Avery W.
Yelp
I visited Dragon-I for a weekend lunch, seeing as one of us doesn't drink, we opted for the a-la-carte menu. On first impressions this place makes an attempt at a post-modern East meets West design, attempting to I corporate traditional Chinese elements in their floral arrangements, wall paneling and lantern-style lights, and then they try to incorporate that with archetypal night club interior design-a large dimly lit bar, black concrete floors, lack booth seats, dark oak tables and bare concrete ceilings. I wish I could say that it's gives a pleasant dining experience, but it really isn't. Overall, the interior design seems disruptive as The presence of the DJ Booth literally makes me feel like im eating on the dance floor. They have a beautiful bar, and the outdoor area looks like a great place for dining, but they might want to give their indoor dining area a little more attention- I'm genuinely not feeling it.
I've had the deep fried crab claws, which don't look particularly impressive, but to my surprise the crab and shrimp was very fresh, and even had a slight sweetness to it. The xiaolongbao were soft, thin skinned and very soupy, the pork filling itself was very tender, the shrimp was very fresh, and had a pleasant crunch to it. The chicken with fish maw was also great, the chicken was tender and juicy, the fish maw practically melted in my mouth. The pork spare ribs are also tender and well seasoned, I can really taste the black beans in the pork. The turnip cake was thick, and frankly a little too heavy on the flour, I think it could do with a little more turnip. That being said, it does have a good balance between turnip cake and the additional fillings of dried meats and seafood. The white pepper was a nice touch. The char siu bao (BBQ Pork bun) is great- the bun itself is very light and they don't overfill the bun, so it's well balanced. The vegetarian dumplings are filled with a type of gourd- it's really crunchy and again offers a very subtle sweetness. The char siu flour rolls were alright. I'd prefer to have more succulent char siu, but at least it was fragrant. The filo pastry on the outside was nice in that it had a slight elasticity.
Overall, this place has good food. They know it and charge you a premium for it. Oddly enough, it seems the kitchen team missed the memo since the presentation on pretty much every dish they served except the dumplings looked a bit off. If I was wealthier, I might even come back again.