Hukama, Dubai - Many Dishes, Few Problems

Yum Cha is always a safe option. You can always rely on an array of steamed or fried parcels of meat or vegetables wrapped in some kind of rice product. No matter how fussy your palate, you are going to be able to find something to your liking; and even if you decide you dont like whatever you have chosen, you never have more than a couple of mouthfuls to work through before the next morsel steps up to the dinner plate.

So we went to Hukama Restaurant, on the first floor of The Address, Downtown to see how they would approach the Yum Cha concept.

The first thing we noticed was how elegant the whole place was. The table settings were laid out in perfect, shining symmetry, and the glassware looked top notch. Not a cheap Ikea glass in sight. All staff were dressed in navy blue kimonos covered in rather exquisite embroidery. The walls were dressed just as nicely with various paintings, sculptures and even a giant gong to keep with the oriental theme. Meanwhile, the floor to ceiling windows on the outside wall afforded everyone a decent view of the Burj Khalifa.

We ordered some hot herbal tea and iced peach tea, then had a look over the menu, which split all the dishes into broad groups, and allowed for up to 5 of each group of dish to be served to the table. Very different to other dim sum / yum cha I have seen in the past, where the dishes are loaded onto a trolley and wheeled from table to table, with guests taking whatever they want whenever a new trolley arrives.

We ordered five steamed dishes, five fried, one soup, three noodle or rice dishes and one dessert per person. I'll just go into a bit of detail about some of the dishes that stood out, since I don't think the internet is big enough for a full rundown of all fifteen things we tried. Before we get into it I'll just mention that the service on the day seemed a bit all over the place. The waiters would take the drinks orders for some people and then walk off without taking others, the drinks for some people arrived well after the food was on the table, and worst of all, some of the dishes intended for one group were delivered to another group, who unknowingly devoured half of them before anyone realised that a mistake had been made. To their credit, half eaten dishes were replaced, and drinks did eventually arrive, so no mistakes became problems. It was just a shame that the service didn't seem to be up to the standards you might expect based on the presentation or location of the restaurant. but enough of that, here's some thoughts on the stuff that really matters.. the food!

The best of the first bunch would have to have been the pork belly with chinese buns. It was served in two separate bamboo steamers, with the idea being that you place one nice big slippery piece of pork into the bun and then eat it like a tiny meaty sandwich. The natural flavour of the meat withstood the marinade, which was rich but not too salty.

Steamed shrimp dumplings were also a hit with all involved, since the shrimps were fresh as could be and full of flavour. The skins on the dumplings was a lovely balance between sticky and cooked, which made them a pleasure to gobble down.

The most interesting dish was probably the duck meat and taro root fried dumplings. The casings had a shredded rice consistency, which was crispy thanks to the frying. But the insides were moist and soft, with the bits of duck being well protected from the oil by the thick, muddy layer of taro root pulp. Not to everyone's taste, but definitely worth a look if only because it was a damn interesting dish.

Also worthy of mention were the little pork filled 'money bag' shaped dumplings which were delicately crisp at first and then luxuriously sweet and moist inside. Ah, the magic of dropping food into extremely hot oil.

The dishes we shared for our main course were of a high standard for the most part. The only things which let down the meal slightly were the rice and noodle based dishes, which were bland and either too dry or too oily. Of note was the chicken lotus fried rice, which was served inside a real lotus flower, which had to be peeled back to reveal the rice. Unfortunately the rice was all looks and no substance, and was left conspicuously unfinished in amongst piles of other satisfyingly empty dishes.

The soup course was a success. My hot and sour chicken soup was both sour and spicy. That might not sound like a big deal, but I don't take that dish for granted since my visit to Soy. The soup broth was gelatinous and housed all manner of fresh vegetables and tendrils of boneless chicken. Whichever chef created the soup should be introduced to the guy responsible for the rice and noodle dishes, and show him a thing or two about cooking.

Everyone ordered a dessert from the four available choices. I chose the black sesame rice dumpling floating in honey syrup, and served alongside a fried banana. Yep, I am a sucker for dumplings.

The dessert arrived soon enough, and the presentation was as five-star as the decor of the restaurant serving it. The flavour of the soupy black sesame inside each dumpling complimented the thin sweetness of the honey syrup they were bathed in, while the deep fried banana fritter offered an equally incredible but different experience of gentle, oily crunchiness and the viscous, sickly sweet banana flesh. By the time I finished the dish it had become my favourite of the day.

Looking back over all the varied things we got to try at Hukama, I can definitely say that I enjoyed the experience. There were a few genuinely imaginative things, and most of those tasted darn good. I think the management are making it unneccessarily difficult for the staff to serve effectively, given that guests are expected to order each little dish from a menu, and then somehow remember what each thing is once it arrives at the table. If any vegetarians plan to visit, then bring a pen and paper, or a good memory.

RECOMMENDED

When the serving sizes are so small, and there are so many people to serve, an a-la-cart delivery model doesn't really work. Note that we did really enjoy the food at Hukama, but the process of ordering and finally securing each plate was a little tedious. Luckily though, most of the dishes were worth the hassle. This is definitely a place worth trying, but only if you don't arrive starving or impatient.

The bill (for 2):
2 x Yum Cha Banquets (non-alcoholic package) - 290 Dhs
TOTAL:  290 Dhs (Approx. US$79)

Restaurant address: The Address Hotel Downtown, Dubai

for exact locations of all reviewed restaurants, take a look at our map.