South East Asia on Yas Island

ABU DHABI Well begun in no way guarantees a hearty ending, at least when it comes to culinary matters. Noodle Box in the Yas Viceroy Hotel illustrates it.

Our expectations were high as we walked into the grid-like iconic structure at the heart of Yas Island. But the luster was gone too soon as we shifted gear from starters to the main course.

Our lunch started off on all the right notes. Our table was reserved. The manager was kind and welcoming. He showed much enthusiasm in suggesting the ‘must try’ starters.

We were also beaming as we dipped the crispy prawn bag deep into the vegetable achar and sweet chilly sauce. The prawns tasted delicious as we bit through the neatly wrapped crunchy pouches. Equally interesting was the spicy lemon grass fish cake that came with an amazing combination of spicy crab meat, lemongrass, lime leaves and coriander leaves. Red curry paste and chili lime sauce served on the side made it even more palatable.

There is enough to appease the dim sum lovers too. We tried an assortment of steamed prawns, chicken and crab claw. So far so good!

But as soon as we moved outdoors to enjoy the “not so bad” July weather, the staff seemed to have lost interest in their diners. So did we in the uninspiring main course and dessert.

We were left to fend for ourselves as the staff refused to make any eye contact. More than once we had to stand up to win some attention from the waiters.

It was more than the views that overlooked the racetrack and the Yas Marina quays that nudged us to stay put for another hour.

The Chinese, Thai and Indonesian range of main courses leaves much to be desired, especially for the price that you pay. For instance, green prawns with sour chilli sauce costs Dh130 – almost more than double what you pay in other Asian restaurants in town. The prawn was rubbery and was reluctant to come off the skewer.

But the presentation is innovative and can easily make up for the lack of flavours.

Hainan chicken rice (Dh95) was good enough as the poached chicken was soft and went well with the ginger-flavoured rice. But again, there is nothing sublime about the dish that you would want to come back for it.

Kung Po chicken noodles was the best among the three – well presented and packed with flavours, and definitely outdid a few I had tried earlier.

The crispy banana fritter with vanilla ice cream we ordered for dessert was disappointing and the homemade Asian ice cream was just another cold calorie overload you can avoid.

Our candid suggestion is the restaurant is worth checking out once, but don’t expect the food to be as adventurous as the races that take place outside.

Meal for two: Dh500–Dh550

Timing: Open Daily 12:30 - 11:00 pm

Operating hours during Ramadan

Dinner (a la carte): 7pm-11pm

Call: 02-656 0600