Size matters at Da Shi Dai. The new Chinese restaurant at Uptown Mirdif prides itself on its big idea. And that particular brainwave is to make all of its portions small. The concept is explained in plain English on the opening page of its menu, just to avoid any confusion. Individually, each dish is a snack, but put a range of them together and you have a varied meal that can be shared among a group. They call it ‘the lighter side of Chinese dining’. So we went along to see if the idea held any weight.
We sat at black marble-effect tables among the smooth wooden contours that swoop across this clean, attractive restaurant. The same wooden curves wrapped around the open-kitchen area, encasing it like a magnified dim sum basket. From the bluster of activity within came the first of many smaller baskets. The ‘crystal prawn’ surrounded minced seafood and bamboo shoots with a white, almost opaque dumpling, while the coriander dumpling did the same with chicken and finely chopped herbs. Both were steamed immediately prior to serving and were extremely fresh.
More diminutive dishes followed. The chai siu bao enveloped rich barbecued chicken in fluffy steamed bread; the crispy fried garlic prawn dumplings were as good as their word, and the mango crispy batter prawn melded sweetness and seafood in a choice pastry parcel. But it was the creamy egg custards that shone through like buttercups in summer with their crumbly bases and sweet, yolky centres.
It was time to shift away from the dim sum and try something new. Cheung feung is a popular Cantonese breakfast snack that comprises square rice sheets wrapped around various savoury fillings. The lamb filling with cumin and leeks was packed with flavour, while the asparagus cheung fueng was a subtle combination of freshly steamed vegetables in a light sauce. With these tiny snacks out of the way, we welcomed the arrival of the sliced Beijing duck, and hurriedly assembled delicate wraps of moist meat, cucumber and spring onion with musky hoi sin. They were good alongside spoonfuls of prawn fried rice with sliced chilli, baby corn and spicy sauce.
We’d sampled a wide range of intriguing dishes and we were far from full. So I decided to finish off with the fascinatingly named chilled apple and chrysanthemum tea jelly with fresh fruits. It might have looked like a jellyfish had come unstuck in an orchard, but the fragments of fruit were freshly pert and the tea flavour came through strongly. Da Shi Dai translates as ‘golden moments’, and while my friend’s rather pedestrian chocolate ice cream hardly fell into that category, this restaurant certainly proved that little things quite often make a big impression.
The bill (for two)
Watermelon star anise fruit juiceDhs18
2x San PellegrinoDhs28
Crystal prawnDhs16
Coriander dumplingDhs12
Chai siu baoDhs12
Crispy fried garlic prawnDhs16
Mango crispy prawnDhs20
Creamy egg custardDhs16
Lamb cheung feungDhs16
Asparagus cheung feungDhs16
Sliced Beijing duckDhs45
Prawn riceDhs25
Chilled apple tea jellyDhs15
Chocolate ice creamDhs7
Total (including service)Dhs262
Da Shi Dai,Uptown Mirdif (04 288 8314). Open daily 12 noon-12 midnight. All major credit cards accepted. Unlicensed.
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