Li Jiang

This pan-Asian venue in The Ritz-Carlton is one of the classiest places in town to sample the flavours of Thailand, Indonesia, China, Vietnam and more.

The lovely red and wooden interiors and comfortable seats make for a very relaxed and ambient dining experience, but take a walk out the back and you’ll be knocked for six by the view of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque from the terrace.

On our latest midweek visit we’re pleased to find the dining room and the outdoor area fairly busy. Despite a sluggish start to the service, things absolutely pick up once the food begins to come to the table.

We order five dishes between two and are pleasantly full by the time we leave.

Wasabi prawns are much bigger than we expect and are delicious. We’d like a bit more horseradish heat, but we are suckers for the green stuff.

The duck gyoza are filled with rich, shredded meat that just makes perfect sense when dipped in some soy sauce. Steamed barbecue chicken buns are probably our least favourite of the night, but the bar is set high. Of the bigger plates, a Thai green vegetable curry wins over the chicken chow mein.

We leave very happy. What a great restaurant.

The bottom line
Superb food and overall experience.