Previously, Panda Bao Bao got me pledging allegiance to their boiled-fried-steamed chicken feet (topped with special fermented soy bean and garlic sauce and boiled peanuts).
But Abu Dhabi’s a long way off from where I am in Dubai, so for the last 3 years I’ve lived here, I’ve always been on the hunt for the so-called “authentic Chinese food.”
None of those Chindian (Chinese-Indian) food that they sell beside cafeteria curries and masalas.
Manchurian chicken is not Chinese food, mmm-kay?
I’m talking slide-off-the-bone chicken feet, handmade dimsum in bamboo steamers, hearty soups and congees…
Last Thursday night, after a bit of an erratic day at the office, I thought I’d treat myself to some luggage shopping, just to get me through the last 2 odd months before my annual vacation.
I knew just the place to score a good deal on trolley bags, but I didn’t feel like eating in one of the many Filipino restaurants in the area.
Not that there’s anything wrong with them, of course.
Deira’s Dampa and Lamesa serve excellent seafood at reasonable prices.
But last night, I got the Chinese food munchies and a quick Zomato search led me to Xian Tang Lou.
Located on the ground floor of Centurion Star Tower behind Day to Day, City Centre Deira, the restaurant is easily accessible by metro and bus.
Their outdoor seating area is decorated by Chinatown-inspired red lanterns, filled with diners enjoying their shabu-shabu (Mongolian hot pot).
But I wasn’t there for shabu-shabu.
I was there to sample their chicken feet, because in my humble opinion, you can tell a lot about a self-proclaimed “authentic Chinese restaurant” by the way they make their chicken feet.
So I ordered that with some stir-fried chicken noodles.
I wanted some steamed siomai too, but they said they were fresh out.
One of the servers, a genuinely accommodating Chinese lady, was taking orders from an Arab couple.
After they were done, I called her and asked if I could order century eggs (preserved duck eggs) on the side.
It wasn’t listed on the menu (it was only mentioned as part of the congee entree), so I wasn’t sure if they served it a la carte.
She said they could, and I asked how much, and she said 3 dirhams!
3 dirhams for a century egg?
I was sold!
I ordered 2, of course.
The slightly pungent taste of century eggs takes me back to happy memories of family gatherings, where my cousins and I would fight over a thin slice of century egg making rounds on the lazy susan.
My chicken feet came first. And though it wasn’t remotely as good as Panda Bao Bao’s, it was still pretty good.
As usual, I tried to be as discreet as possible when spitting out the bones (all part of the chicken feet-eating experience), but I was having way too much fun.
Also, it was already past 9 o’clock, and I was too hungry to care what the other diners thought (one table was occupied by a Filipino couple, while the other was an Arab couple — there were only 3 tables on the upstairs dining area).
My stir-fried chicken noodles came in next, which was a little on the greasy and salty side.
Still, it was a treat scooping them up with bamboo chopsticks.
There’s a reason why noodles are my comfort food of choice.
Finally, my beautiful century eggs, which I thought they’d slice, but hey, why not serve them whole?
And the grey yolk wasn’t wet either, so I had no trouble picking them up with chopsticks between mouthfuls of noodles.
By the time I was finished, half of my noodles and chicken feet remained untouched, again not because they weren’t any good, but because I have a bad habit of ordering more than what I can eat from Chinese restaurants.
They’re just so hard to come by, but I’m definitely taking my adventurous foodie friends to this place, or at least recommend it to them.
Shout out to the Chinese and Filipino servers who played a huge role in making it an even more pleasant dining experience.
As far as Chinese restaurants go, Xian Tang Lou’s food wasn’t exactly “amazing” but authentic and tempting enough to keep customers coming back for more.
