Ping Pong, Dubai Mall
On a summer evening as we were wandering through Dubai Mall we chanced upon Ping Pong restaurant at the waters edge overlooking the fountains. Unable to decide between the four of us what to eat, Ping Pong seemed to offer the best of everything. Super quick service (for the one need to eat right now and was advocating the fast food court!), plenty of choice –steamed, fried, baked for the one who really couldn’t make up their mind, lovely view for our visitor and the chance to relax for me.
Our lovely waiter explained how everything worked, select a few dishes each and come back for more if you wanted to later. So we settled down with the menu and selected our drinks. 3 of us chose the freshly made lemonade with a shot of strawberry to add a gorgeous twist of sweetness. The final choice from the delightful cocktail menu was Kumquat, lime, orange and fresh mint. Yummy scrummy and very mouth watering. It has to be said at this point that all the cocktails are alcohol free but so delicious. Ping Pong actual have a mixologist to ensure the perfect balance of taste.
We perused the menu and ticked of the choices we had made of the dishes we couldn’t resist the sound of. Ooops now we had selected 29!! dishes instead of the suggested 3 or 4 each. Lucky we took advantage of the Lazy Friday afternoon, a great innovation, as much Dim Sum as you like for 132dhs*. Whilst we were waiting we enjoyed spicy nuts with a touch of chilli and soy beans steamed in the pod with celery salt. The beans were lovely but the pods just a tad stringy.
Having cut back the list somewhat dishes started arriving, all freshly made just for us. As the first plates and fragrantly steaming baskets arrived we dived in. The crispy prawn balls were a firm favourite of the day, and another protion was ordered. All the usual favourites like prawn toast, Vietnamese spring roll and hoi sin duck spring rolls were a pleasure to eat. Ping Pong suggest you should always try at least one Dim Sum you have never had before and the Crispy Squid marinated in satay sauce with a mango spicy sauce was just awesome to quote a normally unimpressed teenager. My choice was a chicken bun, a fluffy marshmallow of a dumpling stuffed with spicy chicken, steaming gently, must be honest I had another one of those. Smoked duck salad and sesame chicken salad were a chance for us to try and redeem ourselves from the fried food, one could almost feel virtuous. As the baskets were heaping up across the table, we were busy sharing out the sticky rice parcels wrapped in a lotus leaf and the steamed dumplings.
Another new taste for me was the coriander dumpling, stuffed with king prawns and coriander. My mouth is watering at the thought of it. Everyone at the table had eaten more than enough but then a brave solitary soul decided we should do justice to the desserts! My eyes popped open at about the same time as my buttons. I couldn’t have eaten another grain of rice. With just a few choices for desert, the decision was easily made a Valhrona chocolate bun. The lovely white bun full to bursting with dark chocolate and coconut was just divine, well I did need to taste just a morsel.
Our lovely waiter suggested to us that we try some of the unusual teas on offer. I had the white organic silver needle tea, delicious and refreshing. Our visitor had a flowering dragon eye. I shall leave that as a beautiful surprise, suffice to say we had to take photos. And of course all the usual choices of soft drinks were available as well.
My recommendation, whether you are looking for a few light snacks or something more filling, Ping Pong has something for everyone.
*not including drinks, set menus, specials or signature dishes.
