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Having never experienced dim sum that did justice to the claims of those far better qualified than myself to judge, I never turn down an opportunity to prove them right.
Steam Sum Dim Sum is the first restaurant in the city to exclusively cater for those in love with this particular part of Chinese cuisine, so I travelled to Dubai Festival City full of hope.
Eating in a shopping mall can leave you feeling like one of those goldfish that kids bring home in a plastic bag full of water from the fairground.
I've always kept such dining experiences to light lunchtime affairs to limit the level of gawping from those passing by as they have a nose at what's on my plate. However, thanks to its location on Canal Walk, Steam Sum Dim Sum has avoided such pitfalls, and the wide walkway overlooking the water lends to a less claustrophobic feel.
Intimate
As we discovered later, the inside of the restaurant is delightfully done out, with several nooks providing an intimate dining experience. But given it was a pleasant afternoon, my dining partner and I opted for an outside table and set about making our choices from the menus handed to us by the attentive yet not intrusive staff.
While we pondered we sipped on a hot and satisfying pot of jasmine pearl tea, chosen from the extensive "sip sum" tea menu. Other beverages were available but what's dim sum without tea?
As you would expect, there was plenty on offer but as this restaurant caters exclusively for this style of food there was even more to consider. From the list of appetisers we opted for the sesame prawn toast and followed up with lobster spring rolls from the fried dim sum section.
Perfect
It provided the perfect start. The toast was a delightful blend of moist, roughly chopped prawns on several thick fingers of crispy fried bread, while the spring rolls were similarly cooked to perfection, crunchy on the outside yet hot and soft in the centre. There was no scrimping on filling either, as you often find elsewhere.
Suitably fortified, we sipped our regularly topped-up tea and awaited our order of steamed dim sum. We gave ourselves a wide selection and again we were not disappointed with our choices that were all perfectly presented in the traditional style in a steam basket.
Asian twist
The scallop, prawn and lemon grass dumplings were the stand-out of the quartet, closely followed by the tangy prawn, red chilli and coriander variety. The Thai basil provided the chicken and green chilli dumplings with an Asian twist. And while the cod and coriander offering may have been a little too processed for our liking, it soon disappeared.
I was beginning to think we had not ordered enough but was convinced the noodles that were next up would do the trick. And so it proved. From a wide choice of toppings, noodles and sauces on offer at the noodle bar we plumped for prawns, Shanghai style in a "healthy" sauce consisting of pak choy, peas, parsley cashew nuts, broccoli, savoy cabbage and oyster sauce.
The cravings of this particular noodle addict were certainly satisfied.
Now, the Chinese are not renowned for their sweets, or at least that's what I thought until I bit into the chocolate won tons we ordered for dessert.
The melted dark chocolate encased in a fried pastry wrapping provided a surprising and delightful postscript to the meal and dovetailed ideally with the separate order of toffee banana and vanilla ice cream.
This final act completed an excellent meal. In Cantonese, dim sum translates as "touch the heart" and it certainly hit the spot.
Checklist
Getting there: Steam Sum Dim Sum, Canal Walk, Dubai Festival City.
Open: Midday to 11.30pm (last orders) daily.
Seating: 100.
Dress code: Casual.
Recommended: Sesame prawn toast, scallop, prawn and lemon grass dumplings and chocolate won tons.
Rating: 4/5
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