I’ve known this place since the time it was located somewhere in Karama, and there’s so much nostalgia attached to this place, more often than not it’s about the memories rather than the food while dining here.

But that certainly does not mean the food is any less. Serving some of the most delicious variety of Chinese, Thai, Indonesian and Malay food, Golden Dragon offers comfortable dining with a welcoming ambience at highly affordable prices. The restaurant is huge and located at a prime spot in  Oud Metha which is impossible to miss.

 

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I know I will keep going back to this place as often as I can, but if you haven’t tried it yet then I highly recommend you give it a go.
We tried the chili lemon soup and dragon chicken for starters, chicken in chili basil sauce along with Thai lemongrass rice for mains and Nutella wontons for dessert. I loved everything we tried but the soup and dessert really won my heart.

Golden Dragon

Location: Shop 2 & 3, Oud Metha Building, 13th Street, Oud Metha, Dubai
Contact: +97143577022

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P.S. Did you notice the face on the soup? That was totally not planned!

Kung Fu Dragon

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Since ours was a review, we were asked to follow a budget of AED 150 and to be honest, we were quite surprised with the amount of food we managed to try out within that spend limit. Since I love the “make your own” concept, I chose to give a twist to my usual order of chicken Thai green curry + jasmine rice by adding my favorite veggies to go in the mix – baby corn, shiitake mushrooms and broccoli. I also topped it with fried garlic and crushed peanuts for the flavor and crunch. The other box we tried was one of their signature dishes – Korean chilli chicken that came with egg noodles tossed in a spicy chilli sauce with peppers, carrots, cabbage and more. We also tried a veg Manchow soup that was served piping hot with crunchy noodles on the side, prawn spring rolls and a chocolate mud cake with ice cream. My favorite undoubtedly was the Thai green curry and rice. The noodles were not as spicy as I thought they would be, and the sauce had a slightly sweet taste to it. The soup was exceptionally good and perfect for the weather. The spring rolls and dessert were fair. What I loved the most about the place is their concept of making food from scratch, right in front of you. Watching them cook all the dishes with their wok skills reassures you of the freshness and hygiene.

iWok

Location: Shop 6, Pearl Marina Apartments, Marina Walk, Dubai Marina, Dubai
Contact: 8004965

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We decided to head over to The Dubai Mall on a Thursday evening (I know, so brave), and spotted Micro boldly flaunting it’s outdoor seating in the midst of the busy mall, but balanced with a neatly tucked in indoor space. I loved the minimalist, yet striking appeal of the restaurant, which combined beautifully to make their presence felt, but not in a subtle way. The location and outwardly appeal of the restaurant sure caught the attention of mall walkers and diners looking for options.

As soon as we were seated, we were greeted by restaurant manager Vishal, who gave us a little insight into his F&B experience, and explained the concept of the restaurant along with the kind of food they offer and their bestselling plates. Soon enough, we found ourselves confused between what to order and what to skip, because everything, and I repeat, EVERYTHING looked so tempting and totally worth a try. The good part though is their portions were not overwhelming, which allowed us to try a variety of dishes without feeling too full or worse guilty!

We went in with the recommendations from the staff and started our dinner with truffle and chicken dumplings, crispy shrimp salad, chicken karaage bao and shrimp tempura maki rolls. If you know me well, then you already know I lovvvved the dumplings for all that truffle. They were steamed and then lightly pan-fried bringing the best of both worlds, and more importantly, served over a layer of creamy truffle sauce. Yes, I licked the plate clean after eating 75% of the dumplings! The crispy shrimp salad was, simply put, Micro’s version of dynamite shrimps, but in no way were they just plain or simple. Tossed in a spicy tangy sauce, the shrimps were crispy on the outside and featured a succulent tender core making them absolutely blissful. My only recommendation here would be to eat these quick, because once they get cold and a little soggy, the experience might not be the same.

I don’t know why, but of late I’ve developed a new found love for chicken karaage. Whenever and wherever I see karaage on the menu, I know I want it on my plate. I could blame it on Neha’s (@astoryoffood) tempting stories about her own chicken karaage (which I haven’t got the pleasure of trying yet), but well, currently karaage is bae, and with the way it’s going, I am guessing it will stay that way for long. So then, when I saw the chicken karaage bun on the menu, I knew I had to have it. If you like baos and sliders and chicken, then you NEED TO TRY THIS. That melange of the soft bao and the crispy spicy karaage chicken was more perfect than any other chicken sandwich I could’ve asked for. The bao bun especially, was so soft, so thank God I had my lipstick transferred all over it with the first bite, so now I could safely excuse myself from sharing it with my plus one.

