If eating classic Chinese cuisine at altitude is on your list of favourite pastimes, and listening to funky tunes comes a close second, then heading to the Habtoor Grand for a spot of Asian food finery should be next on your ‘to do’ list.
Perched on the 25th floor of the Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa, Summer Place oozes contemporary cool and traditional polish – think red perspex chandeliers, glossy black tables, and the kind of aquariums you’d expect to see adorning the walls of an interiors-savvy Bond villain.
Add that to the in-house DJ playing a mellow soundtrack of Asian beats and knockout views of the Marina, and as far as good looks and chilled-out atmosphere goes, Summer Place has got it in spades.
But what about the food? Thankfully, it’s just as scrumptious as the décor. After gazing at the stunning vista from the giant terrace, our starters arrived – Ha Kao (or shrimp dim sum to the layperson) and Prawns with wasabi sauce. I’m a big fan of prawns (as you may have guessed from my variations-on-a-theme starter selection), and these yummy entrées did nothing to disperse my soft spot for shellfish.
Served with sweet and sour, sweet soy and a feisty chilli dip, the five giant prawns were coated in feather-light batter and topped with just enough volcanic wasabi to give a gentle kick. Trying to eat them gracefully with chopsticks was the only issue – not even my mouth was big enough to get through them in one go – so cast aside the traditional utensils and use your hands to munch through the magnificence of it all, because these juicy nibbles are a three -bite delight. The delicately flavoured dim sum were far more manageable, and delish with just a smidge of chilli oil.
Next up? Call us traditionalists, but how can you not want to treat yourself to Peking duck when the table next to yours were in raptures over theirs? Expertly shredded and wrapped into the neatest little pancake rolls right before our eyes, the duck meat was velvety soft, the skin perfectly crispy, and the ratio of cucumber to spring onions and plum sauce was bang on.
Quite how we managed to demolish an entire plate of Duck stuffed pancakes, two bowls of rice and a generous serving of Beef in black bean sauce with broccoli and still have enough room to consider pudding, I’ll never know. But consider dessert we did, and our mango treat was a light and moreish wobbling castle of fruitiness. Top notch food, top notch service and top quality tunes in a cool venue – we could well have found our fave new place to blow our diets.
Need to know
Restaurant Summer Place
Location Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa, Dubai Marina
Tel 04 399 5000
Tasty trio: Chinese
Hakkasan
The Dubai restaurant is the latest Hakkasan to throw open its doors, and has already welcomed hordes of the city’s foodies rushing down to see if it lives up to the hype. And if the smiles on the faces of diners after they’ve sampled the Hakkasan faves on the menu (the Scallop shumai on the dim sum platter is to die for), taken in the spectacular décor and checked out the al fresco terrace, are anything to go by, this Hakkasan will be
as big a hit as its AD counterpart.
Location Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
Timing Sun-Sat 12pm-3pm, 6pm-12am
Tel 04 384 8484
The China Club
The Radisson Blu’s China Club is famous for its authentic Chinese food with a contemporary flair and there’s absolutely no way you can go wrong if you head down to the restaurant for their daytime Yum Cha deal. Enjoy the relaxed ambience and tuck into a seemingly endless selection of dim sum, noodles, rice dishes and a variety of specials, with tea and soft drinks included.
Location Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai, Deira Creek
Timing Daily 12.30pm-3pm and 7.30pm-11pm
Tel 04 205 7333
Zheng He
Dining in this spectacular Mina A’Salam waterside restaurant feels more like a trip to a bygone era thanks to the attention paid to the relics and artifacts dotted around the restaurant. And they’ve teamed authentic décor and friendly staff with food that’ll impress
even the most discerning of palates. The Braised belly is one of the best things we’ve eaten, and the classic Beijing duck is a must-order.
Location Mina A’Salam, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai
Timing Daily 12pm-3pm, 7pm-11.30pm
Tel 04 366 6730
