Pan-Asian Dining at Cheeky Chan (Four Points Sharjah)

I’m missing the gloomy grey weather already. Last week was surely the last of the UAE winter, and we made good use of it over the weekend by treating ourselves to a soulfully good pan-Asian dinner. We headed to the newest hotel establishment in Sharjah. Yes, Four Points by Sheraton now has a branch in the heart of Sharjah, right off the busy, bustling King Faisal Road.

We were here to try out the recently launched pan-Asian restaurant Cheeky Chan. Don’t you just love the cheeky name?!

At first glance, the interiors look like a typical Chinese bistro-style restaurant, complete with red good-luck lanterns and comfy sofa-style seating dotted across its expansive space.

The menu is concise yet packed with pan-Asian favorites from across the Far East. I was particularly excited to see quite a few Malay dishes here as we rarely see them featured on menus across the UAE.

I started my meal with a hot, soulful bowl of traditional Malaysian Laksa soup. The flavor combinations were bang on, although I would have liked a little more of the chili punch. The staff gave me a generous bowl of hot chili paste to suit my taste.

My daughter is a die-hard Thai Tom Yum soup fan. Her soup was beautifully fragranced and had the perfect balance of hot, sour and sweet.

Moving on to something more mainstream Chinese, we ordered a mix of interesting Dim Sums. We had the Seafood Siew Mai, the Chicken Siew Mai and the pan-fried Duck Gyoza topped with burnt garlic. Hard to choose a favorite here, but I’d have to narrow it down to the Chicken Siew Mai. Loved the steamed bun which had a slight sweetness to it.

For the main course, we ordered a bowl of the Singaporean Noodles. It is such a colorful, healthful stir-fry of vegetables, noodles and plump juicy prawns.

I also ordered the ever-popular Beef Randang. This semi-dry beef curry cooked in coconut milk is one of my favorite Malay dishes. At Cheeky Chan, the randang was a little too sweet for my liking. I will ask for more chili the next time I’m ordering this.

Ending on a sweet note and adding to the variety of Asian cuisines covered in one night, we ordered several Japanese Mochis. Loved the zesty Yuzu Mochi, but our favorite was the Mango Mochi which tasted like a very ripe, sweet frozen mango.

Overall, we loved the experience at Cheeky Chan. Chef Ricardo has managed to do justice to all the dishes we tried, each from a very different culinary heritage. Best of all, the prices here are very reasonable.