LONG TENG Seafood Restaurant - Friday Dim Sum Brunch To Indulge

Would Friday dim sum Brunch be your cup of tea when you crave for the various types of irresistible mouth full bite size savories and delicate desserts your cup of (Chinese) tea? With the principle and spirit to stay truthful to its authenticity and strive to get it right, Long Teng Seafood Restaurant could well be your next best Friday brunch to get together especially with their all-you-can-eat en plus a-la-minute dim sum spread from its carefully crafted brunch menu. mylifestylenews writes. 

Finding authentic Chinese cuisine outside of China is not that simple – quite often you are told a Chinese chef, but then you realise that they are not Chinese or are not a native of the specific cuisine from a specific region. We have been on the hunt for a Chinese restaurant that serves authentic dim sum, so it was a joy to have finally found Long Teng Seafood Restaurant in Dubai that is as close to Cantonese dim sum authenticity and flavuor as you get, minus the pork.

We were pleasantly surprised to get out of the car in time, the corporate looking designed building may not justify the interior inside Long Teng Seafood Restaurant by its glass and steel cold structured exterior. Once you enter the foyer, the fresh bright marble flooring and an airy double height space atrium adorned with the golden spiral staircase that leads up to the upper floors dining area catches your attention right away. The triplex ceiling high red wall to the left illuminated by the blinking neon lights with ancient Chinese characters that symbolized the vast dimension of Chinese cooking methods and even various marinade styles that are commonly used in a typical Chinese kitchen. Start counting if that admires or intrigues your inspiration.

Located in downtown Business Bay, which is not exactly a gastronomic wonderland, google map navigation is certainly handy especially when you are not familiar with the maze-alike concrete jungle with mainly one way direction road system in the neighbourhood, once you miss the turning, you may end up going around the block again for another couple of minutes before you find your destination.

There are many elements that firmly place this as a well reputed Chinese restaurant, as they have decidedly chosen to eschew the traditional and kitsch and create a beautifully simple, minimalistic yet tasteful and eye-catching interior. The interior design in Long Teng Seafood restaurant did not fall short in details, as there are some incredibly eye-catching highlights that is certainly not what you would expect in a typical Yum-Cha restaurant: large metal dark bird cage light lanterns hanging in the atrium, ceramic fish swimming across an expansive wall in the main dining banquet hall section, a stunning gold mesh installation cascading down the spiral staircase (we were told that cost a fortune), to name but a few.

Our reason for visiting was to sample the all-you-can-eat dim sum buffet, although in reality it is a-la-carte, so everything is a-la-minute as you order. This offer is only available on a Friday, as all menu items are freshly made early that morning, which requires a lot of preparation from the culinary team when a proper dim sum menu is in operation.

This ‘buffet’ is only served on the ground and second level, which is an expansive space simply decorated beautifully with airy double height ceilings and a lot of seating, with private dining rooms overlooking Business Bay through the creek are available for prior reservation. The higher floor on the 5^th level caters for regular a-la-carte menu diners where essential seafood dishes are served among many other traditional and signature Chinese dishes.

Once we were seated the Chinese tea was quickly prepared and the all-you-can eat brunch menu was presented. It did not take us long to navigate the menu and we couldn’t tick the menu boxes quickly enough, as all our favourites were there and we were hungry with anticipation.

The typical dim sum menu will include various types of steamed buns, rice rolls and dumplings, all of which was prepared in a range of fillings and ingredients from pork (traditionally but halal menu is served here) to prawns and chicken to vegetables. With over 30 varieties of delicacies to choose from in Long Teng Seafood Restaurant without the inclusion of pork, you may not know where to begin to place your order. Traditionally, the steamed dim sum are the priority, it is to let you sample the mouth full bite size of the masterly creation that is cooked with a passion and attention to detail accompanied by your preferred selection of strong black Chinese tea such as Pu Er (which is our all time favorite) or green tea like Tie Kwan Yin and flower tea like white peony and many others.

