Gulou Hotpot has taken over from Xiao Wei Yang (Little Lamb) International Restaurant in Barsha. Located near Emirates Post on Seedaf 1, the interior of Gulou is almost unchanged from the previous restaurant; not a lot needs to change when you’re serving hotpot – it’s clean, smart and respectable. What put this new restaurant on our radar (my son’s actually) was its amazing AED49 all-you-can-eat promo. He and his mates are firm regulars. So, one afternoon he convinced us, the rest of his family, to join him.
I originally thought the offer was a marketing gimmick where you get everything but the expensive proteins as part of the package – not so. Almost everything is included. I was very impressed with the quality of the raw materials too. For me, the success and failure of a hotpot starts and ends with the broth they serve, and Gulou’s is very good – rich and flavoursome without being overpowering. The second most important part of a hotpot for me is the variety and quality of the sauce/dip making condiments, and here too Gulou’s does well. And lastly, I’ve covered how good I felt the proteins (including seafood) and veggies were; the same goes for the noodles.
Service is friendly and, thankfully, all English-speaking. As I’ve mentioned, my son is a regular there and therefore got a lot of attention. But, watching the servers interact with the other tables, I could see that they treated everyone with the same friendly, accommodating manner. I briefly met the owner, who looks like a Chinese Kojak, and found where the team get their friendliness from.
There are a number of good hotpot restaurants outside International City these days. Gulou is certainly one of them and well worth a visit.
Hey! Now read this –
Xerxes physically dines at, or orders from,
each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his
companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts
no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews or favouritism.
What you have read was NOT influenced in any way by the venue. Join me on
Instagram @ravenousxerxes
or email
me on xerxes@dellara.com.