During mid-week lunch hours, smart Chinese restaurant Dai Pai Dong is bustling, largely thanks to its reasonably priced, generously portioned business lunch offering. But also because the restaurant is beautifully designed, sophisticated and tended to by excellent and friendly staff. No mean feat.
The business lunch takes you through four courses (so make sure you go hungry) — a dim sum starter, soup, main course, a side of rice or noodles, and a dessert, followed by a light, fragrant jasmine tea to help you digest. That’s all for Dhs75.
The seafood dumpling is nicely steamed, with a springy prawn filling that’s light — it’s a great introduction to the meal. Then there’s the soup, which boasts a well-balanced broth, with a medley of mushrooms and bok choy, which is fresh and, again, thankfully light.
For the main, we opt for the standout braised eggplant (also known as aubergine to some) that’s smothered in a punchy sauce of ginger, garlic and chilli. And this comes with a tasty side of vegetable noodles that completely finishes us off. In fact, we can’t even squeeze in the small plate of fruit that comes at the end.
Despite how full we are, we already have plans to return for that aubergine dish, though.
The bottom line
There’s a lot of food in the lunch, but it’s worth the stomach space.