The steamed Crystal Shrimp dumplings aka Har Gao had quite a fresh and good taste and springy texture on the fresh shrimp used despite a little over use of white pepper on the marinade and the floured wrapping was a little heavy (light, thin and sea through texture for perfection – which takes years to master even for an experience Dim Sum Chef) for our liking. The assorted vegetarian mushroom dumplings were spot on and gave you a great ‘roomy’ taste.

Everyone has their own personal favorites when it comes to dim sum selection, while we ate too many dishes to talk about in detail, but what we can say is that we felt the flavours were close to its authenticity and redolent of all our Hong Kong memories of traditional Chinese dim sum as served. While we miss pork Xiao Long Bao, the kitchen brigade showed expertise in the delicate folds of the thin layer of floured paste and the clear broth was equally delicious but lacked the punch and the essence of the pork of Xiao Long Bao that you would traditionally have, but excellently executed nonetheless.

The steamed Chicken and Mushroom Siu Mai was not entirely successful in presentation, as they were all stuck together and the yellow wrapping wasn’t as striking in color as its own form (due to being overly steamed sometimes) where once again chicken was used instead of pork for being a halal restaurant, the best of its authenticity has yet to be excelled. However, the aromatic mushroom and texture did upgrade the Siu Mai to another different liking on the palate.

If chicken feet were your next challenge, especially if you are a non-Chinese descendent, it is another must try when it comes to dim sum experience. Utterly delicious and welled braised to its tenderness in a great soy bean sauce.

The Steamed Beef Balls were absolutely perfect in every way, tender and tasty. Full scored and don’t miss out!

Chicken Pot Sticker (Pan Fried Dumplings) - Rich filling and generous serving.

Baked Bun with Chicken – A modification bun from the traditional Cha Chaan Teng  - Hong Kong style café or tea restaurant where hourly baked “pineapple” bun (crusted topping) is served on a regular basis during tea time. The baked bun in Long Teng Seafood Restaurant is a sensational execution and it has now become more common on a dim sum menu due to its popular demand and success when it was being introduced by some renown chefs that had won Michelin reputations in the past decade. Light and fluffy dough with a crust topping readily to make a mess on the table is the only deal to enjoy this masterly made dish. With the well marinated meat filling that gives the right texture and balance on the bun, it would be a shame if you walk out without ordering it as so much sweat and tears has been put in by the culinary team to get this right.

Three items stood out for superb presentation that not only will thrill the kids: the Steamed BBQ Chicken Buns, Deep Fried Chicken Sticky Rice Dumplings in little duckling figurines and the Creamy Egg Custard Buns that took them more than three months of trial and error to get it right. The Deep Fried Chicken Sticky Rice Dumplings were done al-dente and chewy at the same time on the palate which is the soul and essential must-have texture for this dish.

 

The Creamy Egg Custard Buns had just the right consistency and not too sweet with the essential highlight from its almost-burn-your-tongue runny custard while it is being pulled and halved. The Steamed BBQ Chicken Buns were so fluffy in texture and the filling was just as delicious. Each of these dishes was a triumph in presentation and execution in the lightness of fillings and delicate flavours on the palate.

Another highlight was the Red Rice & Prawn Cheung Fun. The red rice paste wrapping made it very eye-catching but what won us over was the crunchy inner deep fried dough   double wrapped over the fresh and delicate prawns filling that creates quite a delight in texture.

Shrimp & Chive Dumplings - Another delight flavour.

While soup dishes may not be the most popular on demand dishes when it comes to dim sum experience, some restaurants are willing to go extra miles to offer what they can do/do best by introducing some of their most delicious and somehow signature dishes as a generous and bonus add-on especially on any all-you-can-eat dim sum offers. So are some signature dishes which Long Teng Seafood Restaurant really excels in and are proud of. Double Boiled Chicken Soup with Tofu & Soya Beans is superb in flavour, cloudy yet light, with the yellow beans giving another harmony taste in balance to its final touch.

Braised Beef Brisket with Turnip - Like a bonus "track" especially when it comes to dim sum variety. The stock was superbly cooked for hours to break the fibers of the beef brisket while the turnips absorbed the broth completely. Thick and flavorsome and is a total childhood memory revisited.

