Sino chai
Where: Sino Chai Tea House, Dubai Healthcare City
Tel: 04-4355650
What to expect: Sino Chai is like a little dolls’ house of exquisite things. Everything is precisely laid out for maximum visual impact. Shelves are laden with authentic teapots and abstract wood carvings interspersed with bottles of soy sauce and special rice varieties for sale, which have been imported straight from Taiwan.
It is a family-run business, which serves authentic, healthy Taiwanese and Chinese food using high-quality ingredients. We started with steaming crabmeat and sweetcorn soup and bamboo steamers full of soft, scrummy dim sum. For the main course, the house speciality of pineapple prawns (crispy and deep-fried served with fresh fruit in a subtly sweet sauce), healthy germinated brown rice and ginger fish stole the show. Puddings were a celebration of flavours with home-made green tea ice cream and dreamy mango panna cotta.
You will definitely want to stock up on their imported goodies, so take some extra cash along.
Cost: Starters from Dh20, mains at Dh40, puddings at Dh10.
- Louisa Wilkins
Caramel restaurant & Lounge
Where: Caramel Restaurant and Lounge, DIFC Tel: 04-4256677
What to expect: This laid-back restaurant, bar and lounge ticks all the glam boxes without trying too hard. The interior is dominated by a long, welcoming bar, plus various seating options, while the terrace – surrounded by the lights of the big city – plays host to a chilled cocktail lounge. But Caramel isn’t just about the effortlessly chic ambience, the food here is as impressive. Our starters of miso glazed cod served in crisp filo pastry, plus lobster and mango tacos were delicate and delicious. But the showstopper of the night was the petit kobe sliders topped with mature cheddar and balsamic red onion sauce. Who knew a burger (or three mini sliders in this case) could taste so sublimely sophisticated?
Cost: Dh350 for dinner for two, excluding drinks.
- Sally Emery
