So whenever something becomes a legend, it is guaranteed that people want more. And when people want more, there is room for a sequel. I can tell you one thing, great sequels happen just as much as unexpectedly finding a 500 dirham bill in your pocket. (Like once in a blue moon)
So when I decide to make a sequel it HAS to be good.. And yes the sequel you are about to read is very goooood! Need a hint? #restaurant #china #DIFC #royal #foodporn #cocktails #duck
Yep, i am talking about Royal China!!
A while ago I wrote a blogpost about the amazing dimsum brunch at this restaurant which you can read all about HERE
But as people kept on raving about their a-la-carte menu, I decided to go back and see if things are still the same as last time when I felt the red velvet chairs under my behind :-)
Eventhough no-one rolled out the red carpet, or threw rose paddles on the floor when we entered, we still felt as if we got greeted like royals. The velvet seats were still as soft and the furniture did not collect a layer of dust. Great, that part was still the same. Hungry as if we’ve been deprived from nourishment’s for a decade we decided to order a variety of random dishes, like royals would do..
When the starters arrived on the table we stared at them for a second like two vultures ready to attack their pray. But as we were still in an civilized fine dining environment we decided to slowly taste the crispy wasabi prawns and deep fried soft shell crab. The risky part of overpowering wasabi in a dish is always the “wasabi-brain-freeze”, However these wasabi prawns tasted traditional with exactly the right amount of sauce.
The deep fried softshell crab came with a mildly flavoured chilli garnish and actually didn’t even need any sauce as it tasted great on its own.
As we finished the starters, our plates got replaced by new ones and cocktails brightened up the table.. Which is what you would expect when ordering cocktails named “red dragon” and “passionfruit mojito”. Even though the cocktails were made with amazing fresh fruits I personally thought my passionfruit cocktail should have be named something like “candycrush” as the amount of sugar could make me bounce like a 5 year old child with A.D.D.
But this was soon to be forgotten when the main dishes arrived. What just got served on our table was to be honest one of the main reasons I had to write about this restaurant. The aged black pepper beef had a soft texture I rarely tasted before. When I called the waited to ask about why this beef had an exceptional taste he answered “yes madam, that could be because this is a black agnus beef that has been aged for over 1 year. After that we have marinated this in a mix of black and pink pepper corns to achieve the finely spiced taste”
To which I replied “oh well, now it all makes sense!”
Accompanied by the beef we also tried the sautéed scallops in XO sauce which perhaps should have been cooked a bit less through as i love it when they melt in your mouth.
Believe it or not, we still managed to try one more very special course.. In the corner of my eye a lovely lady started to prepare the royal china specialty.. Duck! We all know that Chinese duck didn’t get its popularity from its looks.. But the duck we had, that was prepared on a special station next to the table, was heavenly. Served with hoi sin sauce and Pancakes the soft duck meat with a crispy skin was for sure a reason to come to royal china.
Overall, Royal china served us not just a quick dinner, but a but a great relaxed night out. Like I said, we ordered like royals, however the portion of the meals were so generous that you could easily share all of this with 4 people instead of 2. So make sure your eyes are not bigger than your stomach.
Time for the overall scoring:
Service: 9,5 (amazing manager)
Interior: 8
Food: 8
Location: 9 (DIFC – great for business lunch)
Ambience: 8,5
