Rippled by currents and streams flowing from East Asia, this contemporary Asian dining experience is a sensorial dance of textures, terrains, and temperaments. ‘Kaméi’ embodies the spirit of the resolute turtle, echoing longevity, wisdom, and good fortune. The subtle aroma of Asian spices and carefully crafted cocktails drifts across a striking bar, while the evening light casts a dramatic glow on the black river-washed tables—Kaméi awakens.

The restaurant unfolds across 2,800 square feet as a composition reminiscent of ancient East Asian spaces, interpreted through a minimalist lens. The restaurant’s meditative ambiance draws one’s gaze across the deep hues of terracotta-red surfaces and the thin latticework of metal screens. Through a solid wood door with an aesthetic live-edged handle, one enters Kaméi, walking past woven metal screens to be drawn into a serene haven.

The space unfolds within a bare-shell environment and offers a variety of seating options: booths, sofa seating, and taller seating at the bar. The layout is open-plan, intermittently screened by sleek rattan partitions and plush drapes to provide privacy while maintaining visual and sensory connection.

Beyond the dining booths, a system of handwoven rattan and mild steel screens lead one into the bar and mid-height seating area. Evoking the gesture of passing through Japanese shoji-like doors to enter an inner sanctuary, the metal screens are an innovative take on traditional partitions.

The varied zones are unified by pitted textured walls and an earthy terracotta ceiling. The warmth of oiled solid wood tables are paired with upholstered sofas, and the studio’s poetic signature Rumi dining chairs re-designed in fully upholstered versions.

Handcrafted warp and weft in metal wire with dual coloured dyed rattan respectively, are woven onto mild steel frames. As natural light moves through the space, the screens cast dramatic shadows that engage with shifting silhouettes.

In keeping with the artistic exploration of Asian currents, a fluidic, whirling sculptural lighting element by origami artist Ankon Mitra drifts overhead. The folds and flows of this piece, crafted in a dyed ombre silk, creates a sense of movement within the space while also bringing visual balance. As a parable of time and timelessness, these artistic elements add a softness to the Kaméi experience. Part of the custom sculptural lighting extends into the adjacent private dining space, gently gliding above a stunning live edged wooden table. In this intimate setting, an array of bespoke printed concrete tablets with waves and whirls echoes the ever-flowing easterly currents from which Kaméi is inspired.

Kaméi beckons the travelling heart, keen to explore and experience a scintillating new discovery of the east – in form and spirit.