hakkasan - emirates palace

as a belated mother day i took my mom to hakkasan for afternoon tea.

it was quite lovley actualy. when you see it at first u think it's not as extensive as other teas but once you try the food you realise why. the ingredients are really good quality and the flavours are on point.

the frieddimsums were good and different. my only con would be that all 3 types tastes pretty much the same; so they could maybe improve on variety. the presentation is cute though.

the deserts were also nice. all the vanilla were authentic french vanilla and ofcourse gold playing ( can't be emirates palace without some gold)

the teas were also so lovley and delicate and again very authentic.

service and ambiance were good too and price was pretty decent at 98/person (pricing is per person and not per rack of tea)

definitely a good place to have a ladies day out

okey, this is going to take some time for you to read :p.

first, hakkasan is one of the best restaurants i have tried in the "uae" not just abu dhabi.

service: emirates palace restaurants share the same quality of service, you always feel at your him from the moment you step inside, everybodey is helpful, smiling and professional. everything is put in an orgnized fashion, you reach the door and somone will open it to you from the other side and direct you to the seating team, the seating team will have your info if you booked earlier and will direct you to your table and introduce you to your waiter, the waiter will hand out the menu and will help you if you need any help and will always now the menu and dishes like the back of his hand.

food: authintic chineese food and will always be made of top quality ingredients. i have never ordered somthing that was bad or badley made, even if i didn't like its taste it is always obvious that it was well made.

drinks: hakkasan is one of the places where you cant go wrong with any drink you order. you will find your regualr mojito, pinacolada and you will always find somthing different which is always an extra point to any restaurant.

dessert: well, this is where i deducted half a point. hakkasan has one or two good dessert dishes, but they lack the options. i wouldn't blame them becouse chinesse cuisine has a very limited dessert options.

recommendations: mango duck and frieddimsum for starter, a selection of thier signture beef, duck and seafood dishes with some noodles or rice and souffle for dessert.

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i was recently invited for the afternoon tea tasting at hakkasan located at the magnificent emirates palace.

the afternoon tea which is available between 3 pm to 6 pm everyday is priced at aed 98 and offers a selection of teas, sweet treats &dimsums. also if you fancy a glass of louis roedere brut, you can opt for that for an additional aed 100
the beautiful dessert & display stand reminded me that of the aldar building located in abu dhabi (look at the picture & you would agree with me *wink*)
this stand however comprised of vanilla cheesecake with raspberry sauce, chocolate macaron, truffle, fruit tarts, chicken taro croquette, crispy box dumpling and squid dim-sum (had to give this a miss as i'm allergic to squid, sigh! yes, life is not easy without squid in it)

but i absolutely relished everything else, my favorites being the truffle, macaron (hakkasan always does this right) and the chicken taro croquette
now since i had already tried & tested the jasmine green tea which i loved, i opted for the silver needle which found its origin in fujian (china) - it was light, refreshing & rich on the palette.  

i don't even need to get into the ambiance bit because it's hakkasan we are talking about and hakkasan is probably now a synonym to royalty which is depicted through its interiors largely.
special shout-out to akheel, who took good care of us & made sure we had a good time.
i would rate this a 4/5 - definitely recommended for an afternoon out with the girls/ family

very nice restaurant in a very unusual setting.dimlighting and dance music playing in background. we had the chinese new year set menu which was very nice but would have been better if they served and timed each plate individually rather than serving them together. i have been to hkk in london which is owned by the same group however my experience was better there. prices here were extortionate considering they don't have a michelin star yet; nevertheless we did eat at the emirates palace after all!

wanted to celebrate my mom's birthday in a special way. and emirates palace had to be the special place. as the rating at hakkasan was good, i decided to try here and it was the best night. the ambience is really good. i wanted an outdoor seating, however, it wasn't available. loved the setting inside. it's quite dark.. but it had a good atmosphere. the staff were really polite and made sure we were comfortable.

for starters we had the lobster sweetcorn soup. it was yum. then we had the steameddimsum platter, it so tasty. loved the fact that it had different fillings. for main course my mom had the crispy mango chicken with thai chilli sauce. i really loved it.. the flavours were really good. the sauce along with it added more flavor. it was crispy and yum. for myself i had the braised wagyu beef cheek - szechuan style. i loved my dish. it just tasted so goodd.. the sauce along with was yum. i would come again just to have this dish again.. 😛along with it we had the edamame egg fried rice.

once we were done, they surprised my mom with the ice cream cake. it was too good.. i want to thank the staff for giving us such a wonderful time.. 😁

after frequenting restaurants on the al maryah island for a while, we decided to try something in our neighborhood...hakkasan...for brunch. and i am so glad we did!

we were craving for peking duck and i think this brunch is worth every penny for this dish alone. i expected there to be a live station for it but to our surprise they brought the duck pre-rolled in pancakes from the kitchen. the duck was delicious and melt-in-your-mouth tender. very well done!

it was a sit down brunch from start to finish. the soft shell crab appetizer was one of my favorites. there were numerous varieties of absolutely delicious steamed and frieddimsums. we lost count but remember every bite being heavenly. i haven’t experienceddimsums better than hakkasan anywhere outside of hongkong. we don’t eat beef but the restaurant was able to accommodate us by making good seafood/chicken substitutions. for main course there were a few options and they bring them all to you. again everything was flawless and super flavorful. the stir-fry sugar snap was the surprise stand out dish.

manager anthony ma runs a tight ship and stopped by often to make sure we were doing ok. service is polite and very attentive. drink glasses never went empty.

overall one of the most flavorful brunches we have tried in abu dhabi!

really good brunch. mix ofdimsums, shrimps, scallops. crazy amount of food. really good punch cocktails. we had our own private dining area. good service. everything was really good! thank you.

