China Club

On Planet Average, China Club’s new menu would be the dinner of choice among grey-suited accountants called Norman 2 Reviews

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On Planet Average, China Club’s new menu would be the dinner of choice among grey-suited accountants called Norman. Having had such a promising start back in July, the Club has taken a good long siesta on its laurels, ultimately slipping down into an unadventurous rut where everything is ‘nice’, ‘ok’ and ‘pretty average’. While the quality of service has remained superior, the new menu is a lacklustre affair that neither inspires nor excites.

The disappointment of the food is compounded by the fact your expectations are raised by the stylish décor and attentive waiters. Music is unobtrusive, the booths are comfortable and the ambience generally pleasant. And while the new menu is diverse and packed with a spectrum of meat, seafood and vegetable dishes, there is a consistent insipidness to flavour nd presentation that smears the shine of your initial positive impression.

Having settled in to a warm corner booth and been presented with a hefty bowl of peanuts and some finely diced radish to chow down on while mulling over the menu, we opted for starters of chunky crumbed prawns and Nanjing style roasted duck – which arrived at the table separately. The glistening duck arrived first and was fine but unexciting, and searching for anything that tasted even remotely exceptional in the crumbed prawns proved to be a fruitless journey.

Hoping that the kitchen operative who was seeking out and destroying anything truly flavoursome had been ousted, we awaited the main courses of seafood basket and stir-fried lamb with some degree of trepidation. And yes, the lamb was merely average while the ‘basket’ consisted of spongy scallops, vapid squid and slivers of limp vegetables. With our synapses slowly falling asleep, we attacked the mango pudding, which was nice yet nothing to write home about.

The frustrating thing is that China Club has everything it takes to be an outstanding venue, and in the past has been truly excellent. Once the current offering stops playing it safe, it will hopefully reattain its previous heights and justify its Hot Table status.

• Previous reviews
  • 17 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 31 October,2007- reviewed by TimeOut Dubai Staff
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 07 February,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 29 April,2006- reviewed by Time Out Dubai
  • 29 December,2005- reviewed by Matthew Lee
  • 01 June,2004- reviewed by Rob Orchard
  • 01 July,2003- reviewed by Rob Orchard

Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.