Mr. Lee: Dinner Review

The Chinese restaurant in the Sollogub city estate is a project by Arkady Novikov, which found a new location after closing on Kuznetsky Most in 2020. The concept has changed, but it's still built around Chinese culinary traditions and culture, with attention paid to every detail. The pan-Asian menu comes from Li Zhang, who started out in restaurants in China before moving to Russia ("Turandot," GQ bar, Zodiac, "Nedalny Vostok"). The chef pays special attention to working with ingredients from China — for instance, the poultry for Peking duck is brought in directly from there. The appetizers section includes smashed cucumbers with soy sauce, bok choy with kimchi sauce, wasabi shrimp with cashews; among the hot dishes — carp in sweet and sour sauce, Sichuan-style chicken, beef in orange sauce. Alexander Kosulnikov ("Dispute," Assunta Madre) handles the bar menu, which features premium spirits from Japan and China and signature cocktails.

Interior

Chinese culture comes through not just in the restaurant's kitchen but in the interior too, designed by Alexey Penyuk (Sage, 345, Recolte), hence the style and the understated Oriental aesthetic: expensive, carefully chosen furniture, a huge open kitchen, elegant chef uniforms, pleasant dim lighting paired with dark tones, white tablecloths — in short, a genuinely flawless atmosphere.

What did I try? 

— Salad with Peking duck, 1500₽ — a generous portion with a theatrical presentation, tossed right in front of you. A pronounced sauce and a background that's a bit too Chinese — could be tough on an unprepared Moscow stomach. 
— Shrimp dim sum, 1400₽, served over a steam bath to keep them warm, paired with two sauces — sweet and sour, and sesame seed. Delicate dough, good product quality. The only downside — the dish came out before I'd finished the salad. 
— Fried rice with beef, 1400₽ — a simple, straightforward option with finely chopped meat, egg, and green peas. Decent, but tastier at Amber.
— Chicken in sweet and sour sauce, 1600₽ — in the usual breading, with a classic Chinese sauce. It turned out too concentrated; I'd recommend pairing it with steamed rice to calm and reset your palate. 

A premium fine dining restaurant with a great interior and table settings. For a 1300+ per-dish price tag, the service was an unpleasant surprise: careless and chaotic. It got better toward the end — as if it isn't enough to just be a guest, you first need to write a critical live post. The restaurant makes it into the Vkusonomika guide, though the score of 8 is more of an advance.