu or a la carte format. To help you identify where a dish is from, Mee’s menu provides the image of the flag of the corresponding nation next to each food item, enabling diners to create a meal from some of the most famous dishes from each country.
The Order – Sun Wukong, Seleҫão de Dim Sum (2), Green Curry, and Crispy Sichuan Tea Smoked Duck.
The Great – The Seleҫão de Dim Sum has its own section of the menu even though it is really just one large appetizer. It was a dim sum sampler with one piece of eight different items, mostly dumplings. Because there were only one to two bites of each individual item, we ordered one sampler per person at a cost of 250 real (~$50) for the two. The dish came out in a large dim sum basket and was presented nicely. It featured elevated, modern, and Asian-inspired dumplings and bites that strayed from the traditional dim sum items. The couple of vegetable dumplings were forgettable but many of the meat ones stood out, especially the duck with hoisin sauce and foie gras and the bulgogi wagyu with tamarind. This dish was the most fun and creative item we ordered and given the variety and the opportunity to taste different flavors I thought it was worth the price.
The Good – Deboned and shredded at the table, the Crispy Sichuan Tea Smoked Duck was served with hoisin sauce, thinly sliced cucumbers, and pancakes. The duck itself was a bit dry and didn’t have much of a tea smoked flavor which was disappointing. The best part of the dish was actually the pancakes which were warm fluffy, and delightful without being heavy. The hoisin sauce was solid but nothing to write home about and the combination of everything together was enjoyable but not rave-worthy.
To get a taste of the Thai dishes on the menu, we ordered the Green Curry. Aside from the nice green color, the other thing that was easy to spot upon the dish’s arrival at the table was the small portion size. The chicken itself was soft and almost airy and was tasty, however, the curry lacked authenticity and did not remind me of my travels in Thailand. I expected more from a high-end, Michelin-starred restaurant.
The Not So Good – While the green curry was a bit disappointing, the biggest disappointment of the night was the Sun Wukong cocktail. With a fantastic-sounding description of banana and coconut cream mixed with pu-erh tea, a fermented Chinese tea, and whiskey, I thought I would be getting a creamy and flavorful drink with an interesting Asian flavor but in reality, the drink just tasted like whiskey and wasn’t too creamy. The best part of the cocktail was its presentation, which doesn’t say much given that it was a white drink with a rosemary sprig and a circular lime slice as a garnish.
The Verdict – A disappointing meal at a historic hotel. While the meal at Mee wasn’t bad (cocktail excluded), it wasn’t where it needed to be given the price and it is certainly not a restaurant I would expect to have a Michelin star. It could just be the dishes we ordered or it could be that the kitchen fails to serve authentic cuisine from seven different countries located halfway around the world. Either way, we’d recommend many other restaurants before Mee if you find yourself in Rio.