Fancy a bit of authentic Chinese Cuisine? Interested in sampling Malaysian Cuisine? Well you are in luck as we have just the spot for you. Noodle Bowl is Dubai’s most accessible Chinese restaurant and certainly one of the best on offer. As far as Malaysian food goes, they are the best place for Malay and Chinese Malaysian Cuisine, hands down.
Whenever you see Chinese people dining in a Chinese restaurant, you can be assured that the food suits their palate. It was that observation that led us to the restaurant in the first place, some years ago.
Opened by first time restauranteur and former businessman Michael Teng in 2006, Noodle Bowl has gained the respect and patronage of esteemed residents and residents looking for authentic Cantonese, South East Asian or otherwise known as “Strait Food.”
Regular customers start and end their days at the Noodle Bowl. Some go in for a Chinese breakfast of Dim Sum, Congee or Fried Doughstick with Warm Soy Milk or Nasi Lemak (the typical Malaysian breakfast and national dish).
With a rather long menu of approximately 200 dishes, you would wonder just how likely it is that they could actually deliver such a variety. But they have that all figured out. With chefs native to China and Malaysia, Teng assures that just about every dish on the menu is available anytime.
The menu actually evolved over the years to include requests by regular diners who wish to taste more of the favourite flavours of their home countries. So you can be sure to find things like the popular Malaysian Fish Head Curry.
Noodle Bowl has become such a cult hit that the success of the Dubai location has spawned two more restaurants- in Abu Dhabi and as far as Korea. The Abu Dhabi restaurant is located in Zaywed Sports City Bowling Centre and the Korean one in Daegu.
We highly recommend starting of your meal (whether breakfast, lunch or dinner) with dim sum. Theirs is made fresh by hand, which is a rarity in Dubai, despite the loads of restaurants offering them. We constantly rotate our selection at each visit but there are a few that must be part of the selection.
For steamed dim sum, try the Sticky Rice, which has packages of glutinous rice stuff with chicken and steamed in lotus leaf. This is particularly delectable with their XO sauce, which is served as a condiment at the table. The Prawn and Coriander dumpling is a sensational blend of flavours and the Prawn dumpling is mild, soft, juicy and slightly sweet. Char Sao Bao is stuffed with chicken in the signature puffy sweetish dough.
As far as the fried dim sum is concerned, the Turnip Cake with Egg is perhaps one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. It is of Cantonese origin with a decidedly Noodle Bowl spin to make it their own. It does not sound all that exciting but trust the Chinese to take humble ingredients and treat them with respect. The dish is a long three step process and worth the effort. It is spiced with their XO sauce and bean sprouts add crunch to the caramelised turnip cakes. Combined with the scrambled egg, it is a balanced meal all on it’s own.
In addition to regular Chinese main dishes, we suggest you try some of their Malaysian Specialties. Shrimp Laksa Soup is a favourite in the streets of Malaysia and earns its place here. The spicy coconut, shrimp, fish, tofu, lemongrass and noodle soup comes in a large bowl so be sure to share. You can ask for extra chilies if you prefer your bowl excessively spicy.
Nasi Goreng Kampong is the must have Malaysian stir fried rice dish on the menu. It is comprised of egg, fried anchovies, and kankong and rice and finished with green onions.
With the telltale punched up flavours of Malaysian cuisine, Noodle Bowl certainly offers the widest range of Chinese Malay dishes in Dubai. The adventurous eater has lots of great surprises to discover.
INFO AT A GLANCE
Restaurant Name: Noodle Bowl
Location: 2nd December Street, Satwa (formerly Al Diyafiyah)
Tel: +971 4345 3382
Opening Hours: 9:30am- 11:00pm
Halal Certified: Y/ Dubai Municipality
100% Halal Ingredients: Y
Cleanliness Grade – A
Serves Alcohol: N
Extra Comments/Notes:
Also located in Abu Dhabi
What I wouldn’t do for a platter of those dumplings and sticky rice. My favorite!
Thanks for the very first comment on this post Rachel! Theirs is my absolute favourite sticky rice and their homemade XO sauce is a dream!
Well this look delicious. Sounds like a great place to eat. Hope you enjoyed your meal, but I am sure that you did.
Gloria it is one of our favourite family restaurants in Dubai and has been for years!
This post is a great read and worth saving. I hope to make it to Dubai and try this wonderful food.
I hope you do too Kelly! You will literally eat your heart out!
Sounds like a great place! I’ve never had authentic Chinese or Malaysian food, but this sounds like the real deal! If I ever make it to Dubai, I’ll be sure to check it out!