The maki rolls were brilliant. They had three options for maki rolls on the menu – one of which was raw fish and two which came with cooked meat – shrimp or chicken. We went with the cooked shrimp tempura rolls. I honestly love sushi that doesn’t taste too much like sushi – in the sense that it has a little of everything but no overpowering flavors. This one was just like that. I did my bit with the wasabi and happily enjoyed my share of 2 of the 4 maki rolls.

We paired our starters with a couple of mocktails from their list of 7 remarkable concoctions. Honestly, it’s sort of my goal now to try them all, but as for this visit we settled on Singapore Sunrise and Berries Hibiscus. While the former was a sweet, sour and sunny mix of passion fruit, oranges, mandarin and pineapple, the latter had mixed berries muddled with fresh mint, lemon and hibiscus.

Next up for the mains, we put our blind faith in the staff’s recommended plates and were beyond delighted with what was brought to our table. From the two mains we ordered, my favorite was the chicken laksa curry with jasmine rice. That combination was simply WOW. A mix of creamy, spicy, warm and comforting flavors, this Singaporean dish went just right with the rice, and if I wasn’t already full from all the starters we had, I would like finished it all by myself. My plus one was more than happy with our second main – char siu glazed short ribs. Very well done, the meat in these short ribs was fall off the bone tender and the glaze added so much drama in terms of flavor.

We were obviously not going to leave without dessert, but this time, for a change, we also decided to order some hot beverages to go with it. The dessert we chose was my first and obvious pick – non-sticky rice with mango sorbet. I ordered this one for it had coconut crumble as one of the main ingredients paired with vanilla bean rice and topped with a mango gelato. The rice tasted almost like a coconut and vanilla kheer – not too sweet, but supremely creamy, cool and refreshing.

Our hot drinks to go with the dessert included a pappa milk tea, which was very much like a normal milk tea, sans the strength of a karak; and a classic café latte which to my surprise came with a kitty latte art.

I’ll be going back to this restaurant soon to try their breakfast options, so keep an eye out for that.

Micro by Pappa Roti

Location: Level 2, Fashion Avenue, The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, Dubai
Contact: 04 5520186

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I am almost always skeptical about Chinese food deliveries. Most of the time the food arrives late and gets cold on the way, and other times the portion is too less than what would suffice the number of people I’ve ordered for. But Chin Chin completely changed my outlook by nailing every single thing right.

We ordered a bunch of different items for Christmas eve dinner – everything totalling up to approximately AED 200, and to my surprise, they delivered before time. Plus plus plus, the food was all fresh and hot, and the portions so generous, we knew we would be eating Chinese for lunch next day as well.

Here’s everything we ordered and what I loved the most:

Dynamite Shrimps – these were saucy and crunchy at the same time. Loved the spice level and the fact that they hadn’t gotten soggy at all.

Chicken Pepper Winglets – So so good. The chicken was tender and the marinade had flavoured the meat through and through.

Sweet and Sour Prawns – the mix of tangy flavors and fleshy prawns was a great combination. I have only tried this dish with chicken before and the prawns version tasted as good as the other.

Chilli Chicken – one of my favorites from Chinese cuisine, this mildly spicy gravy dish paired perfectly with the fried rice. The Indian in me wouldn’t mind having this with chapati either.

Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice – the first thing that wowed me about the fried rice was its portion. Although the rice was packed till the brim of the box, the flavors and texture was consistent throughout.

Prawns Hakka Noodles – again, the portion of this noodle dish was impressive. And since Hakka has always been my favorite, I happily munched them away. The prawns were scattered plenty throughout the noodles, so there was no need for a treasure hunt to find these nuggets.

I am pretty sure I will be ordering food from Chin Chin again pretty soon – especially their fried rice and noodles. The packaging is really good, the portions are a winner, and the prices make everything right.

