The big 40. Not me – not yet anyways, hee hee.

I was looking for a spot for the husband’s birthday do, and it was going to have to be karaoke. A bit of googling and Maiden Shanghai popped up as one of the few places in Dubai that has a karaoke room. Well, one that we have not been to…yet. A few emails and a visit to the venue itself brought me to their private dining room at the top floor – I was sold. Karaoke can wait, we’ll book this room instead. Here’s why I loved it – spacious, bright, it’s got the classic chinese round table with the lazy susan AND also an adjoining private outdoor terrace overlooking the the marina. If you’re familiar with this side of the palm, you’ll also know that the sun sets here – and in winter that’s your beautiful hues of pink, purple, blue. What else? They have a dim sum brunch on Saturdays called ‘Dim Sum Yum’ – 400aed for 2 – includes unlimited dim sum, two mains, two desserts and a bottle of wine or bubbly. Tick, tick and tick!

How was the afternoon?

Very good. Much better than I had expected 😉

Credits to Five’s events coordinator Nekyra who was extremely patient and quick to response to my numerous emails, the manager on the day Ushma who completely fooled my husband as she showed us around the restaurant, finally leading us to the private dining room above. To the staff serving us – Matthew – he was an absolute star. Attentive and charismatic, and extra points for knowing how to work a smartphone when it comes to photos. Not to forget all the other staff who took care of us that day as well. Cheers to Party Monster who got the helium balloons on time! My biggest thanks would of course be our dear dear friends – without them this would have not happened. Everyone got there earlier and worked hard to prep the room. There was a lot of balloon pumping and balloon blowing action. Also standing on shelves to get things stuck on the walls 😉

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How was the food?

Overall – good. It just kept coming. Our drinks were consistently topped up without request as well. What do you get ? For dim sums – shrimp har gau, crispy chicken dumplings and mushroom buns. There were also a few varieties of cheung fan – spicy kung pao chicken, sliced fish, and for those who would prefer vegetarian – that, too. Would have been nice to have some siew mais – next time, maybe? Of all these dim sums, the only one that didn’t win us all was the mushroom buns. Aesthetically I’ll give them points as it was made to look literally like a shittake mushroom – very original. Just tasted a bit dry and well, one was enough.

For mains – as there were 10 of us, they brought everything that was on the menu. Note that if it were just 2 people dining, you would choose just 2 of the 5 dishes. The angus beef with chilli , and kung pao prawns were my favourite. There was also stir-fried string beans, chicken in black pepper sauce and ma po tofu. The carbs to go with all that ? Egg fried rice and stir-fried noodles. How was the fried rice? Not as good as my husband’s, but Uncle Roger would have given them a thumbs up 😉

We finished the afternoon with delicious mango vanilla pudding, assorted sorbet and baked yoghurt. Small portions which was perfect for all of us as we wanted to try a little bit of everything. And after that – an absolute beautiful and delicious home-made cake by our very good friend C. Such a talented person. Special shout out to her here – get in touch if you want her to do your birthday cakes!!

What next?

After having a chat with the manager – we decided we were not going to do karaoke after brunch, but spent the later part of the afternoon at the outdoor terrace with more drinks, watching the sun go down. The music from the pool was blasting – it was a great party vibe. Oh – and people watching – that’s always fun to do at Five – especially from your own private terrace overlooking the pool.

Happy afternoon it was 😉

Would I recommend it?

Well – there’s two parts here. For the Dim Sum Yum offer – yes, if you like your chinese food. Mind you I did not go down to the main restaurant so I wouldn’t be able to properly comment on the ambience part this time round. Do take note though that water is extra – be prepared to pay 38aed for a large bottle of still or sparkling.

If you’re looking for somewhere private to celebrate a special occasion with a group of friends or family, the Private Dining Rooms will be it. Even though it’s private, you still get the whole party vibe (on a Saturday afternoon) once you go out on the terrace so you don’t feel isolated. We stayed till the evening and it’s much quieter out on the terrace then – quite romantic really. Thanks again to the team 🙂 Oh, did I mention – kids are not allowed? 😉

• Dim Sum Yum
• Website
• Maiden Shanghai
• Five Palm Jumeirah
• Deal : Every Saturday 12:30 to 3:30pm. 400aed for 2 for unlimited dim sums, 2 mains, 2 desserts and a bottle of bubbly or wine between 2 people

Disclaimer : We all paid for the Dim Sum Yum, and additional drinks at Maiden Shanghai. Do take note that typically a minimum spend of 5000aed would be required to book out the large Private Dining Room.