If you’re like us, you’ll struggle to really enjoy Asian street food unless you’re sitting on a plastic chair, by a road, at a table with strangers who don’t speak your language, and a small can of hops being cooled by massive chunks of ice.
As much as we’d like to jet off East every time we want some great pho, bao or satay, it’s not possible. But luckily we don’t have to, as in Abu Dhabi there are plenty of great restaurants that proudly serve the cuisines from dozens of different nations from around the world.
Pick a country and the chances are there’s a restaurant in the capital serving up traditional dishes from your desired location and doing a very good job of it, too (we’re thinking Dragon Bao Bao, Hankook Korean and Asian Plates, to name just a few).
What you might not know is that classy steak and seafood restaurant The Park Bar and Grill has introduced a variety of traditional Asian dishes to the menu (with a particular focus on Vietnamese cuisine).
The venue may be known for its fine cuts of meat but we’ll come back to try those another time.
We arrive hungry and with high expectations, memories of plates in Ho Chi Minh City still lingering.
We order a variety of dishes to share and fight over so we can get a real taste of what’s on offer.
The rice paper rolls are fresh, light and feature shredded mint leaves, which surprises us but is a stroke of genius.
The beef pho soup has some of the leanest, softest meat we’ve eaten, but the broth could do with a little more depth and heat if we’re being picky. We’re not scared of chilli, in fact, we love it. Bring it on.
The crab cakes are crisp on the outside and pillowy soft in the middle. We would have preferred more seasoning, but it’s also hard to criticise a dish when we clear the plate.
Stealing the show however are the short-rib beef bao buns. They’re soft, filled with wonderful shredded beef, cool cucumber and crispy veg and we could eat them all night long. Seriously, bring us ten of these and leave us to it, you’ll get a clean plate back when we’re done and a pair of happy customers.
You might not think of this as a destination for some great Asian street food but that’s one reason Abu Dhabi is so brilliant.
WHAT IS IT…
A steakhouse with a secret Asian street food menu
WHY GO…
Three words: beef bao buns