Handmade Noodles with Minced Chicken and Garlic – a spicy and tasty dish with just the right piquancy on the smooth textured noodles that give a nice complexity in taste.

Stir-fried Beef Ho Fun – A triumphant dish by Long Teng’s well-coordinated culinary team. Daily homemade hand-pulled Ho Fun (flat thin noodles) that was presented beautifully, cooked expertly and with just the right flavours and textures. From the taste to the quality of US Angus beef used here without any tenderizer for its smooth texture and the absolute timing - fast and speedy tossed with an extremely high heat wok and with an adequate amount of oil being used to separate the delicate flat thin noodles that were cooked and absorb the flavours evenly to give the right complexity on palate that compliment each flavour.  While there are still many failures in execution by many experienced Chef, the stir-fried Ho Fun is always a challenging dish to get right. Another simple dish that needs years to master! Long Teng Culinary team has the expert know-how on this dish particularly!

When it comes to dessert, we always make room for it. There are only three variety of dessert selection from the brunch menu and it was good and precise enough to order especially after baskets of Dim Sum stacking up on the table. Steamed Chinese Date Cake is yummy, sticky texture and ripe in taste from the Chinese red dates used. Best to enjoy while it is still steamy hot!

The Fragrant Osmanthus & Coconut Jelly is another pleasant surprise, light and aromatic, with the coconut jelly layer not only enhancing the presentation yet complimenting and harmonizing the osmanthus flavour.

Egg Tarts are all time favorite to some in dim sum order and can be served as a savory or dessert and some like the outer pastry flaky crust texture and some like the solid texture. The not so mini size egg tart is done in quite a generous portion and serving with a creamy and milky custard which is never too sweet to temp you having more servings.

Chilled Mango Pomelo soup (bonus add-on) was not on the brunch menu yet it was presented as a dessert after dessert. Served in an adorable mini blue glassware complimenting the yellow orangy diced mango soup pudding with coconut milk, pomelo, sago, evaporated milk and milk to set and give the incredibly harmonious and most licking texture and flavour. All desserts excellently executed.

You can possibly tell that the food was cooked with passion and skill and dim sum can’t be replaced without having it handmade – time consuming in preparing and execution. To just hit the right spot with Cantonese dim sum is not easy, as a lot of care and attention is required with the cooking methods and presentations. The layout of the dining tables gives you plenty of space and we felt like we were having a heightened dining experience as the ambience was fantastic. The restaurant was buzzing an hour after opening which is testament to the value and quality of the food. Speedy service contributed to the satisfaction of delivery with adorable presentation, thanks to the different reservation slots that split out diners’ demand to allow the kitchen and service team to have sufficient time to look after for everyone’s needs. That also explained why a reservation is essential especially for Friday brunch to avoid over congestion and food delivery in a timely manner. We were told that, the booking for the next couple of weeks is already fully booked. What was not to like? We were so impressed with the quality of the food, the genuine and speed of service and never felt there was too big a gap or too much came at once. Mind you, it is important that when you reorder you don’t overdo it, as some dishes are at their optimum as soon as they come out of the kitchen. Long Teng Seafood Restaurant is truly an absolute gem if you are in search of a dedicated Cantonese flavour with authenticity for dim sum experience in Dubai and they certainly can satisfy your home food cravings .They have nailed it!

Tried & Tested:

Location: 4/5

Design & Decor: 5/5

Food & Beverage: 4.5/5

Service: 4.5/5

Value For Money: 5/5

Experience: 4.5/5

 

LONG TENG Seafood Restaurant

Ground Floor, U-bora Towers,

Building #3, Al Abraj Street,

Business Bay, Dubai

United Arab Emirates

Tel: +971 04 241 1666

Reviews are based on actual day of visit and experience. mylifestylenews reserves the right of final decision in case of any disputes. All images are photographed by mylifestylenews team without any photoshop enhancement and are the property owned by mylifestylenews unless otherwise stated.