XU Dubai: Restaurant Review
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XU Dubai: Restaurant Review
XU's sexy and fun brand of new, high-end Cantonese cuisine is audacious and a bit pricey, but with burly, broad-chested ducks.
XU Dubai, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates, Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Barsha, Al Barsha 1, Dubai. Menu: wine starts from AED65 by the glass. Appetisers: AED 28-140, dim sum: AED 42-220, salad: AED 58-230, soup: AED 38-52, mains: AED 85-395, vegetables, rice and noodles: AED 25-75, dessert: 48-58. Information is true as of publication but look at XU’s Website for the latest.
Written by Liam Collens // Find other reviews here. Liam was invited to XU as a guest of the restaurant. Check out Liam on Instagram, Threads or Substack.
The Highs
The Lows
The Highs
The Lows
While chewing on a mouthful of beef tenderloin — varnished so glossy, I could see my future in it — I began to ask: in which circumstances would I come back to XU?
But first, some facts. XU, the latest of some latests. It is the latest in a barrage of late 2023 openings. It is the latest from the same team that also opened the unmistakably French Eugene Eugene (next door) and the broadly Japanese Mimi Kakushi, to which you could draw some obvious parallels with XU.
XU is also *curls toes* the latest in what seems an endless contagion of Asian restaurants erupting across Dubai. When will this end?
XU Dubai’s Bar and DJ Area, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates
XU is Cantonese. Both a culture and a language that straddles vast stretches of South East China, Hong Kong and Macau. Cantonese cuisine is very often the stuff of very good Chinese restaurants. Why? Quite possibly a consequence of centuries of trade as Yue speakers took their cuisine abroad to Vancouver, San Francisco, London and my native Trinidad. Cantonese cuisine braises meat to the point of surrender. It tosses stir-fries in flame-licked woks and presents soaring bamboo towers of steamed, pudgy but delicate, seafood dim sum. Glassy matchstick ginger, stringent vinegar and dark pools of soy are often plonked on white tablecloths with porcelain chopstick rests. Much of modern Cantonese dining is smart, proper and discerning.
XU Dubai’s Bar Seating Area by the Entrance, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates
Yet, with the elegance also comes a brutishness about Cantonese food. It can sound like a dare to Westerners whose ‘no waste’ moral resolve loses footing when presented with, well, actual feet. Like chicken feet, pallid and dimpled, or browned duck’s tongues piled high. Those gristly corners are also where the good times lie. Once in Hong Kong, during a liver-ruining drunken layover, I slurped a trembling soup slick and surfeited with animal fat. It bobbed with rounds of salted pork intestine and cubed pig’s blood, all chased down by beastly cold, thigh-sized bottles of Tsingtao Beer.
So which is XU, beastly or beautiful? Does it add anything to the roaring chorus of Dubai’s “somewhere in Asia” dining? Why would you come to XU vs Hakkasan, Long Teng or Mott 32?
XU Dubai’s Restaurant Sitting Area Near the Kitchen, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.
But first, some facts. XU, the latest of some latests. It is the latest in a barrage of late 2023 openings. It is the latest from the same team that also opened the unmistakably French Eugene Eugene (next door) and the broadly Japanese Mimi Kakushi, to which you could draw some obvious parallels with XU.
XU is also *curls toes* the latest in what seems an endless contagion of Asian restaurants erupting across Dubai. When will this end?
XU Dubai’s Bar and DJ Area, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates
XU is Cantonese. Both a culture and a language that straddles vast stretches of South East China, Hong Kong and Macau. Cantonese cuisine is very often the stuff of very good Chinese restaurants. Why? Quite possibly a consequence of centuries of trade as Yue speakers took their cuisine abroad to Vancouver, San Francisco, London and my native Trinidad. Cantonese cuisine braises meat to the point of surrender. It tosses stir-fries in flame-licked woks and presents soaring bamboo towers of steamed, pudgy but delicate, seafood dim sum. Glassy matchstick ginger, stringent vinegar and dark pools of soy are often plonked on white tablecloths with porcelain chopstick rests. Much of modern Cantonese dining is smart, proper and discerning.
XU Dubai’s Bar Seating Area by the Entrance, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates
Yet, with the elegance also comes a brutishness about Cantonese food. It can sound like a dare to Westerners whose ‘no waste’ moral resolve loses footing when presented with, well, actual feet. Like chicken feet, pallid and dimpled, or browned duck’s tongues piled high. Those gristly corners are also where the good times lie. Once in Hong Kong, during a liver-ruining drunken layover, I slurped a trembling soup slick and surfeited with animal fat. It bobbed with rounds of salted pork intestine and cubed pig’s blood, all chased down by beastly cold, thigh-sized bottles of Tsingtao Beer.
