Iftar @ Asia de Cuba AD

Asia de Cuba, as its name suggests, serves up a unique fusion of Chinese and Cuban flavours. The restaurant’s concept is rooted in the Asian influence on Cuban food and culture from Havana’s Chinatown – ‘El Barrio Chino de la Habana’, one of the oldest and largest in Latin America.

A bit of interesting background: The “Chino-Latino cuisine” was born as a result of Chinese migration to Cuba in the late 1850s. These Chinese labourers (most of whom worked in sugarcane and coffee plantations) developed a unique cuisine that blended the rich essences of Chinese and Caribbean flavours. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many Cuban Chinese left the island and some established Cuban-Chinese restaurants in the US (mainly in NYC and Miami), bringing this exceptional cooking to the palates of audacious diners.

Located at the St. Regist Abu Dhabi with a charming beachfront venue, Asia de Cuba has long become a hot spot among the capital’s hip crowd.

I visited during Ramadan and was looking forward to savouring its 4-course iftar (aka “After Dark”) menu. The restaurant promises a distinctive treat, loaded with its signature dishes. Unfortunately, the overall experience was rather mediocre. From food, to service and ambiance, nothing was quite up to par.

Upon entering the restaurant, one could not ignore the irritating purple and blue laser beam lights that lit up the entire space. I found them vexatious and tacky (What’s the point anyways?!)

The service was slow and our waiter did not refrain from displaying his unwillingness to work through his sheer lack of enthusiasm. Not once were we asked whether we enjoyed our meal.

The food was mediocre at its best and excessively overpriced (330 Dhs for the house beverage package). Serving sizes were on the small side, which was okay for myself as a non-fasting person, but I could certainly envisage the disappointment on the faces of hungry and fasting diners.

To summarise, my first experience at Asia de Cuba clearly fell short. That said, the restaurant has announced it will be closing from 2 June for renovation and I would like to return post-makeover during the cooler season to revel in the full Asia de Cuba experience – with live music, al fresco beachside dining and all that jazz!

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What: 4-course After Dark (iftar) menu
Where: Asia de Cuba Abu Dhabi, Corniche Road, St Regist Hotel
When: Evening evening from sunset during Ramadan 2018
How much: Bubbles Package priced at AED 630; House Beverage Package priced at AED 330; Soft Beverage Package priced at AED 230

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We ordered the following items:

Citrus-cured Salmon (Course 1)
Rating: 2.5/5