Wuyuan Road doesn’t lack for charm—it’s leafy, low-rise, and filled with the kind of quiet energy that makes you slow your pace and peek through windows. But even on a street known for its cafés and concept stores, Mignon 9 stands out.
It’s a smartly designed space with an open kitchen that runs along the back wall and a subtle but unmistakable scent of real charcoal in the air. The kitchen is built around a proper grill, and you can smell it as soon as you walk in.
The space itself is stylish but unpretentious: clean lines, soft lighting, and an open layout that puts the focus squarely where it belongs—on the food.
Mignon 9 keeps it simple: brunch by day, dinner by night. Two menus, no filler. Both are tight, confident, and packed with early clues that Chef Tianmu, running the show in the kitchen here, knows exactly what he’s doing with flavor.
Brunch is a good place to begin. The M9 Brunch Set (RMB128) is a still life of contrast: a thick sausage and crispy rasher of bacon sit next to smoked salmon laid on sourdough.
There is a poached egg, kidney beans simmered in tomato, and a simple avocado salad that feels like a palette cleanser between bites.
It’s balanced: Half wholesome, half hangover cure—exactly what a brunch plate should be.
The Crab Omelet (RMB108) is a thing of understated beauty. The egg is folded with precision, concealing a generous heap of sweet, faintly saline snow crab that acts as both protein and seasoning.
It rests on a bed of smooth mashed potato—a gentle, starchy hug. Subtle, savory, satisfying.
There’s the Spicy Beef Benedict (RMB108), built on slices of sous vide beef, marinated in garlic and coriander until meltingly tender.
Poached eggs sit proud, with a stream of chili-spiked Hollandaise and a single scarlet pepper perched like punctuation.
It’s bold and bright, cut through with a tangle of yuzu-dressed rocket. A dish where flavors meet naturally on the plate—nothing forced, everything in sync.
And then, dear reader, we meet the M9 Dirty Burger (RMB108). It does not arrive in a neat stack. It arrives lounging, like a drunken aristocrat, in a pool of onion jus.
The wagyu patty has been charred to perfection on that charcoal grill, dripping with smoky chili glaze, and garnished with dried onions and slivers of cured ham.
The flavors are layered and complex—smokiness from the peppers, sweetness from the jus, richness from the beef—and the whole thing is unapologetically messy.
Cutlery optional.
Come evening, the menu shifts gear—the flavors grow deeper, the plates more ambitious, and the deft hand of the chef becomes unmistakably clear.
We started with Razor Clams in Garlic Butter (RMB108), a dish lifted with the salty sharpness of capers. Pieces of rice cake—golden on the outside, tender within—soak up the buttery goodness with satisfying intent.
It’s a dish that’s both clever and comforting.
The Charcoal Grilled Halibut (RMB158), has been cooked over that glorious real fire and comes on a shallow clam broth flecked with herbs and green soybeans.
The flesh pulls apart in translucent sheets—not a word spoken at the table while it’s eaten. Just nods. A collective exhale.
The Charcoal Roasted Pig Tomahawk (RMB158) arrives, the meat blushingly pink at the center, its edges kissed by charcoal flame—tender, smoky, its richness balanced by curls of zucchini and a vibrant Mediterranean-style sauce.
But here, there’s no tomato in sight. Instead, the base is maiden fruit—a lesser-known cousin of the tomato with the sweetness of persimmon and a subtle tang.
A vinegar glaze threads just enough acidity through the dish to keep every bite bright.
Chicken With Pepper (RMB188)—a whole spring chicken marinated with a blend of Sichuan peppers and spices—is perhaps the most quietly impressive dish on the menu.
It’s not aggressively spicy, but rather fragrant and layered, with a whisper of sweetness and the distinctive floral heat of fresh green Sichuan peppercorns.
It’s carved open at the table, and the fragrance greets you. The flavor permeates right through every inch of tender meat.
One of the chef’s signature dishes, and rightly so, is the Sea Urchin Pot Rice (RMB288). Rich with the umami of uni and anchored by crispy Guilin-style fried pork belly, it gets brightness from slivers of Xiaoshan pickled radish and a final flourish of salmon roe—little pearls that burst with briny sweetness.
It’s indulgent but balanced—a beautiful collision of Chinese and Japanese flavor. It also speaks to the chef’s quiet confidence in working with niche, expressive ingredients—and knowing exactly how to make them sing.
You’ll order it for the table but want to keep it to yourself.
Desserts are few but focused. The Mascarpone Ice Cream (RMB78) with strawberry-lychee granita hits that sweet-salty note perfectly.
The ice cream itself is slightly savory, which makes the lychee and berry granita taste even brighter.
A refreshing close to a beautiful meal, and a nice flex from a kitchen that clearly knows how to pace a menu.
Behind it all is Chef Tianmu, whose deft hand with flavor guides every dish—not with flash or fuss, but with clarity, balance, and purpose.
This is accomplished bistro cooking, elevated by Asian ingredients that aren’t just added in, but woven through with intent.
It’s thoughtful. Inspired, even. The kind of cooking where unexpected elements meet, spark, and transform—into dishes that are quietly complex, deeply satisfying, and far more than the sum of their parts.
Here, in the charcoal-scented atmosphere of Mignon 9, is something rare: a restaurant that cooks not just with heat, but with heart.
Mignon 9, No.71 Wuyuan Lu, by Wulumuqi Lu, 五原路71号, 近乌鲁木齐路
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[All image by That's]
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