So which is XU, beastly or beautiful? Does it add anything to the roaring chorus of Dubai’s “somewhere in Asia” dining? Why would you come to XU vs Hakkasan, Long Teng or Mott 32?
XU Dubai’s Restaurant Sitting Area Near the Kitchen, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.
XU’s built-for-good-times pastiche immediately reveals itself. It vacillates between being a restaurant or a cocktail bar. I chew some more on this juicy tenderloin. Do I come back to XU for dinner, or do I come back for drinks?
Sat at the bar sipping Gavi by the glass, I would wager that XU’s design brief went something like:
“Remember that scene in Skyfall where a suave, arresting Daniel Craig drifts towards a glamorous, foreboding Macau casino? That! We want dark furniture and an air thick with mood. A sexy mood. Not Macau brothel sexy, because it’s still the Kempinski Mall of the Emirates, but like a flirty “anything could happen” sexy. Oh, and lots of red hues and shadows. No actual Bond thugs, but instead, let’s add a house DJ that periodically bashes a gong for no apparent reason.”
Sorry, what was that bit about a gong?
XU exudes playful pleasure. It lures in beautiful people and those who enjoy that orbit. It’s not only for the young, a fact I notice more now that I am in my 40s. Here a mixed crowd mingles. Corporate types shed of suits. Ladies, some in their 20s, some in their 40s, both nattering about the weekend ahead. A smattering of couples who appear to be on special date nights pepper the space near the open-plan kitchen. The gong-armed DJ punches it up a few decibels, and I ask myself, dragging another parcel of tenderloin through this near-iridescent sauce, do people actually get up to dance?
Sat at the bar sipping Gavi by the glass, I would wager that XU’s design brief went something like:
“Remember that scene in Skyfall where a suave, arresting Daniel Craig drifts towards a glamorous, foreboding Macau casino? That! We want dark furniture and an air thick with mood. A sexy mood. Not Macau brothel sexy, because it’s still the Kempinski Mall of the Emirates, but like a flirty “anything could happen” sexy. Oh, and lots of red hues and shadows. No actual Bond thugs, but instead, let’s add a house DJ that periodically bashes a gong for no apparent reason.”
Sorry, what was that bit about a gong?
XU exudes playful pleasure. It lures in beautiful people and those who enjoy that orbit. It’s not only for the young, a fact I notice more now that I am in my 40s. Here a mixed crowd mingles. Corporate types shed of suits. Ladies, some in their 20s, some in their 40s, both nattering about the weekend ahead. A smattering of couples who appear to be on special date nights pepper the space near the open-plan kitchen. The gong-armed DJ punches it up a few decibels, and I ask myself, dragging another parcel of tenderloin through this near-iridescent sauce, do people actually get up to dance?
XU wants to be many things to many people, and to that end, it will appeal to a broad audience not looking for just one thing.
That’s the thing about XU, it’s not an everyday place. It IS more high-end. Wear something nice, then come out to play. The decor demands it, and the pricing insists, which takes us to the menu.
Let’s see, well, there’s crispy soft-shell crab, and wagyu is mentioned no less than four times between the starters and mains with wagyu beef ribs with green chilli and, of course, wagyu rib eye with king soy sauce. A rice dish called Beef Ho Fun tickles my inner child. Next up is the Sweet and Sour Chicken, which I’m sure went to a far better boarding school than its motorcycle-delivered peers. Some Canadian live lobsters travelled a long way to be tossed in a wok with king soy sauce or steamed with pickled chilli.
XU evidently does not do beastly with no signs of braised tripe or shark fins. Notably, there is no pork which is and is not a surprise. I know, I know the difficulties with pork licences in Dubai, but it would mark a clear distinction between XU and its contemporaries already named.
XU Dubai’s Restaurant Sitting Area Near the Kitchen, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.
Our starters arrive almost all at once. A trio of tiger prawn har gow in baskets comes first (nice), then the battered salt and pepper squid pelted with crispy garlic and aromatics lands, but a batterless version would be delightful. We pass around a light duck salad piled high with refreshing cress.
I do recommend focusing your attention on the mains, which is where the more impressive dishes lie. XU’s cherry wood Peking Duck is a chesty, meaty bird that probably bench-pressed 350 and survived on a neat diet of other ducks. The half portion is plenty for two to share. It is not a crispy Peking Duck, but its sweet meatiness is to be revered. I enjoy it more than Hawkerboi’s roast duck. The Kung Pao Chicken shingled in crispy lotus root and walnuts would please Mrs EatGoSee. Also! This is the first time I am encouraging a dessert in a Cantonese restaurant with a “where did that come from?”-good banana brûlée in red bean paste — possibly the best dish of the night? The moussy chocolate hazelnut tofu pudding is worth consideration if you’re still hungry, while a lychee milk cake did not see a second spoonful.
