China Club

Juxtaposed with the brash charms of Yum! noodle bar, you’ll find one of the Radisson’s best-kept secrets. 2 Reviews

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Juxtaposed with the brash charms of Yum! noodle bar, you’ll find one of the Radisson’s best-kept secrets. The name ‘China Club’ is particularly apposite, describing not only the cuisine (which must rank among the most authentic gourmet Chinese food in the city) but also the ambience: music is hushed, lighting is tastefully restrained, and seating consists of intimate, straight-backed booths in dark wood. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of genteel venue you’d be pleased to hold membership of, providing a welcome retreat from the mayhem of downtown Deira.

Start with duck roasted in the house style, which provides more indulgence than your average all-day breakfast. Drenched in a warmly understated, plummy sauce, the meat’s juicy, gamey nature is left to do the talking, while your waistline attempts in vain to dissuade you from tucking into the fatty strips of skin. Prawn dim sum leans similarly upon excellent ingredients and straight-forward preparation, with each dumpling a feathery parcel concealing huge, flavoursome chunks of shrimp.

The bean curd, on the other hand, is quite simply impossible to get a grip on, with thousands of too-soft tofu dice endlessly dividing themselves into smaller segments every time they are poked. Taking a spoon to them reveals you aren’t actually missing that much; slippery and over-spicy, they are the meal’s one letdown. Scallops, by contrast, are cooked to an immaculate level of chopstick friendly tenderness and smothered in a fiery sauce punctuated by the frequent crunch of baby corn. A shared portion of vegetable rice, although rather small, provides more than sufficient accompaniment.

You’ll find it difficult to resist the stolid charms of banana fritters, though there are fruity desserts that barely trouble stomach or conscience. Mango pudding is a simple, beautiful mousse, minimally sweetened and topped with with strawberry slices, whilst the ubiquitous exotic fruit platter arrives laden with morsels of kiwi fruit, papaya, and melon. A simple end to an excellent Chinese meal.

• 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 December,2005- reviewed by Matthew Lee
  • 01 June,2004- reviewed by Rob Orchard
  • 01 February,2004- reviewed by Rob Orchard
  • 01 July,2003- reviewed by Rob Orchard

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