Mimi Restaurant

Loosely translated to Secret, Mimi is a Chinese restaurant hidden in the heart of Clarke Quay with modern Chinese cuisine, building on traditional flavours

I had quite a bit of difficulty finding the restaurant, as it was hidden behind a pub and you can only reach it via this flight of steps. As we had a wheelchair, we used the lift, which was at the kitchen backdoor

The restaurant was in an odd U-shaped layout since not much could be done to the old building’s layout. The restaurant was on the 2nd storey, above a live band pub. The seating is a mix of designs, from the traditional round tables to the modern square cafe tables

Firstly, we had the roast pork platter, honey char siew and roast pork, which was served prettily on a log-shaped plate. It was also decorated with some flowers and herbs to make it match the nature theme of the plate. The char siew was nicely roasted with good distribution of fats and lean meat, and charred smokey flavour from the slightly burnt bits. The roast pork has very crispy skin, and the meat was not too salty

Next, we had the Saucy Crab and Egg Affair, which was served with fried mantou. A signature dish for the restaurant, the sauce is plated in a striking yin-yang pattern formed by tangy Chilli Crab sauce and a silky egg white sauce. This dish was quite a winner since it caters to those who like chilli crab sauce, and for those who do not like spicy sauces, the egg one was creamy and flavourful

The next dish was the crab meat with homemade tofu, which was served in a cute claypot. The thick crab meat sauce was poured onto the beancurd only at the table. The sauce had generous chunks of crab meat and was creamy and perfect with the soft beancurd

The next dish was the salted egg prawns, which came deshelled and ready for eating. The prawns were fried till perfect crispiness, and the salted egg sauce was thick and coated the prawns well. The salted sauce was well balanced with the fresh and crunchy prawns, which were pretty huge in size

The next dish was Sichuan-style Braised Eggplant with Sakura Shrimp served in a sizzling claypot. The ingredients included eggplant, minced pork and sakura shrimp. As it is Sichuan-style, the dish has a very light spice but not too spicy, so kids could also enjoy it. The eggplants were cooked till soft and flavourful as the flavours from the sauce are all absorbed into the vegetables. The addition of Sakura shrimps has added an additional layer of umami flavours

This next dish was the firecracker chicken, which is commonly known as La Zi Ji. The biggest difference here is that I can see more chicken chunks compared to dry chilli bits. Most of the La Zi Ji outside is like a treasure hunt for chicken meat since the whole dish is covered with dried chilli. They also added popcorn, which adds a sweetness to the dish. The perfectly fried chicken chunks are lightly spiced by the dried chilli and have a light sweetness from the popcorn. The dish is surprisingly addictive since it’s not overly spicy

The final dishes were our carbs, which were: Wok-fried E-fu Noodles with Crab Meat and Mimi’s Pirate Fried Rice. The pirate fried rice was effectively seafood fried rice with prawns, scallops and topped with flying ebiko roe. Both dishes were well-flavoured and had good wok hei. We pretty much wiped out the dish in seconds

Overall, the service was quite attentive and friendly, and the food was served pretty fast. The flavours were also on point, and some of the fusion dishes had surprises as they were elevated from the traditional dish. The price is, however, higher than that of basic Chinese restaurants, as most would argue that this is not a fine dining restaurant

Address: 3A River Valley Rd, #01-02 (Level 2 Clarke Quay, The Riverhouse, Singapore 179020

Opening hours: 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 10 pm ( Weekends 11 am to 3 pm)