Ambitious blend of the Far East

Mekong restaurant in the new Anantara hotel on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah is open for business and serving up romance on a golden platter.

Twinkling lanterns carpet the ceiling; Buddhas smile from every corner and the rippling water of the internal walkways helps set the mood. However, it’s the cosy balcony tables-for-two with their unfettered views of Burj Al Arab that really seal the deal. As you sit in a comfy, lovingly restored tuk-tuk and look at the menu, be sure to set aside a bit of reading time. For this eat-with-your-eyes venue has three themes: Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese.

It bills itself as a mélange of traditional Oriental flavours and to taste the difference, I chose Thai options while my dining companion chose mostly Chinese dishes.

My appetiser of fresh turmeric cotton fish with crunchy pomelo salad (yum som o kab pla samlee) may have been authentically Far East but it was also far too hot. A request for mild translated to a heavy-handed sprinkling of fresh red and green chillies, rendering my cotton fish as edible as cotton wool. My partner opted for the king scallops with green mango salad and tamarind glaze (yam mamuang kub hoy shell) only to suffer a similar fiery fate.

For mains, my aromatic Thai green curry was delicious but the meagre portion was gone in a flash; leaving me with a mountain of jasmine rice and crying out for more of the tangy coconut and sweet-basil sauce.

My friend’s Chinese oven-baked cod was the star of the night, not least because of its stunning presentation on what looked like a slab of white-hot volcanic rock. Drizzled with honey and stuffed with quintessential ginger root, we fought with our forks to finish it.

My guest’s side of e-fu noodles tossed with straw mushrooms and baby leeks was fair, if not a tad expensive at Dh65 – considering my curry cost just Dh10 more. My accompaniments on the other hand – baby bok choi and green morning glory (pak bung fai daeng) – were perfectly al dente and benefited from a gentler chilli-garlic treatment than my starter.

Dessert surpassed all expectations and Mekong’s sago pearl, cantaloupe and palm-sugar pot was a feather-light finale to my filling Thai meal. My companion opted adventurously for the Chinese red bean toasted sesame-seed pancakes and waxed lyrical about the parcels tasting just like chocolate.

While the menu was hugely ambitious, with portions and heat levels lacking consistency, Mekong can’t be accused of putting style over substance. As more people venture into one of The Palm’s newest hotels, the restaurant has potential to become a popular, culinary silk-road stop.

I doff my hat to Mekong’s interior designer, who, through the use of bamboo and silk panels, gleaming suspended temple bells and mosaic-papered bathrooms, beautifully melded the three countries in question. Pay a visit and you’ll want to rush home to redecorate – chances are, you’ll probably want to return to Anantara for another meal, too.

Should a special occasion arise, try booking the restaurant’s private dining room. Its jade and gold- painted dragon doors guard a low-lit space with a magnificent round table, framed by a cascading installation of ornate parasols. Be sure to order the Beijing-style roasted duck – which at Dh150, if it tastes as good as it looked hanging in the kitchen – has best-seller written all over it.

• A meal for two at Mekong costs Dh698 for three courses, excluding drinks. For reservations, call 04 567 8888. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and are conducted incognito

rduane@thenational.ae

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