Welcoming the new season with the Spring Menu at LèTen

Spring is in the air and rightly so. And even though un-seasonal rains keep making a cameo every now and then, confusing us Dubaiites on which heels to avoid, they also make us want to get out and leave work behind. This very motivation led us to the launch of an all new Spring Menu at LèTen in Dubai Mall. Now, I have been to this restaurant before. A year ago to be precise. But that time around we tried some bestsellers off their regular menu (including those oh so amazing Wasabi prawns). And maybe I was expecting something similar from this menu too, but then I realized I shouldn’t let my past experience influence this one.

They say a year’s plan starts with Spring. And their Spring Menu takes you on a journey to experience the warmth and elegance of this season while you savor the specialties of spring. LèTen has developed a Spring Specials set menu priced at AED 288 for 2 and AED 388 for 4 which offers a selection of appetizer, main course and dessert along with unlimited rice.

Peach Physalis Lemonade & Cucumber Kiwi Fantasy

We started off the spring inspired dinner with a selection of their signature mocktails.

Cucumber Kiwi Fantasy to the left came with a refreshing kiwi fruit mix blended with cucumber, lime Goldberg soda water and mint leaves. This brought in some wonderful Carribean flavors to our palette. The Peach Physalis Lemonade on the right featured Goldberg soda water infused with flavors of peach, elderflower Rantcho lemon and physalis. Sweet and tangy, this one was a delight.

Classic Vegetable Spring Rolls

LèTen’s spring menu had to have something “spring” to begin with. So starting off with some crunchiness, we were offered the classic Vegetable Spring Rolls. These were quite generous in terms of quantity and would be perfect for a table of four, given there were 8 portions in one serving.

While the filling was the usual you would expect – carrot, cabbage, mushrooms, onions and glass noodles – what really stood out was the side sauce. I wouldn’t be wrong if I said their spring menu is heavily influenced by sweet flavors – which started off with this plum sauce. Infused with strands of ginger, the sauce has a predominantly sweet, albeit slightly tangy flavor which acts as a good contrast to the otherwise bland spring roll.

Chicken Satay

If you prefer something more meaty, opt for their classic chicken satay appetizers. These come come decked on skewers along with a creamy peanut curry sauce and a fresh side salad of red onions and cucumbers.

Crispy Prawns with Chicken Floss

I was fascinated with their prawns from my very first visit. So knowing there’s more than one prawn dish on LèTen’s spring menu was quite a delight.
These Crispy Prawns with Chicken Floss were almost like little fur balls. Juicy de-shelled shrimps coated with Japanese mayonnaise nested perfectly within a crispy coating of chicken floss. So tender were they, while at the same time being crunchy, I was instantly impressed by their very existence. The presentation, which seemed a little like tiny threads sticking out of the prawn pieces, made for quite a discovery, masking what’s beneath until you take a bite. These were served with a fresh side salad.

 

Chilli Prawns

While I was a little more biased with this main course compared to the other one, it wouldn’t be fair to leave that without a mention. If you like your prawns spicier, you can opt for the Chilli Prawns from the spring menu at LèTen which features the jumbo variety stir-fried and coated in chilli crab sauce.

Stir Fried Eggplant with Mixed Chicken

Spring in my opinion is all about balance. So we made sure we balanced our Spring menu specials at LèTen with one of each – vegetarian, seafood, chicken and beef. You already read about what we had in terms of vegetarian and seafood. So now we move on to the more desirable protein – chicken.

Maintaining their heartiness that exudes from the very thought of this season, this Stir Fried Eggplant with Mixed Chicken has the best of both – eggplants and chicken. While the eggplants are cut into strips and stir fried tender, the chicken is minced and tossed with onions, red chillies, mushrooms and garlic in a bean paste sauce. Garnished with finely chopped spring onions, this dish perfectly complements the season’s feel.

Espresso Drumlets

If chicken mince isn’t your thing, there’s always chicken drumsticks to save the day. Another dish off their spring menu is Espresso Drumlets. These walk in to your table with a wonderful aroma of coffee beans. Tossed in a fragrant espresso sauce, this dish features crispy fried chicken drumlets topped with almond flakes.
While experimentation wouldn’t hurt, this one’s a little bittersweet. So if you like your chicken spicy or savory, go for the mince.

Sizzling Beef Scallion

This was my ultimate favorite off LèTen’s Spring Menu. That’s mainly because it was more conventional Asian than modern, although the presentation gave it quite a lift. The Sizzling Beef Scallion came with cotton tender stir fried beef slices served on a sizzling stone plate. The light gravy was enhanced with scallions, red chillies and ginger.

It was heavily soy based, which in my conventional mind is synonymous to Chinese cuisine, which is probably why I loved it so. This dish was served along with white rice and it made the perfect combination.

Sweet & Sour Hammour

However, if you want to move over to surf from turf, you can also opt for their Sweet & Sour Hammour. This dish comes with an entire Hammour fish! Yes, really. The fish is deep fried until it’s tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. It is served in a sweet and sour (mainly sweet) sauce along with squared peppers. I wouldn’t order this dish again myself because, one, I am not a fish fan, not one with bones at least. And two, the sauce was way too sweet for me.

If you eat both beef and seafood, then definitely try out the beef main course. You will love it.

Mango Sago Pomelo

We ended the Spring menu specials at LèTen with the Mango Sago Pomelo. As the name suggests, this dessert features fresh mango puree dotted with sago pearls and pomelo pieces. The mango was extremely sweet, however the pomelo gave the overall dessert a slightly bittersweet taste. Sago pearls added a nice texture in every bite.

The other option for dessert from their spring menu is Glutinous Balls Red Bean Soup. Although we didn’t try it, this traditional styled dessert comes with black sesame paste dumplings in a red bean soup.

LèTen

Location: Waterfront Atrium, Level 2, The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, Dubai
Contact: 80053836 | 04 3253535