“First you feast with your eyes, then you feast with your mouth.” This is a lesson I learned early on thanks to my brother for whom I had once made a delicious tasting, ugly looking dish. It’s one I never forgot, which is why when we went to Demon Duck at Banyan Tree, I wondered what we’d be served. We had ventured forth on a Thursday, for the unlimited dim sum night, and were really looking forward to it.
We’ve always loved dim sums, but have been equally finicky about taste and flavour, not to mention the presentation.
The first look of the restaurant, by chef Alvin Leung, did not disappoint. To get to the eatery, we walked under a canopy of trees. The interiors are a chic deep blue and I was given a little chair for my bag too. Next, we were asked about any food allergies. We didn’t, so we could launch into the next (and most interesting) part of the evening; the dim sums. The offerings came in a bamboo steamer and were served with a choice of three sauces; there was chilli sauce, vinegar and ginger and soya.
The first round introduced us to a firm favourite: chicken xiaolong bao. These soup-filled pockets were delicately made so that they were punctured easily by our chopsticks, allowing the soup to pool on a spoon. A thin slice of carrot sat on the underside of the dim sum and added a little crunch to the soup. The bite-sized dumplings went down a treat.
But there were more, delicately plated options such as chicken and black truffle fun gao, wild mushroom fun gao, spicy Hokkaido scallop siu mai and the very fresh shrimp har gow.
The second round (the food is spread out so you aren’t overwhelmed by the sheer variety of the offerings – and so that you can take time savouring each one) was just as good.
Other highlights of the evening were the duck gyoza with miso and foie grass; wasabi prawn toast with tobiko and mango salsa.
One interesting experience (for both eyes and palate) were the cheese and onion puff, which met the criteria of dim sums only just. There was a crust pastry and cheese with a caramelised onion flavour, shaped beautifully into a duck.
In addition to the long roster of dumplings, on dim sum night you’ll get plates full of egg fried rice and vegetable fried noodles – an unusual, but authentic tasting filler (not that you need it, the dim sums are plenty filling).
All in all, the pretty bites (some had different flavoured wrappers and others unusual shapes) were definitely worth a trip; it was a feast for the senses.
One add-on you can try when you head here on a Thursday evening is a half duck for an additional cost of Dh200 or a full duck for Dh400. If you are ordering either, you need to give them a 45-minute head start (that’s how long it takes for the succulent dish to be perfected.)
The details
What: Demon Dim Sum Nights
When: Every Thursday, 7pm-10pm
Cost: From Dh288 per person for soft beverages
For reservations, call +971 (04) 5566466.