Being a bachelor in Jeddah can be difficult at times when it comes to dining, particularly so on the weekends, when many restaurants these days decide to close the doors to single men, and convert all areas to families only. Hoping to review the new restaurant White, we were unfortunately denied entry on Wednesday evening and were left with no other choice but to find somewhere else to dine.

With nothing immediately in the vicinity of the Sari Street restaurant (unless you consider doughnuts at Krispy Kreme dinner!) We set out toward Rawdah Street and soon found ourselves approaching the Rawdah Star complex, home to popular shisha haven Bert’s café. Driving around the square we noticed Durrat China nestled in the corner.

Walking through the doors our first questions were: “Do you have a bachelor section?” and “Is it open tonight for us?”

Fortunately the answer to both was “yes”, and our smiling waiter guided us into the spacious-but-empty room where we then sat at an unnecessarily large table for a party of three; nothing smaller was available. 

The décor is nothing short of impressive. Elaborate chandeliers hang from the ceiling with a particularly impressive Chinese silk lantern near the entrance of the restaurant. The tables were immaculately set, crimson napkins folded like bishop’s hats, black leather seating, marble floors and Chinese art prints gracing the walls. The family section was set just across the room from us, and appeared to have private rooms with curtained partitions — a nice touch. The restaurant earns top marks for design.

We ordered a selection of items from the extensive menu. My two dining companions ordered two different soups: hot and sour, and wonton.

Our appetizer was a basket of six steamed prawns and vegetable dumplings, which were served with a selection of surprisingly good sauces in small dishes.

We then ordered a selection of mains to share, which was easy using the Lazy Susan at the center of the table. We tried the Chinese sesame chicken, a prawn-and-pineapple dish, noodles, mixed fried rice and a chili beef dish.

It’s worth noting we asked if the chef could make up some pineapple fried rice (something we had tried in the US), but he replied that this would be impossible; this was a little unusual as all the ingredients were clearly available.

As for the food, portions were large enough to share and overall I would say it was an average experience. The chili beef was a nice mix of fried beef and narrow slices of vegetables. This was probably the best of the bunch. The sesame chicken was also good, but lacking in the sesame flavor.

Watching my weight I skipped the noodles and only sampled a small amount of the rice, but from what I tried this was OK, taste wise, but certainly not Chinese rice. (It seemed to be basmati rice.)

The prawns and pineapple were the least impressive of the bunch, fairly bland, the batter coating tasteless, and could have certainly used salt.

Service was always with a smile and the waiter was attentive and courteous at first, but a little slow toward the end when it came to clearing our plates. To drink we rounded things off with some Jasmine tea, which was served in authentic-looking mugs; a nice touch.

The total came to about SR300, which was not bad considering the type of restaurant and the amount of food we were served.

The dishes were a bit hit and miss, so your evening could really pan out according to what you order.

That being said, the décor is elegant, and would be ideal for a business meeting or even family lunch. So if you’re looking for an affordable Chinese restaurant, Durrat China is definitely one to try — go for the dumplings, we weren’t disappointed!