fantastic drinks (we have a couple of mai taos).

for starters we had a selection of frieddimsums (ok-ish).

for mains we had pipa duck (amazing), stir fried black pepper beef (very tender and tasty) and egg fried edamame rice.

we shared a dessert, chocolate fondant with banana ice cream (nothing special)

service was absolutely amazing. very helpful, polite and discrete.

so, 3 cocktails, 1 starter, 2 main courses and 1 dessert: aed 805

what we went for: drinks and dinner- with the kids away for the summer and hubby in town, i felt compelled to get out of dubai for dinner.

ambience: dark, stylish, feels more appropriate for business meetings rather than a romantic dinner.

what we ordered: cocktails at the bar- gold sakura and dong tai
for dinner: superior seafood and fish maw soup, vegetariandimsum platter, stir fried asparagus and lotus root, shanpei claypot chicken and seafood olive fried rice, a glass of rose and chardonnay

price: aed 850

verdict: the place is tucked away in a corner of the overtly gold decor filled emirates palace. the vast marble floored corridors, the gold ceilings and shimmery walls have you walking open mouthed till you get to the restaurant. the dark interiors of the restaurant are a welcome respite after all the bling that's been flashed at you :)!! my gold sakura with just the trace of gold but a lot of tequila had me moving from an awestruck state to mumbling about my new found interest in animal documentaries!!! my husband seemed quite happy with his orchid garnished cocktail.
i couldn't help but notice the huge variety of liquor stacked and wondered if it was alphabetical or by liquor type- .. it's by type as my slow brain quickly worked out as we were seated right across the gin section!!

we moved to our table after our drinks and placed our orders. it was amusing to look at the number of zeros for the price of some items on the menu...and alas it was not the gold sakura cocktail playing tricks on my mind!! anyways!!

the seafood and fishmaw soup was exactly as i expected and still not too unexpected a taste for my husband to not appreciate!! so a winning dish..

the vegetarian dimsum looked prettier than it tasted but was not too bad.

the asparagus and lotus root was a simple dish where the ingredients were the king and queen! i quite appreciate such preparations.

shenpei chicken turned up sizzling in a claypot and was a sweet spicy delight.

olive seafood fried rice was good but i was too full to sing praises but my partner in crime helped himself to 2 bowls!!

service was polite and effficient.

we said no to dessert as we we wanted to head down to the palace cafe for the famed palace cappuccino and the dessert of the year!! and that's exactly what we did.

would we return?? hmm it was a great evening out, no complaints at all but not compelling enough a venue for me to head back very soon..

i usually visit hakkasan on their hakkatini nights.dimsum is fantastic and cocktails are out of this world. smokey negroni is a must! staff are simply wonderful and they make you feel at home. well done, hakkasan!

i had my brother's birthday there, it was very unique experience, very nice and, i liked the atmosphere and thedimlights, the menu was amazing and so delicious, i will visit this place again surely❤

"the best chinese restaurant in the world" is what i've been told.
definitely the fanciest. however, i'm here to rate the food and i don't really agree with that saying.
starting off , the place is just sublime with its interior,dimlighting and atmosphere.
the setting is just mind blowing and u just know you are walking in a 5 star restaurant.
huge menu variety with very wide choice of unique specialties.
a great plus is that , the food which is labelled as "spicy" is in fact spicy unlike other chinese restaurants.
however the soup and starters are very much better than the ordered main dishes which were almost identical taste wise , and already lacking much taste.
disappointed all in all.
but recommended for the nice experience and place.

i was invited here for a corporate dinner. as you enter the restaurant, you're in a completely different world. the blue lit glass walls, the wooden cage, the music - all contributes to a unique experience. we sat outside, having a gorgeous view of the etihad towers. the weather was perfect. 

the server brings us lychee drinks to start off. tasted light and sweet. then what transpired was a never ending parade of deliciousness, starting off with adimsum platter, soft shell crab and a green vegetable salad. the sauce used in the salad had an exotic flavor. thedimsum was steamed to perfection. 

then the mains - charcoal grilled silver cod in honey spicy sauce, the most tender meat i have ever eaten, and the spicy honey brings the flavor out. then a roast chicken in sesame sauce which was and wok-fry wagyu rib-eye beef. the meat in both dishes was so soft and east to break apart, and the taste was absolutely amazing, especially the chicken skin, which was crispy and full of spice. 

by the time the dessert came, we were pretty full, but did have a few bites of sorbet and some exotic fruits. jasmine green tea to wash it all down, served in a beautiful tea pot lit by a candle. when you go to hakkssan, you go for both the experience and the food. 

would i go there again? verdict: yes

i remember the first time i ate at hakkassan's very first establishment just off tottenham court road in london. it is still as delicious today even when eating it in my home town of abu dhabi ! yes it is pricy but you are paying to be eating top quality chinese food in the most prestigious location in abu dhabi. especially when your seated outside when weather permits and have the ability to drive directly to the back entrance and valet your car - the whole experience gives you the nice fuzzy feeling of class and finesse which warrants the price tag of not only the food but the overall customer experience. the key to not get stuck with a huge bill is to plan your meal wisely ! my all time favourites are thedimsum platter and duck salad for starters then followed by the chicken satay and lobster with black bean for my main. the service is top notch, the cocktails are amazing as well - try the hakka with or without alcohol depending on how you roll. superb place to bring a date or close friends !

we attended an exclusive preview of afternoon tea at hakkasan abu dhabi. afternoon tea menu is now available from 3pm – 6pm daily throughout the course of the year (excluding ramadan). the new menu showcases hakkasan’s trademark tea menu, providing local residents and tourists with chance to sample an array of speciality asian teas alongside a selection of desserts including their soon to-be popular macarons and chocolate marquise as well as the chef’s signaturedimsum.