Chin Chin

Location: JBC 4, Cluster N, Promenade Level, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Dubai
Contact: 04 2760033

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We started with some fresh chilled coconut water that was served rather nicely in a milk bottle glass. I know I love coconuts, and coconut water is one of top 3 favorite drinks, but having chilled coconut Water that doesn’t taste stale is probably the best.

Along with the cold drinks, we were offered some hot Manchow chicken soup. Apart from the fact that its super spicy, my favorite part about this soup has always been the crunchy noodles that are added on top and enhance the flavour of the soup even more. I love how these noodles maintained their slight crunchiness even after being soaked in the soup and at the same time, they were soft enough to not fall off the spoon.

The only Indian dish in our otherwise Chinese dominated meal, the Chicken Tikkas came in next. Omg, were these delicious or what. So tender, so full of flavour and just the right amount of spices, these tikkas are a must have, especially if you are a grills and barbecue fan. They are perfectly good on their own as well as with the green chutney on the side.

Moving on to mains, we were brought a selection of the most popular Chinese dishes – triple Schezwan rice with gravy, chicken Manchurian and prawns Manchurian. The rice dish, mixed with noodles, topped with a fried egg and garnished with crispy noodles was such a filling and comforting dish. I didn’t quite like the gravy though. I feel the dish is already so full of flavor, adding a gravy doesn’t do justice to the dish.

Among the chicken and prawns dishes, I loved the chicken variety mainly because I love the Manchurian sauce, and secondly because the chicken was really tender. The prawns however didn’t impress me too much, and I found the flavor slightly off.

We ended our meal with a cup of refreshing tea and would love to return to try their Indian dishes, especially thali.

Meals Corner

Location: Near Hilal Al Madina Supermarket, Maliha Road, Muwailih Commercial, Sharjah
Contact: 04 5260942

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Located on the main road in Karama, I’m surprised I never noticed this bright and peppy spot before.

To start with, we were offered an Asian amuse bouche which included a portion of kimchi and a portion of pickled veggies. Then we moved on to mocktails. I ordered the Blue Hawaiian while my plus one went for the Pomegranate Lemon Ginger. Very crafty, the sweet and sour blend in the latter featured pomegranate and lemon juices, along with ginger ale, and a lovely flavor boost thanks to the addition of black salt. It was almost like a kala khatta. The former drink, combining sweet pineapple, bold blue curacao and strong kaffir lime, was truly tropical in looks and taste.

The drinks were followed by soup and we went for our unanimous favorite – Tom Kha with Chicken. While the name of the restaurant is China Bistro, they serve a fair deal of Pan Asian cuisines like Japanese and Thai too, like the soup. This one’s always been my favorite, obviously because of the coconut milk, and the one we tried was nothing less of comforting. Although the chicken was slightly chewy, the creamy texture and the inclusion of mushrooms was good enough for me.

Based on the servers recommendations, we started our appetizers with Ginger Chicken Fiaozi dim sums. These, tbh, were probably the best dim sums I’ve had in a long time. Generously stuffed with a chicken filling flavored with ginger, and steamed inside a beet red coating, they were perfect in both, taste and presentation. Next up was South Asian Chili Chicken. Fairly spicy, and to my liking, this chicken starter was quite the palate sparkler. In Chinese food, it’s all about the sauce and this one was worth a try. Along with the chicken, came another prawn-based starter – Prawns in Hunan Sauce. These prawns were simply wow. Not too spicy, and thankfully not sweet either, they oozed flavor, juiciness and crunch in every bite. The dried red chili and green peppers made it a perfect mix.

After going all out on starters, we decided to skip rice for mains and stuck to noodles (my fav) and gravy instead. Although it’s slightly difficult to imagine gravy without rice, the Mao’s Favorite Chicken gravy went great with noodles. I loved the addition of crushed peanuts on top. As for the Wok Tossed Chicken Hakka Noodles, they were classic! It was everything you’d expect from the perfect Hakka noodles and I was in my happy place with these. Infact, these noodles have motivated me to go back and try out the fried rice as well.

Finally it was time for dessert. I always find it interesting to see how Asian restaurants spin classic desserts to fit their style. And these Hot Chocolate Rolls were a lovely concept, that fit the bill just right. Filled with oozing chocolate inside spring roll pastry and topped with more chocolate, they were like a dream. I, obviously went a little cuckoo when I saw the coconut garnish, but truly these rolls were everything – crunchy, creamy, chocolatey and of course, coconutty! The smooth vanilla ice cream on the side added a sweet touch to the rich chocolate.

