Cantonese cuisine goodness at Dakeyi

For the love of shomai and wanton noodle soup, I have discovered different Chinese restaurants on island. And there are a great number of them here. They are everywhere but there is one particular restaurant that I came to like a lot. This small Chinese restaurant called Dakeyi Canton Kitchen located at the heart of downtown Garapan, serves the best shomai on island. Its shomai is just perfectly steamed. It’s not hard. It’s not soft. It’s not disintegrating. I don’t know if it really matters. My friends say the secret actually lies in the shomai sauce—the combination of soy sauce, chili, and fresh lemon juice. Whatever it is, I just know that the restaurant’s shomai tastes really great.

Dakeyi

Dakeyi, according to restaurant manager, Qin, means “we serve all kinds of food.”

Indeed, this eatery serves more than just shomai and wanton noodle soup.

They serve the best of Canton cuisine, which refers to the Chinese food from south China—the areas of Guangdong or Guang Zhou and Hong Kong.

It is no wonder why even hotel executives, who know Canton dishes, frequent the restaurant and feast on big servings of their favorite food.

Dakeyi serves popular Cantonese dishes such as steamed whole fish, crispy-skinned chicken, spicy shrimp, steamed or fried crabs, and many other delectable items which when ordered in other restaurants are normally expensive.

Dakeyi makes them available at much affordable prices.

Canton is an old port city that is now known as Guang Zhou where dim sum, Chinese meal of small tidbits of food, originated.

Freshness is a top consideration to the Cantonese so they usually put live fish and seafood in tanks before they are prepared for cooking.

Dakeyi restarant in Garapan has two tanks within the dining area, which holds live fish, crabs, and lobsters.

One-of-a-kind chef

According to food experts, what actually makes Dakeyi Canton Kitchen’s popular—aside from its very affordable prices—is the fact that it has a very good chef.

Chef Pao or Paul possesses an incredible talent in cooking such that when he left a similar restaurant last year, it was quickly noticed by customers.

Most of these customers are now regular guests at Dakeyi.

Chef Pao rarely talks with customers unless they are fellow Chinese who can easily converse with him.

When he is on break, he would sit down with other staff in the dining area or on a bench right outside the restaurant, nodding at each customer who enters the eating place.

Chef Pao has been on island for many years now.

Low price, good service, great food

One undeniable attraction of this restaurant is its low price of $3 each meal—not all meals though—even though it is situated along with expensive restaurants and hotels in Garapan commercial district.

In terms of cleanliness, a big factor in choosing a dining place, Dakeyi looks tidier compared with other rival Chinese restaurants on island.

The staff is conscious about keeping the restaurant clean.

Further, Dakeyi servers are attentive to guests.

They get customers’ orders as soon as they get seated. They normally serve a pot of hot tea while customers wait for their orders, which take for a few minutes, a reasonable wait, I would say.

If the staff is busy, meaning they are serving more than one or two tables, and if orders take a little longer, they just need to be gently reminded. They would bring the orders in no time.

Almost all the food items at Dakeyi are great-tasting. Chef Pao’s team makes the best deep fried chicken, crispy fried pig intestines, spicy hot chicken.

The restaurant serves a pork hocks dish, which according to Qin, is best for women who have just given birth.

“It makes them strong,” she said.

She said it is a special cuisine, which has five different spices.

Dakeyi also serves two kinds of fried rice—Yang Chao, which refers to the dry fried rice with bits of meats and vegetables, and Fujian, a fried rice soaked in tasty sauce with meat and vegetables.

My latest favorite in the restaurant are the flavorsome spare ribs meal and braised beef meal.

Both dishes are served with rice and sautéed fresh green vegetables on the side.

There are definitely more delectable dishes to discover at Dakeyi. All it takes probably is the patience to know what’s really in the menu, which is quite hard to grasp since it is a rough translation from Chinese.

Qin’s suggestion: “Just ask us. We will explain it to you.”

Qin waits on customers together with staff Min who has good conversational English.

Dakeyi does not serve desserts but it makes an extra effort to please diners after meals. It serves slices of freshly cut oranges.

Likewise, its staff would refill the teapot without end throughout the mealtime.

Lunch time

Dakeyi, which to used to operate from 4pm to 4am. just recently opened for lunch from 11am to 2pm.

This gives the restaurant another edge over other Chinese restaurants, which are normally closed during lunchtime.

“Plenty of people ask if we are open for lunch. They say it’s cheapest to eat here,” said Qin.

As an additional service, Dakeyi installed just last week a credit card machine to accommodate customers who prefer to use their visa or master cards.

The restaurant also delivers within the Garapan and China Town areas.

Dakeyi Canton Kitchen is located beside the Payless Shoe Store building on Beach Road, Garapan. It can be reached at 233-4825. (Liberty Dones)