中文/en

When Peking Duck Meets British Rose

2019-02-06

The Ten trinity Square in the City of London, formerly the headquarters of the Port of London Authority, is a Grade II* listed building in London. At this place, there is a Chinese restaurant - Mei Ume Restaurant. It offers a variety of Chinese cuisine to local people including the signature Peking Duck which is quite popular during the Chinese New Year Festival. So what is so special about its Peking Duck that can appease people’s stomach?

1. Head ChefTony Truong

The head chef of Mei Ume Tony Truong, born in Vietnam and originally from Guangdong, arrived in the UK in 1982. When he first came to Beijing, he was fascinated with Beijing’s cuisine culture and had set his heart on bringing Chinese cuisine to the UK. He came up with the idea of making Western-influenced Chinese food by paying attention to foreigners’ food preferences and dietary habits and innovating on the best parts of Western cuisine for his restaurant.

2. Duck pancake

The blending of eastern and western cuisine culture is shown in every detail of the restaurant. All the pancakes are made by the chef himself, and the duck is hung in the western style oven and the pancakes are toasted to perfection in the toaster and then put in the Chinese style steamer.

3. Cutting method of duck

As opposed to cutting thin slices of meat and skin like typical Beijing duck, the chef of Mei Ume cuts thick slices of meat and skin together. This change better fits the diet of the local people.

4. Rose petal sauce

Making “Western-influenced Chinese food” is not only reflected in the duck pancake and cutting method of the roast duck, the key part of this cuisine is the unique feature of Mei Restaurant – rose petal sauce. The Rose sauce not only tastes sweet and delicious but also can ease the greasiness of the roast duck.

There is also a garden in the Mei Ume restaurant, named Seething Lane. The garden is one part of the Ten Trinity Square and is built by Reignwood Group. There is a beautiful legend about the roses here. In June each year, one red rose will be plucked from the garden in Seething Lane and taken to the Mansion House on the altar cushion of All Hallows by the Tower, where it will be presented to the Lord Mayor as a “penalty”.

In 2010, Reignwood purchased Ten Trinity Square and spent 7 years repairing and renovating the building and developed it to what we see now. At present, Ten Trinity Square comprises Four Seasons Hotel London, private luxury residences and a private members club. As an examplar (or paragon) of Reignwood’s overseas investment, Ten Trinity Square London has built an important bridge linking Chinese and British culture and economic history. And the Mei Ume restaurant will continue contributing to the fusion of eastern and western cuisine culture.