5
Beautiful meal. Usually I’m skeptical about Chinese fusion, but everything was executed perfectly at Lei. The celtuce had a delightful crunch, which was paired nicely with a rich, but light and slightly tangy sauce. The Cabbage with yuba and morels was also very warming and had a great depth of flavour without being too heavy. We also ordered the shao bing, which, while simple was delightfully crunchy and paired nicely with the slab of butter inside. The mains, however, were the real star of the show. Many come for the sweet and sour beef short rib, and I will say it’s a must order. It pairs wonderfully with the side of rice, and it is very tender and flavourful. The Hand-rolled cat’s ear noodle with lamb braised in cumin and tomato was also very special. The noodles come out perfectly al dente, and the broth is, again, rich and fragrant without being overbearing. Surprisingly, I also really liked the Eight treasure rice pudding with sticky toffee. It was a great twist on a traditional Chinese dessert, and the slightly salty caramel paired with the ice cream and sticky rice was a nice conclusion to the meal. The wines on offer were also excellent, especially the dessert wine. We tried a South African straw wine, which was very very special and unique. Overall one of my favourite meals in New York as of yet. Very innovative, very hard to book, but very worth it.
