Step into Dai Pai Dong and you’ll be forgiven for thinking you’ve been teleported to Hong Kong. The Chinese restaurant at Rosewood Abu Dhabi on Al Maryah Island – also accessible through The Galleria mall – is all about innovative dishes presented in a sophisticated setting that strongly evokes the city’s street-food culture.
An impressive installation of a dragon, designed to look like parts of its body are “submerged” in the floor, greets you at the entrance, as do a handful of friendly waiters. We arrived 20 minutes before the 6pm dinner service (dumpling aficionados take note: a dim sum menu is served from 3pm to 6pm) and the hostess suggested we wait in the bar and lounge area. Tucked in the corner at one end of the restaurant and hidden behind a closed door, this secret space was one of the evening’s many surprises. It is cosy, softly lit and welcoming – a perfect intimate space.
But it’s the street-food theme in the dining area that holds sway. Dai Pai Dong is named after the city’s ubiquitous food stalls, and is appropriately furnished with rustic dark-wood tables that are cleverly partitioned, providing privacy while permitting wide views of the restaurant. Graffiti covers the walls, and ducks and chickens hang behind a counter lined with stools, handy for those who want to nip in for a quick business lunch. Metal vats full of garlic pods and dried chillies sit on the floor, reminiscent of a busy market. And an airy open kitchen exposes a handful of chefs, their hands a blur as they work.
The menu stays true to street-food favourites and features hand-pulled noodles, barbecue meats and an impressive dim sum collection.
From the onset, the sharing style is abundantly clear, as dishes are served one at a time. We ordered deep-fried cuttlefish balls (Dh45) and a bowl of Szechuan hot-and-sour soup (Dh35) to start.
The soup – with a mix of seafood and well-balanced flavours – came first. Soup is difficult to share, so I watched my husband eat it while I waited for the cuttlefish balls, which didn’t arrive until the soup was cleared. Resembling a bird’s nest, the cuttlefish balls are enveloped in a mess of crispy fried strips of wonton skin, a perfect contrast to the mildly flavoured, soft, fresh fish. I loved the visual element but, being messy and crumbly, these are not easy to eat. My husband found it annoying, but I loved the playfulness of the dish.
Our barbecue platter (Dh145) included a crispy-skinned chicken that was a bit overdone, but still tasty, and a barbecue duck. The duck came bone-in, which imparted a hearty, rich flavour. It seems the chefs are erring on the side of caution when cooking poultry as the duck, too, was slightly overcooked. The platter came with four well-executed sauces: mustard, honey-black-pepper sauce, plum, and sweet chilli. Our nearly empty platter sat idle too long before the server arrived with wok-fried sea bass (Dh95), our favourite dish of the night. The eight large pieces of fish were served skin-on. The mild, tender flesh was mixed with mushrooms and large chunks of onions. Flavour is added through the slightly sweet sauce with strong notes of basil that add freshness to the dish.
The fried rice (Dh40) we had was one of the tastiest versions of this usually bland Chinese staple. The spiciest dish of the night, it came mixed with shredded duck, corn and carrots – and we devoured it.
The dessert assortment we chose was great value at Dh45. It came with two velvety passion-fruit egg tarts with flaky shells (our favourite on the platter); two moreish apple fritters served with a cold, silky custard, two kinds of smooth home-made ice cream – pistachio and coconut – and two sesame-seed balls that we didn’t like at all. Filled with red bean paste, the balls were authentic, but the sesame flavour was too overwhelming for our liking.
There were a few missteps during our visit. Service was frustratingly slow, even though the restaurant was not busy. Our waitress brought us expensive imported water and poured it before we could ask for a local brand. And the beverage we ordered in the lounge area was a bigger pour than the same beverage – at the same price – ordered in the dining room, which came in a noticeably smaller glass.
That said, the chefs at Dai Pai Dong do not falter on taste, and we’re excited to return for our next round of Hong Kong-style dining.
• Our meal for two at Dai Pai Dong at Rosewood Abu Dhabi cost Dh534. The restaurant has a Dh99 business lunch special and has just launched a takeaway menu. Call 02 813 5588. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito
sjohnson@thenational.ae
