Meet Mr. and Mrs. Lee, a love story
Review: The sister restaurant of the acclaimed Blue Rooster is an inviting, mostly outdoor place serving good pan-Asian cuisine.
The preface to the menu at Mr. and Mrs. Lee recalls the encounter that inspired Chef Shaul Ben Aderet to open his restaurant dedicated to authentic Asian food: his interaction with an elderly couple in Japan who had decided to grow old together running their small eatery.
To be sure, the restaurant in Israel is a far cry from the original hole in the wall: Mr. and Mrs. Lee in the upscale Tzameret G Mall takes up a good part of the roof of one wing of the building and encompasses a handsome horseshoe bar and tables in a central open area as well as surrounding nooks. Not being at ground level enables diners to catch a pleasant evening breeze.
There are quite a few categories on the menu, and a section called tasting menu, which actually pertains only to groups, or to the Saturday lunch deal. It is worth reading the menu through to become familiar with the many tempting options.
We started with an obvious appetizer: crispy spring roll—rice phyllo dough filled with chopped chicken, mint, cucumber, fried shallots and Kaffir lime. The roll was fried to crisp perfection, and the ground chicken seasoned with a deft hand. It was served with a Thai chili sauce, which turned out to be an unnecessary condiment.
The same held true for the dim sum: oval-shaped steamed dumplings stuffed with juicy, succulent veal.
The sashimi category presented us with an unusual variation: crispy salmon pizza—fresh raw salmon on a baked thin chapatti topped with anchovy aioli, radishes, avocado, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and fried shallots, in a pink ginger cream. The freshness of the fish was evident, and the dish as a whole represented a wonderful interplay of flavors.
Our sushi course was also a version with a twist: hot foto-maki—seaweed-wrapped rice filled with sweet potato, asparagus, and shiitake mushroom, fried tempura style, and topped with salmon tartare in a miso-yuzu sauce. An inspired combination of flavors, textures and temperatures.
We had two main courses from the wok category, one with rice and one with noodles. The former was crispy chicken in a soy, honey and ginger sauce with mint and sesame, accented with a som-tum vinaigrette. Once again, the generous chunks of white meat chicken were fried just right, rendering the exterior crisp while leaving the chicken breast moist. The tasty glaze struck just the right balance of vinegary tang and honey sweetness.
The green noodles consisted of egg noodles with chicken strips and spicy cucumber in a complex sauce of chili puree, Galangal (ginger) and coconut milk. This exquisite dish was the highlight of a meal that already had much to commend it.
We had room for only one dessert, recommended by our waitress: lemon mousse semifreddo with berry sauce and almond crumble. A cool and light Western finish to a meal from the other side of the world.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee
Not kosher
Nissim Aloni 10, Tel Aviv
Tel. (03) 744-4345
