UAE | General
Real Peking cuisine, Dubai-style
The city's first ever Chinese restaurant, The Summer Palace - now called the Summer Place -opened its doors to the public on February 28, 1987 at the Metropolitan Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road.
- By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
- Published: 01:22 February 22, 2008
- The newly renovated Summer Place restaurant at the Metropolitan Hotel, Dubai. The restaurant opened in 1987 as the Summer Palace and was the city's first Chinese eatery.
- Image Credit: Vazhisojan/Gulf News
Dubai: The city's first ever Chinese restaurant, The Summer Palace - now called the Summer Place -opened its doors to the public on February 28, 1987 at the Metropolitan Hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road.
One of only seven hotels in Dubai at the time, The Metropolitan found the restaurant was an instant hit among residents.
The hotel's general manager Warwick Janes - who was food and beverage manager at the time of the opening - said: "As the first Chinese restaurant in Dubai, it was immensely, immensely popular when it opened, and that popularity has never waned. We still have clients coming here from when it opened in 1987; surprisingly quite a few that still come in from when it first opened."
Ever-popular menu
Summer Place is renowned for its crispy Peking duck, chicken and iceberg lettuce and homemade noodle dishes. Since its inception, the restaurant hasn't needed to change its ever-popular menu.
Janes continues: "The restaurant has been unique in itself and I can categorically say that the standard of food has never, never waned in all these years. It's renowned for its crispy duck, which is one of its signature dishes. We're keeping the food exactly as it was: the style and the taste, which is Mandarin style."
Despite recently undergoing a total renovation, Janes stresses that only the décor has changed, while the winning menu and signature dishes, prepared by head chef Che Kam Kwan remain intact. Chef Kwan first started working at the restaurant in 1989, returning to work at the Summer Place in 1997 after training in Hong Kong.
One feature that has been retained is the carved rosewood chairs, which were specially flown in from Hong Kong for the opening, and feature the restaurant's name.
The Summer Place relies on its stalwart customers, as Janes explains: "Summer Place caters mainly to the resident market. I would say that 80 per cent of our customers are resident and 20 per cent are tourists, so we have a hardcore local market. Obviously tourism didn't exist when it opened, so we relied mainly on the local market. People used to say the Summer Palace was the best kept secret in Dubai - all nationalities from Arab, English, Indian and Pakistani."
The restaurant now receives Chinese guests on holiday. Extra Chinese-speaking staff has been introduced at the restaurant to cater for the need. "It's essential to have Chinese-speaking staff with more mainland Chinese guests coming in," Janes said.
Summer Place's popularity, in fact, is proving phenomenal, with ex-Dubai residents travelling to the restaurant for its renowned dishes. The lack of a delivery service hasn't stopped anyone from ordering takeaway from the extensive menu.
"People in Abu Dhabi make takeaway orders and send their drivers all the way to pick it up from the restaurant. Diners who moved from Dubai to Abu Dhabi order takeaway from the restaurant and take it home to their families," Janes enthused.
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