Sino Chai
What Authentic Taiwanese/Japanese cuisine
Where Dubai Healthcare City; 04 435 5650.Closed on Monday.
Why For an exquisite trip down the Taiwanese/Japanese gastronomic route
Cost Dh160 for two
Authentic, good food is hard to come by these days so when I came across Sino Chai Tea House in Healthcare City, my love for Asian food took a new turn. You can eat as much as you want here and not have to worry about counting the calories. Don't expect to find the obvious Japanese and Taiwanese treats; this is a place where it's definitely worth experimenting. Typical starters include tasty prawns coated in almonds with an enticing sweet sauce on the side and steamed broccoli with ginger sauce, a hot favourite.
The warm setting, customised interiors and classy oriental vibe make it a wonderful place for lunch or dinner. We chose to have a lunchtime feast and we let Felice the owner, make the recommendations. She works closely with the chef to ensure everything is prepared with a home-made touch and uses the finest Taiwanese ingredients to bring a unique flavour to each recipe. If you get the chance it might be worth asking for her on your first visit - an expert's opinion on traditional Taiwanese food makes a whole lot of difference especially with a menu as varied as this one.
To begin our food tasting journey we opted for the beef nerve and three different varieties of dim sums, prawn chives dumplings, seafood buns, and pan-fried beef dumplings, all of which were freshly prepared and served piping hot. They taste scrumptious on their own or you can add a little soy sauce to enhance the mouthwatering experience. There's a mutual agreement among all of us, at this point, that Sino Chai has the best dim sum in town. Of course if you're not a fan of dim sum, it might be worth trying the lovely squid ball soup.
"Germinated brown rice - you can eat as much as you want," says Felice. "It's not fattening and you'll never feel bloated," she assures. We were served two portions of vegetable fried rice, cooked with germinated brown rice and the other with five mixed grains.
For our main course, we opted for a delicious combination of dishes ranging from crispy garlic prawns, ginger fish, a home-style chicken hotpot, forever yam mixed with vegetables and the mixed beef with eggplant hot pot. Surprisingly, there was still room for dessert and out came the home-made green tea and red bean ice-cream and green tea latte with QQ - another interesting beverage which will leave you refreshed and satisfied.
Tea enthusiasts won't be disappointed either, Sino Chai has people coming from as far as Oman, to stock up on its aged Pu-erh tea - the perfect tangy drink after a meal with a long list of health benefits. Regardless of how healthy the food is, the point is, you get tasty, quality food with great portions that are reasonably priced. Go on, give it a go!
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