China Bistro

Location: Near Park Regis Hotel, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street, Trade Center Road, Al Karama, Dubai
Contact: 04 5269169

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The owners of the restaurant – Sofiya and Yousuf – are a humble couple who have been living in UAE for the last 14 years. Although they were both working in the corporate, Sofiya decided it was time she left her job and pursued the passion they had always dreamt of. Luckily, with support from family members who are in the restaurant business, and with Yousuf’s steady job, they opened Mister Biryani. Their bestselling biryani is inspired from the Shaadi Biryani of Chennai – a rice preparation which is a must at every Muslim wedding in the city. They said this type of biryani was hardly available anywhere in Dubai, which motivated them to bring the taste of their hometown to the residents of this city. Read on to find out everything we tried at Mister Biryani and what we loved the most.

We started with their Indo-Chinese selection which included a portion of Hot & Sour and Sweet Corn Chicken soup.  We loved both of these. While the former had a hot and spicy flavor to it, the latter had a creamy thick texture, just what you expect from the soups. Despite being so hot outside, we happily finished our soup bowls, and decided we would certainly be back for more of these in the wintery months.

Next up we were offered some of the chef’s creations from their new menu. These Indo-Chinese starters included Dragon Chicken, Supreme Chicken, Chicken 75 and Chicken Lollipop Masala. We loved loved loved the Dragon Chicken. Thin strips of absolutely tender chicken stir fried with whole red chilies, capsicum garlic, cashews and a lot of other spices, made this dish one of our instant favorites. It was a little like dynamite chicken meets Kung Pao. We loved the red hot spicy flavor and licked the plate clean in no time. Supreme Chicken was somewhat similar to Dragon, but had a completely distinct taste. With green chillies, walnut crumble and carrot garish, this one was slightly less spicy but equally finger licking like the previous one. Both these boneless starters make a great choice for munching, especially when you are craving for spicy fried chicken.

Chicken 75 featured bone-in pieces of chicken tossed in a red, mildly spicy, onion based gravy with spring onion garnish. Although I am not a big fan of bone-in chicken, the gravy from this one made a great accompaniment to the rice. Chicken Lollipop Masala, as the name suggest had the famous lollipop drums covered in a spicy chilli mix. Neither too dry, nor too gravy laden, these were great to eat with hand, just like you would eat the normal lollipops.

We moved on to mains with Chilli Garlic Noodles from their Indo-Chinese section and of course, the star of the evening – Chicken Biryani. The noodles were about right. I felt they were missing some kind of kick, and I immediately shared my views with Sofiya, who assured us they would work on making the dish better.

The Biryani though! So brilliantly done, this was nowhere close to any biryani I have eaten before. Not only is this very mildly spiced, but the kind of rice used, and the manner in which it is cooked, makes sure you don’t feel overly stuffed after eating the dish. The biryani is served along with raita, brinjal curry and a sweet dish – double ka meetha. This makes it the most ideal and complete meal. Their biryani comes in different sizes – all of which are gives suffixes like MB and KB. There’s a QB or quick bite portion which is good for one, while KB and MB could be shared by 2 or 3 people. The sizes then go on to 2MB, 5MB, 10MB and such, making this biryani a perfect party treat. We ended our meal with a spicy refreshing buttermilk chaas that was served in an earthen pot.

Mister Biryani also offers catering for parties and corporate events at extremely affordable and budget friendly prices, and with an amazing variety of food that will please any taste palate. You can get in touch with them to know more about their prices.

Mister Biryani

Location: Ground Level, Shop 1, Y 1 Building, England Cluster, International City, Dubai
Contact: 04 5269294

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Showcasing a variety of menu options, all neatly tucked in a green leather folder, Todd spoils you for choice. And spoilt we were. Read on to find out the variety of cuisines we tried at Todd English Food Hall.

Mocktails

To buy some time so we could decide on something from their uber extensive menu, we ordered a couple of mocktails. Yes, we are both fans of passion fruit and we couldn’t think of anything more refreshing than a chilled mojito on a Saturday afternoon.

Shrimp Tempura

Sushi. Can’t live with it. Can’t live without it. This one from the Blue Zoo seafood concept had my favorite shrimp tempura, avo and spicy mayo.

