If you like Thai food and live in new Dubai, it’s hard not to have heard of Sticky Rice, the family owned (and operated) Thai restaurant everyone seems to love. My review of their original outlet in Jumeirah Village was far less flattering than it should have been due to a kitchen extractor fan defect which filled the small restaurant with smoke on the day my wife and I visited. That said, the food on that specific day and every time we ordered-in since has always been excellent. So, I made it a point to visit this new outlet of theirs at the revamped Food District at Nakheel’s The Pointe on Palm Jumeirah with the hope of making amends. Before I go on though, I must congratulate the Depachika team for turning around the defunct Food District the way they have.
Sticky Rice is one of several homegrown brands which bring the new Food District to life. It’s almost hidden behind the Reif Japanese Kushiyaki island but still easy enough to find because it’s possibly the most popular of the outsets there. Find the crowd and it’ll either be Bramble, the bar (yeay!) or Sticky Rice. In typical food court fashion, you order your food at the counter and are given a buzzer to let you know when it’s ready. Click on the following URL for all the outlets and menus of Food District, including Stick Rice: https://qr1.be/XAH9.
Although there were only three of us, I got carried away (as I always do with Thai food) and ordered too much:
1. Popia Tohd – Vegetable Spring Rolls with Glass Noodles
2. Kai Yang – Thai Grilled Chicken Skewers
3. Som Tum Thai – Green Papaya Salad
4. Pad Thai with Chicken
5. Kaeng Khiao Wan – Green Curry (also) with Chicken
6. Pad Talay Prik Pow – Thai Sweet and Spicy Stir-Fried Seafood
7. Khao Neeo Mamuang – Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango
Kai Yang – Thai Grilled Chicken Skewers 
Popia Tohd – Vegetable Spring Rolls with Glass Noodles 
Pad Thai with Chicken 
Som Tum Thai – Green Papaya Salad 
Kaeng Khiao Wan – Green Curry (also) with Chicken 
Khao Neeo Mamuang – Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango
The Pad Talay Prik Pow turned out to be the pièce de résistance of our meal. I found it to be remarkably similar to a Filipino seafood boodle feast. At AED179 it is the most expensive item on the menu, but when you consider that it will easily feed 2 – 3 people, it actually is great value for money. If you like seafood, you will simply love this dish. Sticky Rice does not stint on the quality or quantity of the ingredients in this dish, there’s plenty of crab and prawns and other seafood. The fun part is that it requires you to get stuck in with your hands (of course gloves are provided but no shell cracker or fork – hmm).
Also commendable were the brilliant spring rolls and the excellent green curry. I did not like grilled chicken skewers, finding them under seasoned and still smelling of raw chicken. At the rate they were flying off the grill, I am sure mine was a one-off. The mango sticky rice on the other hand was let down by a very bland, tasteless mango (obviously not Thai). I feel indifferent about the Pad Thai which tasted like one of those quick and easy recipes you find online which uses sriracha rather than tamarind, but I’m nit-picking here. The food was delicious.
All in all, our meal at this new Stick Rice outlet was a huge hit with my aunt and cousin. I enjoyed it tremendously too especially the Thai Sweet and Spicy Stir-Fried Seafood and the fact that I could enjoy my meal with an ice-cold pint of beer and a beautiful waterfront view.
#1 Food Blogger on Zomato Dubai – 2018, 2019 and 2020
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 his culinary journey on Instagram: @ravenousxerxes or reach out to him via email on xerxes@dellara.com.