China Sea - Restaurant Award Winner

Magical Chinese food in Deira 7 Reviews

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From Time Out Dubai Eating Out 2009

Chinese expats rave about China Sea, and so when you enter the fantastically large café you will expect the moon on a chopstick.

You won’t be disappointed. To the right of the entrance, a gastronomic conjurer whips up noodles from scratch, while a team of cheerful sirens – decked out in matching red silk dresses – lead you to your table. Near the noodle man is a handful of stations, each boasting racks of shrink-wrapped raw ingredients.

The descriptions next to each dish are vague, so you’re better off pointing randomly to various plates and see what the cooks come up with. The results are mesmerising. Unfamiliar dishes mix with traditional classics, and all are divine. One word of warning: the portions at China Sea are big, and meant to share, so you’re best coming with a large group.

The ace up China Sea’s sleeve, though, is undoubtedly the pristine freshness of the ingredients. Purists can point to a variety of raw, leafy greens, and 10 minutes later, the waitress will bring it to the table, sautéed simply in a light, non-oily garlic sauce. Dine at China Sea and there’s no going back. It looks like we may have found one of the best Chinese restaurants in Dubai.

By Time Out Dubai staff
Time Out Dubai, 17 March 2009

• Previous reviews
  • 04 August,2008- reviewed by Daisy Carrington

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

Posted by: oliver on 04 Nov ' 09 at 07:39

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

simply the best, freshest chinese food in town! i love going to china sea.

Posted by: Pursnickitty on 11 Oct ' 09 at 19:34

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

What a refreshing experience! The food was excellent; the service was speedy, the servers were attentive and available without being overly intrusive or annoyingly fawning (very unusual for Dubai). Great bang for your buck. The food was authentic and very fresh. We had the seafood steamed dumplings (8 dumplings for Dh18!), cuttlefish in chili sauce with peanuts, Chinese broccoli leaves, 1 sweet & sour soup (not fab, but cheap at Dh4 and extra soy sauce and vinegar at the table), 2 orders of steamed white rice, a coke and a kettle of jasmine tea. Plenty left over for lunch the next day. All for around Dh120 (excluding the tip). I'm looking forward to trying the hot-pot dishes next time. The only draw-back is the parking, which is limited, unless you're willing to pay Dh10 for a semi-private parking lot. (I say semi, b/c it appears to be a city lot, but with some dude who put up a shack at the entrance charging you to park). Thanks for the previous review about cash only. Definitely good to know. And yeah, the decor is decidedly Chinese-kitch, but at least it looks clean and is not overly cluttered; no loud annoying music either. We had a nice table by the floor-to-ceiling glass window, which looked out onto the street with pleasant lighting from the red Chinese lanterns overhead. You gotta a hankering for real Chinese food with badda-bing, badda-bang service? Then check this place out

Posted by: Georgina on 14 Sep ' 09 at 12:36

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

This is truly the real Macoy - Chinese food at its best. The decor is simple but clean, staff are very friendly and more than happy to teach you Chinese phrases if you want them. Watching the chefs in the kitchen is a bonus and we saw a well known Chinese TV personality being interviewed for a Chinese food programme one evening. If its good for him, its good enough for me and its affordable.

Posted by: Hussain on 30 May ' 09 at 16:18

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

This is a no nonsense authentic chinese restaurant with a wide ranging menu. The food is served fresh, you have the pleasure of watching it being cooked live with large windows overlooking the kitchen. Seafood dishes are a must and highly recommeded is the steamed dumplings for starters and chicken wth cashew nuts as main entry. By far this is a great place for quality chinese food at the best value for money in Dubai!

Posted by: toto on 06 Apr ' 09 at 11:24

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

good overall. Extensive menu. Very reasonable prices.
You can book a private room on the 1st floor with a minimum order of 316 dhs or sit in the open space restaurant.
Be careful, they do not take credit cards!! only cash.

Posted by: Chris Mullinger on 17 Mar ' 09 at 05:51

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

There are others that don't make Time Out, but this is one of the most authentic provincial Chinese restaurant in Dubai at reasonable prices. The Chinese tourist parties eating there virtually every night as well as locally based Chinese is testament to that. If you know your Chinese food, they will even prepare dishes for you. Also good value Chinese breakfasts.

Posted by: Dazz King on 17 Mar ' 09 at 05:06

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Quite simply a no bells and whistles Chinese eatery for the Chinese community but for everyone.
Combine this with the freshest and most authentic ingredients possible
and your onto a winner.

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