On the face of it this looks like a dessert that should be enjoyed by a six-year-old, not a man in his thirties after a long day of work. There are little flowers dotted about the cloud, which give the appearance of purple birds flying in a pink sky. But a plum sauce in a little teapot accompanies the dish, and when it is poured onto the cloud it evaporates, unveiling what lies underneath, a delicately light vanilla tofu cheesecake.
It’s all very theatrical and sums up what has come before during our evening here at UBA. Everything – from the building itself to the food – is beautifully presented, and thankfully the food is delicious too. The tofu cheesecake, surrounded by candifloss (Image: UBA) The pan-Asian restaurant is on Shoreditch’s bustling Great Eastern Street, part of the Hart Shoreditch hotel, but a trip to the spa-like toilets is the only time you will feel like you are in a hotel.
The restaurant is spacious, and the Oriental décor is note-perfect with lots of red, lanterns and painted plates adorning the walls. There’s a clubby atmosphere created by the house music pumping through the busy space, but there is enough room between the tables to mean we don’t find ourselves listening in on everyone else’s conversations. The note-perfect interior (Image: UBA) There is a huge drink selection boasting many different varieties of sake, Japanese whiskey and liqueurs, as well as a wide range of bespoke cocktails.
I’m not normally one for cocktails, but i.