Celebrity Chef Ken Hom Fronts Rio’s First Luxury Pan-Asian Restaurant at Copacabana Palace
News:
MEE restaurant earns a Michelin star in its first year and second year. MEE was one of only six restaurants to win a Michelin star, making it one of the top six in Rio de Janeiro. Read more here!
Welcome to MEE, the first luxury pan-Asian restaurant to open in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Copacabana Palace. I am delighted to have brought authentic pan-Asian cuisine to Rio de Janeiro.
Named MEE, the phonetic spelling of a female name meaning ‘beauty’ in Korean, the 92-seat restaurant is located by the iconic hotel’s swimming pool.
Following a six-month remodel, the 190m2 space features contemporary Asian-inspired décor with Chinese teahouse-style booths and eastern portraits by Bangkok-based artist Christian Develter. Walls are painted in Chinese sang-de-boeuf porcelain red and wooden dividers in the style of Asian screens create an intimate feel. The oriental ambience is complemented by Shanghai lounge music selected by Ken Hom and a signature room aroma with hints of lily and ginger.
MEE’s exotic menu takes diners on a gastronomic journey through Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan. The restaurant’s chefs learned Asian culinary techniques in Bangkok prior to the opening and prepares an innovative menu of specialities including ‘spicy Thai salad’ and ‘Vietnamese salt and pepper crab’ in the restaurant’s wok area, separated from the dining room by a glass panel.
A dedicated sushi bar serves a range of sushi and ‘SashiMEE’ – 10 of the chef’s special fish dishes including eel, scallops and Kobe beef – with a special soy sauce, and guests can sit at a long bar and watch as sushi is prepared for an interactive dining experience.
To accompany the inventive cuisine, a sake stewardess is on hand to pair each dish with over 25 varieties imported from Japan. Sake tastings will also be available. An extensive drinks menu includes 18 cocktail creations, three of which are designed to convey the spirit of MEE – mango, vodka and spices; fig with chamomile and gin; and duck-infused Bloody Mary. Guests will also be invited to select their favourite flavour of tea, which is made to their personal taste and served at the end of the meal.
MEE’s innovative menu will use the freshest, finest ingredients to give guests a true taste of eastern gastronomy”. The restaurant’s Executive Chef is Kazuo Harada.
The opening of Copacabana Palace’s new restaurant follows the completion of a meticulous $20 million refurbishment at the end of 2012.
For further information or to make a booking, call the UK Reservations team on 0845 077 2222 or visit www.copacabanapalace.com