HuMa 胡麻 is one of those Shanghai restaurants where the queue has become almost as well-known as the food.
Since opening at Jing’an Kerry Centre, the Yunnan-inspired restaurant has built a strong following for dishes such as Beef Cheek Mixed Rice 牛脸颊肉拌饭, Small Pot Rice Noodles 小锅米线 and Litsea Cubeba Fried Chicken 木姜子炸鸡, with its original Shanghai outlet regularly drawing long waits.
So when HuMa finally made its way south to Shenzhen, opening its first South China restaurant at Shenzhen Bay MixC 深圳湾万象城, this was one restaurant I was quite keen to try.
There is quite a bit behind the brand beyond its popularity. HuMa was created by the team behind Shanghai restaurant BLOOM, with its first restaurant taking more than a year to develop.
The team travelled through Yunnan in search of ingredients and flavours, while the name “胡麻” itself was reportedly inspired by the sesame cakes that founder Kang remembered from a Yunnan market.
You would find the restaurant rather casual, combining flavours from the Yunnan region with more contemporary cooking and presentation.
The brand has also placed particular emphasis on naturally fermented ingredients and produce from the Yunnan and Guizhou region, including Xuanwei ham, Tengchong pickles, Huaxi chilli, Guanling beef and Shangri-La mushrooms.
That probably explains why the menu feels familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It is relatively compact, divided among small plates, grilled and fried dishes, rice, noodles and desserts.
If you are not sure what to order, some of the popular dishes include Thick-Cut Beef Tongue 厚切牛舌 (¥88), Small Pot Rice Noodles 小锅米线 (¥65), Sugar-Grilled Pork Belly 糖烤五花肉 (¥58), Sesame Greens with Beef Tongue 芝麻菜拌牛舌 (¥48) and Grilled Broccoli 烤西兰花苔 (¥33).
The dish I was most interested in was the Beef Cheek Mixed Rice 牛脸颊肉拌饭 (¥65), HuMa’s long-time signature and also the number one recommended dish on Dianping.
The beef cheek had been cooked till soft and tender, then mixed into the rice with mushrooms, greens and plenty of crisp fried shallots, with an onsen egg sitting in the middle.
Breaking the egg and stirring everything together was important here, as the yolk binded the rice with the savoury meat juices while the fried shallots gave every few mouthfuls a crisp, fragrant bite.
There was quite a lot going on in one bowl, but it did not become overly heavy, with the green chillies helping to cut through some of the richness.
I could understand why this has remained one of HuMa’s defining dishes since its Shanghai days.
The Truffle Meat Sauce Mixed Noodles 松露肉酱拌面 (¥68) looked somewhat simpler when it arrived, with thick white noodles topped with meat sauce, black truffle and a raw egg yolk (reminding me a little of zha jiang mian and mazesoba).
Give everything a proper mix and the noodles become coated with the meat sauce and yolk, while the truffle aroma becomes much more noticeable.
I particularly enjoyed the noodles themselves, which had a thick, chewy bite and held up well against the stronger savoury flavours.
Then came the Litsea Cubeba Fried Chicken 木姜子炸鸡 (¥58), another of the restaurant’s most frequently ordered dishes.
The pieces were fried till crisp on the outside while remaining tender and juicy within, though what made them more memorable was the woody, citrusy fragrance of litsea cubeba 木姜子.
A squeeze of lime made the whole thing even brighter.
What I found more interesting about HuMa 胡麻 was not simply that it serves “modern Yunnan food”, but how accessible the food was even if you are not particularly familiar with Yunnan cuisine.
You can order fried chicken, mixed rice or noodles and immediately recognise what you are eating, then start picking up the less familiar flavours along the way.
HuMa 胡麻 Shenzhen Bay MixC 深圳湾万象城
Shop CL120, L1, Zone C, Phase 2, Shenzhen Bay MixC, 1218 Haide 1st Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
深圳市南山区粤海街道海德一道1218号深圳湾万象城二期C区L1层CL120
Opening Hours: 11am – 9pm (Mon – Sun)
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