Chop Chop.
It was an impromptu decision. We decided to go out for dinner with some good friends and plans were made. The only thing not planned was the place to go to. We were finally bundled in one car and started driving without actually knowing where were we headed to. Suggestions from the ladies was sought who duly informed us that they felt like chinese food. Last week while driving past the Hamra district, I had seen the hoarding of a new place called Chopsticks. I remembered this well as the tag line was Fresh Chinese cuisine.
So we headed to the direction of Chopsticks.
Once there, we were greeted by an empty restaurant. It was a weekday night and we reached the place by around 10.00 in the night. But the interiors were so warm and welcoming that we did not let the empty space bother us. Once we were seated, our server, Paul got us some complimentary Kiwi shots. It was fresh but overtly sweet for my taste. However the others on the table seemed to like this.
The menu is quite extensive and had quite a few vegetarian options, which was a relief for me and wife. Our friends were also impressed with the wide array of non-vegetarian options on offer. The appetizer section had veg dimsums mentioned and hence it was a given that wife would order atleast 2 portions of the same. It is her favorite chinese dish and she always complains that she never gets enough of it here in Jeddah. Add to the fact that the dimsums at Noodles were tiny in size, so she was in no mood to take a chance. We also ordered a portion of the veg spring rolls and our friends ordered hot and sour soup and a shrimp appetizer called Shrimp explosion. For the mains we ordered a portion of the veg noodles and upon the recommendation of Paul, a portion of the veg chop suey. Our friends opted for the chicken nooldes, chicken schezwan and a portion of the sea food rice ( I cant remember the name now.)
Did I mention that the waiters here take the orders on an iPod? Oh yes, they do and it looks kinda creepy with them typing away on the miniature iPods. Nevertheless it was a first for us and we were in awe of the invasion of technology in our daily lives to such an extent ( not that I mind it, I love it in fact.)
Whilst waiting I decided to order a portion of the chinese tea as I am a sucker for tea and coffee at any time of the day ( or night.) The tea arrived with the soup and the starters. The tea was delicate and was a mixture of chinese and jasmine tea, served in the traditional chinese way of boiling water in a pot, a small cup with a lid with the tea leaves and another small cup for drinking the tea. It was good, the experince more so that the actual product itself.
The dimsums were by far the best we have had in Jeddah ( considering that there have been only 2 places where we could actually find veg dimsums, I am not sure how valid this rating actually is!!) They were soft, and were very flavorful, with the corn and cabbage shreds melting in our mouth. The spring roll was standard stuff, but this is something we have begun to accept as a part of our chinese eating ritual and dont crib about much. Our friends liked their soup, although they were not in love with it. What they were in love with was their Shrimp explosion. It was shrimp, fried in a batter and coated with some light chinese sauce. The speed with which it vanished from the table said it all.
The mains arrived soon after. The noodles we ordered were soft and were soaked in sweet and sour sauce. I emphasize on soaked here as noodles here are usually dry to the core, and I have no idea why. The chop suey that paul recommended did live up to Paul's promise. It had fresh vegetables cooked in soy sauce with a tiny hint of chilli sauce. Yummy!! Our friends liked their noodles, rice and the chicken schezwan. Although they said that they liked the chicken schezwan the most. I should mention here that we managed to finish off almost all the food we had ordered, thats how good they were.
Considering the amount of food we ordered and the ambience and location, a tab of SAR 300 seemed extremely reasonable and we were quite generaous with the tipping:-) I did forget to ask the folks at chopsticks what exactly does their tag line of ' Fresh Chinese Cuisine' actually mean?
So we headed to the direction of Chopsticks.
Once there, we were greeted by an empty restaurant. It was a weekday night and we reached the place by around 10.00 in the night. But the interiors were so warm and welcoming that we did not let the empty space bother us. Once we were seated, our server, Paul got us some complimentary Kiwi shots. It was fresh but overtly sweet for my taste. However the others on the table seemed to like this.
The menu is quite extensive and had quite a few vegetarian options, which was a relief for me and wife. Our friends were also impressed with the wide array of non-vegetarian options on offer. The appetizer section had veg dimsums mentioned and hence it was a given that wife would order atleast 2 portions of the same. It is her favorite chinese dish and she always complains that she never gets enough of it here in Jeddah. Add to the fact that the dimsums at Noodles were tiny in size, so she was in no mood to take a chance. We also ordered a portion of the veg spring rolls and our friends ordered hot and sour soup and a shrimp appetizer called Shrimp explosion. For the mains we ordered a portion of the veg noodles and upon the recommendation of Paul, a portion of the veg chop suey. Our friends opted for the chicken nooldes, chicken schezwan and a portion of the sea food rice ( I cant remember the name now.)
Did I mention that the waiters here take the orders on an iPod? Oh yes, they do and it looks kinda creepy with them typing away on the miniature iPods. Nevertheless it was a first for us and we were in awe of the invasion of technology in our daily lives to such an extent ( not that I mind it, I love it in fact.)
Whilst waiting I decided to order a portion of the chinese tea as I am a sucker for tea and coffee at any time of the day ( or night.) The tea arrived with the soup and the starters. The tea was delicate and was a mixture of chinese and jasmine tea, served in the traditional chinese way of boiling water in a pot, a small cup with a lid with the tea leaves and another small cup for drinking the tea. It was good, the experince more so that the actual product itself.
The dimsums were by far the best we have had in Jeddah ( considering that there have been only 2 places where we could actually find veg dimsums, I am not sure how valid this rating actually is!!) They were soft, and were very flavorful, with the corn and cabbage shreds melting in our mouth. The spring roll was standard stuff, but this is something we have begun to accept as a part of our chinese eating ritual and dont crib about much. Our friends liked their soup, although they were not in love with it. What they were in love with was their Shrimp explosion. It was shrimp, fried in a batter and coated with some light chinese sauce. The speed with which it vanished from the table said it all.
The mains arrived soon after. The noodles we ordered were soft and were soaked in sweet and sour sauce. I emphasize on soaked here as noodles here are usually dry to the core, and I have no idea why. The chop suey that paul recommended did live up to Paul's promise. It had fresh vegetables cooked in soy sauce with a tiny hint of chilli sauce. Yummy!! Our friends liked their noodles, rice and the chicken schezwan. Although they said that they liked the chicken schezwan the most. I should mention here that we managed to finish off almost all the food we had ordered, thats how good they were.
Considering the amount of food we ordered and the ambience and location, a tab of SAR 300 seemed extremely reasonable and we were quite generaous with the tipping:-) I did forget to ask the folks at chopsticks what exactly does their tag line of ' Fresh Chinese Cuisine' actually mean?
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