Long Teng: Fine dining on a budget
This Chinese restaurant in Business Bay offers Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg
Here in the UAE, we are used to eating Americanised pan Asian versions of Chinese cuisine, rather than the authentic regional Cantonese food. As someone who grew up in a city that has its very own ‘Little China’ I’ve craved the authentic kind of Chinese food I used to enjoy in Toronto. Long Teng promised traditional, high-end Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine, with some unique dishes I had never even heard of, so naturally, I was very excited to try the food.
As I arrived at the venue, I noticed how huge it is. Occupying four floors of U-bora Towers in Business Bay, the eatery offers a different vibe on each of the floors. The first floor has a more casual setting, perfect for business lunches; the next is home to a large and elegant dining room, where the restaurant’s Friday brunch takes place. The second floor also features eight private dining rooms. Floor number three has a large ballroom, great for big corporate events. Then the restaurant jumps from floor three to five, since the number four is considered an unlucky one in Chinese culture.
The elevator doors opened, and we were led to an open-air roof terrace, with tonnes of greenery and comfortable seats. The rooftop offers shisha, hot pot, BBQ and traditional Chinese tea with views of Dubai’s skyline. Long Teng’s dining concept revolves around the old Chinese tradition of ‘yum cha’, where diners eat small servings of different foods while sipping Chinese tea. We also had the choice of a la carte dishes. But we decided to try the authentic and traditional option.
We were served a wide variety of dishes, including xiao long bao, vegetable dumplings, chicken and shrimp siu mai, xia jiao, spring rolls, char siu bao, turnip puffs and cheung fun dim sum. The dishes were prepared with such excellence, and a strong focus on traditional and bold flavours. Some stand-out items included the black fungus with vinegar and the deep-fried sticky rice dumplings with chicken and dried shrimp.
On the a la carte menu, the clear focus is seafood. This was made quite obvious from the very beginning, as you enter the venue and see giant tanks housing fish, lobster, crab, shrimp and unusual sea creatures that I could not identify. The seafood offering includes unique takes on everything from stirfried prawns to sashimi lobster, and the most succulent crab legs I’ve ever had. There is also a range of desserts and traditional Chinese teas.
Long Teng has a wide menu, with affordable fine dining options, perfect for those who want to wow their guests — without paying an arm and a leg.