XU Dubai’s Cherry Wood Peking Duck and Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with onion, peppers and garlic.
Let’s see, well, there’s crispy soft-shell crab, and wagyu is mentioned no less than four times between the starters and mains with wagyu beef ribs with green chilli and, of course, wagyu rib eye with king soy sauce. A rice dish called Beef Ho Fun tickles my inner child. Next up is the Sweet and Sour Chicken, which I’m sure went to a far better boarding school than its motorcycle-delivered peers. Some Canadian live lobsters travelled a long way to be tossed in a wok with king soy sauce or steamed with pickled chilli.
XU evidently does not do beastly with no signs of braised tripe or shark fins. Notably, there is no pork which is and is not a surprise. I know, I know the difficulties with pork licences in Dubai, but it would mark a clear distinction between XU and its contemporaries already named.
XU Dubai’s Restaurant Sitting Area Near the Kitchen, Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.
Our starters arrive almost all at once. A trio of tiger prawn har gow in baskets comes first (nice), then the battered salt and pepper squid pelted with crispy garlic and aromatics lands, but a batterless version would be delightful. We pass around a light duck salad piled high with refreshing cress.
I do recommend focusing your attention on the mains, which is where the more impressive dishes lie. XU’s cherry wood Peking Duck is a chesty, meaty bird that probably bench-pressed 350 and survived on a neat diet of other ducks. The half portion is plenty for two to share. It is not a crispy Peking Duck, but its sweet meatiness is to be revered. I enjoy it more than Hawkerboi’s roast duck. The Kung Pao Chicken shingled in crispy lotus root and walnuts would please Mrs EatGoSee. Also! This is the first time I am encouraging a dessert in a Cantonese restaurant with a “where did that come from?”-good banana brûlée in red bean paste — possibly the best dish of the night? The moussy chocolate hazelnut tofu pudding is worth consideration if you’re still hungry, while a lychee milk cake did not see a second spoonful.
XU Dubai’s Cherry Wood Peking Duck and Wagyu Beef Tenderloin with onion, peppers and garlic.
XU Dubai, Would I Return?
The beef’s done, and the capable, well-trained service team are tipped. So, in which circumstances would I return to XU? If I need a beautiful restaurant to entertain people first and foremost in a relatively easy-to-get-to location in Dubai, licensed and with a midweek buzz, XU is in the conversation. I can take Mrs EatGoSee here on a date night that feels special but not formal where she cannot let loose and be herself — and I love it when my wife is herself. I prefer a narrower brief on Cantonese food. A place that specialises in dim sum, for example. XU wants to be many things to many people, and to that end, it will appeal to a broad audience not looking for just one thing.
XU Dubai’s Chocolate, Hazelnut Tofu Pudding.
Good time chasers, Chinese food enthusiasts and those who like a restaurant-bar scene. Kempinski Mall of the Emirates hotel guests. Al Barsha or The Greens residents looking an upmarket option.
XU Dubai’s Banana Brûlée and Black Sesame Pudding
Gavi by the glass, AED 90
Pinot Noir by the glass, AED 93
Tiger prawn har gow, AED 48 for three
Salt and pepper squid, AED 72
Duck salad with microcress, AED 110
XU’s Cherry Wood Peking Duck, AED 265 for half, AED 525 for whole duck.
Cantonese Kung Pao Chicken, AED 95
Wagyu Beef Rib Eye with King Soy Sauce, AED 285
Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin, AED 170
Banana brulee with vanilla ice cream and red bean paste, AED 48
Chocolate hazelnut tofu pudding, AED 58
Lychee milk cake, AED 48
XU Dubai’s Champagne Selection in the Chiller.
XU Dubai’s Chocolate, Hazelnut Tofu Pudding.
XU Dubai, Who Should Come Here?
Good time chasers, Chinese food enthusiasts and those who like a restaurant-bar scene. Kempinski Mall of the Emirates hotel guests. Al Barsha or The Greens residents looking an upmarket option.
XU Dubai’s Banana Brûlée and Black Sesame Pudding
XU Dubai, How Much?
Gavi by the glass, AED 90
Pinot Noir by the glass, AED 93
Tiger prawn har gow, AED 48 for three
Salt and pepper squid, AED 72
Duck salad with microcress, AED 110
XU’s Cherry Wood Peking Duck, AED 265 for half, AED 525 for whole duck.
Cantonese Kung Pao Chicken, AED 95
Wagyu Beef Rib Eye with King Soy Sauce, AED 285
Black Pepper Beef Tenderloin, AED 170
Banana brulee with vanilla ice cream and red bean paste, AED 48
Chocolate hazelnut tofu pudding, AED 58
Lychee milk cake, AED 48
XU Dubai’s Champagne Selection in the Chiller.
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