"David Schwartz and Braden Chong’s Mimi (美美) — which loosely translates from Chinese to “beautiful, beautiful” — lives up to its name with crimson banquettes, pearly lotus wallpaper, and black lacquered tables. A meal here serves as a love letter to Guangdong and its Cantonese flavors, with deference to additional regions such as Shaanxi, Sichuan, Shanghai, Huangzhou, and Hunan. The stunning yet laborious char siu is a prized possession, requiring three days of prep work that includes brining, marinating in secret aromatics, and roasting twice. If you prefer fish, the whole sea bass is smothered in house-fermented chiles, Fujian wine, and flowering chives, creating a numbing hellfire that balances with the angelically floral fish. For dessert, mai lai go (a modest sponge cake from the dim sum realm) is ushered into a sophisticated stratosphere with a custard moat and salted egg yolk filling. To drink, Mimi offers one of the most comprehensive libraries of baijiu in the city, with bottles ranging from juicy and effervescent to deep and saucy." - Tiffany Leigh
