DUBAI: Walking into the newly-opened Cheesecake Factory on a Friday evening, I expected the regular weekend rush. What I didn’t expect was the maddening hours-long queue just for a table at the famous American franchise.
Still, if the people of Dubai think it’s worth the wait, who am I to argue? As my husband and I took our places in line, the buzz began to build. We were screaming to be heard. People were reminiscing about their visits to Cheesecake Factory outlets in the US. I felt like the only person on earth with a blindfold on all my life, never having heard of this popular venue.
Eavesdropping on all that conversation, the hour-long wait was over and before I knew it, we were selecting what to order from their extensive menu. I have to be honest. I was impressed with the quantities. This wasn’t any PF Chang’s or Chili’s menu I was looking at. There was page after page of mouth-watering options. Options I hadn’t dreamt possible in a mall restaurant.
For starters, my husband and I both wanted the Avocado Eggrolls. Sadly, in the name of variety, only one of us could order it. It was a battle I lost, settling instead for the Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls. A decision I will regret, as the single eggroll I sampled from my partner’s plate, will haunt me for a long time to come. The burst of flavours that explodes in your mouth is hard to predict from the look of the dish. And that’s just the avocado, onion, cilantro and sun-dried tomato egg-roll filling. Dunked into their divine dipping sauce, the dish reaches all-new heights. The tamarind-cashew sauce is made entirely from scratch in the kitchen with over 40 ingredients.
Meanwhile, my Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls were amazing to begin with. I was happy to dig into the delicate rice paper rolled around asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, rice noodles, green onion, cilantro and shrimp; not knowing the delights my partner’s palette was experiencing.
Moving on to our main course, I went Mexican with the Fish Tacos, while my husband took the all-American Famous Factory Meatloaf. Filled with carrots, onions, garlic, bell peppers, and herbs, it’s definitely the most flavourful meatloaf we’ve ever tasted. My fish tacos, meanwhile, were light, fresh and tantalising. Albeit in a portion so large that it would have been enough for two. And that perhaps is something everyone needs to know about ordering at the Cheesecake Factory. Everything from their starters and salads, to the main courses and cheesecakes, comes in gargantuan portions.
Still, we couldn’t leave without tasting the star of the night. My husband ordered the 7-inch Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake, while I went all out and indulged in the Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake, a 10-inch spectacular odyssey of moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and the restaurant’s Original Cheesecake, covered with a cream cheese frosting.
Naturally, it was way too much to work through, and rather sheepishly, I asked for the cake to be boxed away for us to enjoy over a late night movie on the couch.
DETAILS:
Cost for two: Dh322
Location: Dubai Mall, opposite the Aquarium
Contact: 04-325 3521
