Where there’s smoke, there’s Fumée—at least in Shenzhen.
French for “smoke,” the name is apt for the Michelin-starred restaurant, where fire and smoke play their part in the cooking. But there’s another layer to it: Fumée also stands for fusion, ultimate, modern, elegance, and ecological—five words that key you in on the philosophy behind the restaurant.
Behind the wordplay, the restaurant is unmistakably rooted in Chinese. Unlike other establishments which prolong and preserve the familiar, in chef Reina Chen’s sandbox, one of the world’s oldest cuisines is deliberately altered to amaze and surprise.
A Chinese Cuisine Without Borders
Co-founded by Kungu opera singer-turned-chef Reina and David Pan, who also runs a neo-Chinese bistro called Fusionality, the intimate restaurant serves a pan-Chinese tasting menu that derives inspiration from the country’s regional borders, homegrown ingredients and techniques, her Western culinary training, and professional experience at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.
Chen describes her culinary philosophy as “Glocal,” a movement that practices thinking globally, but acting locally. Meaning, seasonal and regional ingredients remain at its very core and foundation, but Chen freely introduces contemporary and international techniques where they make sense. Her goal is not to disguise traditional Chinese flavors, but to find new and refreshing ways of expressing them.
That’s the vein that runs through Fumée’s 12-course tasting menu. Each course that arrives at the table is part of a paced progression, accompanied by wine, and an illustrated menu booklet that lets guests peek into the stories and ideas behind the food. In Chen’s hands, tradition is treated less as a boundary and more of a starting point.
Case in point, a luscious curry sauce is emulsified by mixing gelatin-rich fish juices with oil (think pilpil), fermented yellow chili is turned into a beurre blanc, mackerel is lubricated with pork fat, and tofu is stuffed with a scallop mousse to mimic the soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture of fine tofu.
A dinner at Fumée involves a narrative-driven, multi-course tasting menu that is “province-less” and draws inspiration from hyper-regional Chinese ingredients and flavors, presenting them in a manner that’s both inspired and inspiring.
When the Stars Aligned
Recently, chef Chen teamed up with master chef Tam Kwok Fung of Chef Tam’s Seasons, a two-MICHELIN-starred fine-dining Cantonese restaurant at the Wynn Palace in Macau. The two met just last year and have become better friends since then. The invitation to collaborate came from Chef Tam himself—an opportunity Chen regarded not only as an honor, but also as a chance to learn from someone she had long looked up to.
Matched with winning wines from the Wynn Signature Chinese Wine Awards, the 12-course menu was finalized just a day before the dinner, once the chefs visited the wet market and chose the seafood to be served on their one-night-only dinner.
There was an aji fish that was butchered and sliced an hour before the meal, served with seasonal Cantonese pomelo and green Szechuan peppercorn; local lobster infused in lime leaf and lemongrass and surrounded by bubbles flavored with honey; a healthy and potent soup made of coconut, mushroom and pear; a Tam’s Season signature dish—carabinero with seaweed ash and flavorful stock with saffron; sliced abalone stir-fried in a condiment chef Tam saw in the Fumee inventory, red rice paste; tender razor clams that ate like butter with fiberless bamboo shoots and fermented chili sauce; steamed grouper that came with a sauce made of Yuba; and noodles flown from Macau with an XO sauce made of radish and Jamon iberico.
Despite the fame and pedigrees of the two chefs, the dinner never felt like a contest, even a study in contrast. Instead, it became a conversation between two generations and two approaches to Chinese cooking: one that I was fortunate enough to listen to.
Fumee is located at 9968 Shennan Boulevard, Nanshan, Shenzhen, Chinese Mainland.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fumée is a modern Chinese restaurant that serves a 12-course pan-Chinese tasting menu. They are known for their intimate space, bold combinations of regional influences and traditions alongside using premium produce and other ingredients.
Fumée is located in Room L303 on the third floor of Hanking Center, 9968 Shennan Boulevard, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China.
Reina Chen is the head chef and one of the two founders of Fumée. Before becoming a fine-dining chef, she was Kungu opera singer.
“Glocal” refers to a movement that practices thinking globally, but acting locally. In the context of cooking it can look like using regional, seasonal ingredients and applying them to global culinary dishes, preparations and other ideas.
For chef Reina Chen, her goal with Fumée is to be able to explore new and refreshing ways to cooking and serving traditional Chinese flavors.
Fumée serves fine dining pan-Chinese food. Some dishes worth trying are the mackerel cooked with pork fat and served with 20-year-old dried radish and 18-month-old Parmesan and the shima aji served with peach and puning soybean paste.
Tam Kwok Fung is the chef of two-MICHELIN-starred fine-dining Cantonese restaurant Chef Tam’s Seasons.
The opportunity to collaborate with chef Reina Chen came from chef Tam himself. Some of the dishes from their 12-course menu were the dragon’s tongue leaf soup with loquat leaf and dried pear, and the Razor clams with simao sweet bamboo shoot Thai basil, and fermented chili sauce.