Lobster Dumplings

The Asian concept Noodle got us these lovely lobster dumplings. Stuffed with cream cheese, saffron, fennel and turmeric cream, these handmade beauties were simply fab.

Chicken Parmesan Sliders

Burger house Pound gave us the opportunity to try out these delicious sliders. Wrapped crisp in a parmesan crust and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella, these were just right to dig into. And don’t miss those truffle fries on the side. I’m totally going back for those. Comfort food ftw!

Spicy Crab Pasta

Italian concept Figs brought us this gorgeous dish served in a king crab shell. Tender meat of this crustacean was cooked with spicy tomato cream and served with squid ink pasta, making it a total seafood marvel. Although a little too fishy for me, the presentation was absolutely wow.

Rib Eye Steak

If the presentation was the wow factor in the pasta, it was the taste, texture and doneness of this US Prime corn-fed rib eye that completely floored me. My favorite dish from the afternoon, this medium well piece of meat from the steakhouse concept Chop House came with roasted baby potatoes, a side salad, and our choice of two sauces – mushroom and chimichuri. This was the only dish I didn’t want to share. It really was that good. Must must have!

Chapli Kebab

From Afghani Kishmish, we went for these regional favorites. Tender, smoky and juicy, these flattened beef patties went just right with the spicy trio of chutneys. A little bread on the side would’ve been perfect.

Desert Rose Milk Cake

Despite being supremely full, there was no way I was leaving without a Gossip Cafe bestseller. This milk cake, to be honest, was the highlight of our lunch. Licked clean in seconds, the cake was extremely moist, creamy and melted in our mouths. The rose petal garnish and pink rosy hue added a dreamy color tone to this delightful dessert.

An amazing overall experience, I highly recommend this place for big groups, families and even couples, where no one can decide on one single cuisine. The portion sizes and prices are both great, and so are the views of the Dubai Fountains from their al fresco seating area.

Todd English Food Hall

Location: Ground Floor, The Dubai Mall, Downtown Dubai, Dubai
Contact: 04 3882320

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Offering a selection of 4 distinct Asian cuisines, 24th St. caters to a variety of taste buds. Each of the 4 cuisines is prepared by dedicated chefs specializing in regional flavors, which in turn guarantees the authenticity of each dish.

Chatakana Indian

We started with the obvious – Pani Puri. This one’s probably the only chaat item that never fails to impress. The spicy water is fab, and the puri stuffing simply beautiful. Next up comes the Chatakana Mixed Grill. These are always the best choice, simply because they cover everything in terms of meat, texture and taste. I loved the chicken tikkas, and the mutton seekh was quite good too. Although the prawns could have been spicier, and maybe one piece more.

One of our mains was from the Indian section as well. The rich coconut based Goan Curry was made with prawns instead of fish on our request. It came with a side of naan, but if you like, you can pair it with rice too.

But of course, there was no way we would spot Ras Malai on the menu and leave without trying it. I quite liked this, but would have loved it more had the milk been slightly thicker and less sweet.

Kim’s Korean

For the Korean part of it, we kept it really minimal. The Beef Galbi skewers were almost like a steak, but skewered. These Korean short rib pieces came with a sesame dressing and were placed over fresh kimchi.

Lucy Wong’s Chinese

What’s Chinese food with Dim Sum? Our choice of three assorted dim sums included Chilli Crab Bun, Chicken Gingko Boat and Shitake Chicken Shaw Mai. The shaw mai was my favorite. Our second main came from this section too. For these Singaporean Laksa noodles, I requested for the prawns to be replaced with chicken. One of the favorites from the region, this rich broth had a strong coconut flavor followed by a delicate essence of lemongrass, which made it very comforting and refreshing at the same time.

Momo San Japanese

From their Japanese section, we chose to start with the Tempura Prawn Avo roll. I am not very bog on raw fish, but tempura prawns I love. This was so perfect in every way, I am definitely going back for it.

The Japanese Cheesecake was my favorite! Nothing like the usual cheesecake, this fluffy and airy Japanese version was like a dream. A must must have. And after all that binge eating, we decided to end the meal in true Japanese style with a cup of Japanese Pearl Tea. Loved the flowering variety and its soothing taste.

24th St.

Location: Dusit Thani Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, Trade Centre Area, Dubai
Contact: 04 5260027

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