With its doors due to open in time for the Chinese New Year, Liz O’Reilly headed to The Gulf Hotel Bahrain Convention & Spa for a sneak peek at the chicly updated China Garden.

Shuttered since the early days of the pandemic and sharing a kitchen with its neighbour, China Garden is keen to show off its new look and a menu that promises long-time favourites as well as some new innovations from Chef Ding.

The interiors are much lighter and brighter than before, while still incorporating those quintessential Chinese touches that make this such a treasured eatery. And the smiling greeting from outlet manager, Joanne, is every bit as welcoming and warm as the food. We headed to our table and, almost immediately, our starters began to arrive. Crispy baby corn is a signature dish, with good reason. Piping hot pieces of the sweet baby vegetable coated in a mix of Szechuan sauce and chillis, for an additional kick, then topped with roasted sesame seeds. Whether you’re a fan of corn or not, you really should try this. It’s the perfect marriage of sweet, crunchy vegetable with a sauce that’s just the right side of fiery and if, like me, you cannot resist those tiny seeds that add a nutty, almost salty, tang, you’re in for a treat.

Golden fried battered prawns came next and both size and taste were equally impressive. The crisp golden shell invites you to tuck in and, once you do, the crispy, fresh batter yields to reveal the sweet, firm tender flesh within. A combination that initially melts on the tongue leading to a satisfying bite. So good I took a portion home!

Next, we were presented with one of the Valentine’s special dishes – a small, heart-shaped chicken escalope, the thinly sliced chicken so tender and juicy, it’s the perfect food for lovers. The last of the starters was mixed dim sum. This is a dish where I always have to limit myself. I simply adore dumplings, whether they be the traditional Irish ones, the Eastern European ones, or the Chinese version. I just can’t resist that deliciously doughy, supremely comforting texture. So, having a selection all to myself, well, you can imagine my joy. The fillings were chicken, beef, vegetable and, my favourite, the prawn. Knowing the mains were still to come, I took a bite of each, but I could not resist demolishing the prawn one, the mixture of the fluffy outer and tasty inner with a perfect mix of mild herb and spice flavours… the temptation was just too strong.

We moved on to the mains and another of my favourites soon made an appearance. Crispy beef with sesame seeds, peppers and chilli sauce is a staple in just about every Chinese restaurant you will ever visit. But what sets China Garden above so many others is the quality of the meat used. Since the beef is cut into thin strips, it has to be of excellent quality to avoid being overwhelmed by the other ingredients. That did not happen here and, honestly, I couldn’t stop nibbling at it long after my dining companions had moved on.

What followed was, for me, one of the most surprising and also best dishes of the day. I have only come across Sczechuan lobster in a stir-fry before, so the presentation of the whole lobster was a really impressive sight. However, I am not usually a big fan and would probably have left it alone had not my dining companion insisted I try just a small bit. Oh my, what a good decision. The delicate flesh was so creamy and flavourful with the secret mix of Chef Ding’s spices, that I kept going back for more. Thank you, China Garden, for the education on just how good lobster can actually be.

And, last but definitely not least, came Chef Ding’s special duck, served by the man himself at our table. China Garden does offer the standard Cantonese-style sliced duck but the chef has his own special way of cooking and serving the bird and, trust me, you don’t want to miss it.

This duck is marinated for several hours with salt, pepper, five spice and some ‘secret’ ingredients; then it’s boiled in water, honey and white vinegar, then it’s washed twice and left to stand for eight hours before it ever sees the oven. The result is meat so tender that the chef simply pulls it apart with his fingers, rather than slicing it. And it truly just melts on the tongue giving your taste buds a little ‘ah’ moment as if to say, ‘this is what we’ve been waiting for’.

With all of the above, it should come as no surprise that there was literally no room for dessert but I’ll surely be going back to see the new and improved China Garden fully in action. ✤

GO: CALL 1774 6423 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A RESERVATION.