Not every spot needs to be shiny and extravagant to make an impact and Asian Kitchen’s Meet the Wokker’s Brunch proves just that. Located at the Azure Residences on Palm Jumeirah, this venue ticks all the boxes for a laid-back family brunch.
Named after a Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller comedy, Meet the Wokker’s brunch adopts the à la carte format. One of the waitresses came by almost immediately as we took our beachfront table, offering us a shared platter for the starters. As a seafood lover, I was thrilled to see choices ranging from Kam Hengo squid to prawn tempura and seafood wonton. The sharing platter, which came with a number of dips, was a true delight. I polished almost everything off in a few minutes leaving very little for my friend. In my defence, the wasabi mayonnaise was too hard to resist. After enjoying the starters, we decided to take it easy, soaking up the ambience. Listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore as the chilly February breeze blew by, the serenity of the spot felt almost unreal. Children were as delighted to be there as adults. They got their faces painted, played in the bouncy castle and watched a magician play tricks.
Then it was time for the main course. We chose the mussels padang and kung pao chicken. Portions were generous and both dishes came with rice. Mussels were packed with flavours while a slight tangy sweetness added to the taste of the dish. The kung pao chicken, topped with fried cashews, was rightly spiced.
For the dessert, we had Asian fruits with ice cream and the masala chai brownie. While the brownie was intense, infused with masala chai spices, the Asian fruits with ice cream was deliciously creamy and light, a fitting end to a fulfilling Friday brunch.
Details Fridays from 12.30pm to 4pm; starts at Dh170 with soft drinks
Call 04 568 7439
— The writer is an intern at Gulf News Commercial Publishing
