Everything old is new again at Summer Place Chinese restaurant in Dubai…

Do you like your roast duck and dim sum with a side of twinkling Dubai views? Summer Place Chinese restaurant has just opened on the 31st floor of the V Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, promising crowd-pleasing Chinese cuisine in sleek surrounds.

This isn’t the first spin around the block for Summer Place, though. When the original Summer Place opened in the Metropolitan Hotel Dubai back in 1988, it was one of the first Chinese restaurants in Dubai.

summer place

Now, it’s been given a new lease on life, with a fresh location, Sino-chic interiors of carved wooden screens and pretty murals, and those glittering skyline views that stretch all the way to the Arabian Sea.

Much like the restaurant itself is a marriage of old and new, the menu gives a gentle contemporary tweak to pan-Chinese classics.

To start, there are bamboo baskets filled with plump hargao and juicy sui mai dumplings; crisp-fried green beans with a umami-rich dusting of chicken ‘floss’; and ginormous battered king prawns dressed in a light mustard sauce and a fresh salsa of diced mango and chilli.

Aromatic crispy duck comes next, accompanied by properly stretchy pancakes, hoisin sauce, spring onion and cucumber for a round of DIY Peking pancakes.

summer place lobster

For anyone who grew up eating Chinese in the ‘burbs, Summer Place’s mains will hit you right in the nostalgic sweet spot, with big-flavoured saucing, crispy coatings and plenty of wok-tossed action. Expect old-school favourites such as sweet and sour chicken, stir-fried beef in black pepper sauce, chilli prawns, lobster with ginger and shallot, vegetable fried rice and chicken chow mein.

Summer Place Chinese restaurant Dubai, 31st Floor, V Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, Al Habtoor City, daily 6pm to 1am. Tel: 050 106 3574​. instagram.com/summerplacedubai