Thanks for stopping by. Trust me, Dubai is such a great place to find great food from all over the world.
your photos are absolutely gorgeous for restaurant photos! the food looks amazing – I am a sucker for laksa myself. but also a huge fan of dim sum. what a great experience!
Awwwww Danielle, thank you ever so much! I was actually commissioned for this some years ago. It helps to get paid 😀
All these foods look delicious. I need to bookmark this for whenever I’m visiting Dubai
You absolutely do! And there are lots of vegetarian options.
Looks delicious! What a dream vacation – I would love to go to see the sites and try all that wonderful food!!!
I lived in the UAE… Hubby for 11 years and me for 7. Got married and gave birth 4 years later in Dubai. So yeah, Dubai is a very special #Ilivewhereyouvacation spot for me in my world as an #expat and #missionary
Ok, if the menu is at all anything like the few photos you’ve shared, this restaurant would be a regular visit for me! Everything looks so good!
The menu is extensive and oh so good! Even the most boring sounding thing (turnip cake) is sensational Byron!
This looks so delicious, what a great selection of food! All my favorite things in one place!
Happy to have you drooling and ready to dig in! Bookmark for that upcoming trip to Dubai!
Would love to experience this menu! I’m practically salivating over it!
Lesli, I get hungry every time I come back to approve and respond to comments!
Oh, this sounds like a wonderful place to eat!! If I ever get to Dubai, I’ll keep it in mind!
Pamela, it is such a great non-touristy spot. You will adore it!
Now Chinese Malaysian is a combination I have not had. I love seeing how the same basic Chinese foodways adapt around the world to local customs and food. (For instance, New York Chinese is not generally halal – lots of pork and shellfish – but of course it is in Malaysia and Dubai!)
Yes every country has a different take. I am not certain of shellfish not being halal, it is widely eating by many muslins in the UAE. I know it isn’t kosher.
All of these looks so good. I have to try couple of these for sure. Thanks for sharing!
You absolutely must Geeta!
The restaurant I would love to live at! It has so many delicious recipes that I am dreaming now to visit it at least once. And the post is great!
April, thanks for stopping by. The menu is extensive and you would never get bored! Honestly amazing!
Now I can’t wait to buy an airplane ticket to get to that restaurant. What a delightful place to visit – so delicious so yummy!
Dubai is such a great spot for a culinary trip. All of the UAE. Honestly great food. If you ever go, I would be happy to create a food tour for you.
Oh my! I totally miss this one when I was in Dubai last week. Love peranakan food and that broth sounds so flavorful.
Oh Linda, now you have reason to return! Let me know when and I can share all my favourite spots.
That looks and sounds like a great restaurant! I love Asian food but sadly here in Italy it’s hard to find good Asian restaurants! I guess because Italian food is so good the Italians don’t want to eat anything else!
Yes, Italians definitely love their own food and for very good reason, but whenever you fancy a bit of a trip, and head to Dubai, you will find many different world cuisines readily available.
I’m a huge dim sum fan, and everything here looks amazing! I’d love to try this place one of these days.
Best place for dim sum outside of Jensui at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai for sure!
All of these dishes look phenomenal. Lots of different foods to try from too, I love the variety.
Thanks Sharon. I had more pics to post too but didn’t want to get too carried away lol.
This place sounds amazing! Maybe one day I will get to Dubai! Your photos are stunning too by the way x
Thanks Michelle for commending my photos. I really appreciate the support.
Now this is just right up my alley! So much goodness I can’t even imagine! Yum!
Ah wish I knew about this restaurant before as we just come back from Dubai, sounds such a good restaurant for a foodie like me!
Oops, I am so sorry about that! I have lots of great dining spots in the UAE featured on this blog id you ever return or if others you know are going.
The food looks fantastic! I hope to one day make it to Dubai. Will have this on my list to try when I do.
Thanks Jory!
I would love to visit Dubai and try out this restaurant, thanks for sharing!
One of the things I love most about the privilege of living the Dubai was the ability to really explore other cuisines. I hope you get to visit!
Ohhhhh my gosh this looks insane. I want to devour all of that! Dubai is on my bucket list and I will definitely stop here if I get there!
I really hope you make it someday!
200 dishes?? I would be way too overwhelmed to order anything from that menu!!
Pity that’s all you got from the post though. And Asian restaurants usually carry large menus.
This looks like a very detailed review of it. Just the pics make me drool over. Will check this in our next trip.
This looks like such a delicious experience! Those dumplings in particular look amazing!
Truly appreciate the way you made this wonderful recipe. Everything is so nicely described that really helped me. I am looking forward for more such recipes in future too.