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When I was a kid, my dad and I had a tradition of going to the one fancy Chinese restaurant in town and sitting at the bar playing “I Spy With My Little Eye” while waiting for our takeaway food. I’ve never found another Asian restaurant quite like that – until I walked through the doors of Dawn Restaurant in Cape Town’s trendy De Waterkant.

Now, Dawn is not like any other Chinese restaurant you may have come across in the Mother City. That’s why it’s called “dawn”. It’s the birth of something new – a new tradition of Chinese dining that I certainly hope takes on and sticks around for a while.

Chinese restaurants in Cape Town have long had the reputation of being grungy little spots with fabulous food. Dawn is there to change all of that (the grungy bit).

The interior design of the space is exquisite, with most design elements imported straight from China for a truly authentic feel. First-time restaurateurs (and husband-and-wife team) Ronnie and Giselle wanted to take a slice of their home and bring it to South Africa.

entrance to dawn asian restaurant in cape town south africa

You’ll meet the iconic Koi at Dawn’s main entrance on Jarvis Street.


interior design at dawn restaurant in de waterkant

Many of the design elements have been imported straight from China for a truly authentic feel.

If you’re craving a delicious bowl of sweet-and-sour pork for a fabulous price, you’re out of luck. Nothing wrong with a yummy sweet-and-sour (always my first choice on a menu), but Dawn has something else in mind – good, authentic food served in tapas-style portions that are perfect for sharing.

So, where do we start?

Dawn Asian Restaurant Menu & Prices

Before we head into the full review, let’s briefly consider the menu and prices overall.

Dawn has a varied menu with dozens of familiar favourites and an equal amount of bizarre dishes that are just unusual enough to pique my interest, but not too far on the weird scale to disinterest Western diners. There’s definitely something for everyone.

Price-wise, they’re positioned slightly higher than what you’d expect from an Asian restaurant, but it’s on par with their overall feel and what they’re positioning themselves as – a more fine-dining, tapas-style restaurant.

The I Love Foodies Review Of Dawn Asian Restaurant

Dim Sum & Starters

Personally, I’m always a massive fan of starters, and these often end up being my favourites whenever I eat out.

The menu at Dawn Restaurant is divided a little differently than what you may be used to (for now – subject to change), and you’ll find sections denoting “Dim Sum” and “Something To Start” – which I basically interpret as the chance to have starters twice. That’s a win for me.

We ordered a bunch of dim sum and starters to share, relying on some of Ronnie’s excellent suggestions of absolute must-try dishes. So, to start, we had the following:

  • Steamed Shumai Pork Dumplings (R98)
  • Pork & Chinese Cabbage Pot Stickers (R88)
  • Steamed Oysters: Fresh oysters steamed with silky glass noodles, mixed with garlic and fresh chilli (R58 per oyster)
  • Cantonese Crispy Pork Belly: Pork belly glazed with red tofu paste, hoisin sauce, and Dawn’s Signature Spices (R118)
  • Dawn Secret Spiced Chicken Wings: Deep-fried chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice mixed with Chinese bacon, sausage, and mushroom (R128)

The dumplings and pot stickers were absolute winners – the pot stickers were a little oily but both dishes were full of flavour and insanely delicious. If you just have those, you’ll have a fabulous meal.

dim sum and pot stickers at dawn restaurant

Pork & cabbage pot stickers (left) & pork dumplings (right).

But the rest is what made Dawn really stand out. Firstly, the presentation of all the dishes was sublime. The pork belly was served in a cloud of dry ice, which, yes, is no longer a novelty, but I still always really enjoy the show. And everything else was beautifully plated, too.

The steamed oysters and stuffed chicken wings are not dishes I would have chosen, but Ronnie spoke so highly of these that I simply had to give them a try.

I love oysters – raw, with a little drizzle of lemon. But steamed oysters? Now, this was new to me. And what an amazing dish. You’ll still get the full oyster flavour (which I wasn’t really expecting) with a little chilli kick. I’d definitely order these again.

pork belly with dry ice at dawn restaurant

The Cantonese-style pork belly is served in a cloud of dry ice.


pork belly and steamed oysters at dawn restaurant

Pork belly (left) and steamed oysters (right).

The real winner for me, though, was the stuffed chicken wing dish.

The what now? Exactly. Ronnie tried his best to explain the dish to me, but it just didn’t make any sense – how would you stuff a chicken wing? And any description I were to offer simply won’t make sense to you either, which is why I urge everyone with an open mind to simply give this dish a try – even if it won’t be your favourite, you certainly won’t regret having tried it.

I certainly really liked it. The sticky rice mixture was divine, and the deep fried nature of the dish gave it that extra delicious crunch. I don’t usually like deep fried food, but this one really worked for me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever had before, and I’d definitely go back and have this again.

sticky stuffed chicken wings at dawn restaurant in cape town

The stuffed chicken wings were divine.

Main Dishes & Chef’s Recommendations

The starters were so exquisite that choosing mains was pretty difficult. There are many weirdly amazing items to choose from, like a Jellyfish Chicken Salad (yes, with actual jellyfish) and the traditional Peking Duck (which I did actually try a small slice of on a different occasion, and it was truly delicious).

We ended up having the following:

  • Tofu Paste Garlic Pork Ribs: Deep-fried pork ribs marinated with tofu paste and garlic (R178)
  • Egg-Fried Rice (R50)
  • Stir-Fried Rice Noodles With Beef Fillet (R148)

These portions were slightly larger, and you can easily choose one for yourself or order a couple to share.

dawn restaurant egg-fried rice

The best egg-fried rice I’ve ever had.

I’ll say straight-up that the egg-fried rice is probably the most delicious egg-fried rice dish I have ever had. It’s served beautifully plated as well, which always helps, and the flavour was insane. I could easily visit the restaurant and just have this.

The pork ribs were also beautiful – very yummy, super crispy – and we’d have these again in a heartbeat. The stir-fried noodles were also delicious but just a tad too oily for my liking, and I probably wouldn’t order these the next time.

dawn restaurant tofu paste garlic pork ribs

The deep-fried pork ribs were a firm favourite.


dawn restaurant stir-fried rice noodles with beef

The stir-fried rice noodle dish was a tad too oily but still full of flavour.

If I had to give one criticism of the restaurant, it would be that I found some of the dishes just a little too oily. This is completely okay when we’re talking about deep-fried chicken wings and deep-fried pork ribs, but it would have been nice to have a little less oil in dishes like the pot stickers and stir-fried rice noodles. It’s likely to be a personal preference, but it’s just something to be aware of when you visit.

And, yes, you definitely should go visit. Every dish we had was divine, and we’d go back to have it all again. The ambience is also stunning, and it’s a great place for a romantic date or a dinner out with friends. The service still needs a little improvement, but that’s to be expected with new openings, and we have no doubt Dawn will be running hiccup-free in no time.

It’s a restaurant worth visiting again and again, and one that certainly gets the I Love Foodies stamp of approval. We can’t wait to see them go from strength to strength.

Dawn Asian Restaurant Contact Details

While Dawn is a large restaurant that only recently opened, we’d still highly recommend making a reservation. They also accommodate private parties.

You’ll find all the details below.

The Dawn Restaurant

Address: Cape Quarter, De Waterkant, Cape Town

Opening Times: Monday – Thursday (11:00 – 22:00), Friday & Saturday (11:00 – 22:30)

Website: www.dawnrestaurant.co.za

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Call: +27 69 615 9537

Email: contact@dawnrestaurant.co.za

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Written by Benike Palfi
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Article Date: March 2024

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