Restaurant that lives up to name’s expectations
The Dragon
If you are going to call your restaurant The Dragon then your customers will expect something special. If it was called the sparrow, or the mouse, well what can you say: small, brown, common and timid: nothing special there. But The Dragon, a great fire breathing mythological beast, surely something extraordinary.
The establishment is Chinese. I was there three years ago and was unimpressed with the food, service, and price.
It is Thursday; the parking is easy, the night is warmish and the staff are solicitous; ‘it’s better outside,’ they said and they were right. The outside is approached by way of a willow patterned bridge and offers shade, vegetation and discreetly placed tables that provide ample space. Neatly furnished tables, comfortable chairs and a good view of the other diners – normally my companion insists I face the wall so that I am not distracted by the other customers but tonight she relents.
The menu is extensive for a Chinese restaurant and has a nice balance of soups, appetizers, vegetarian, meat and poultry dishes and lots of sizzlers, which I love to see, along with the ubiquitous prawns. The companion is encouraged to try the Hot Sour Chilli Soup, which is one of my favourites, although quite simple in preparation, many establishments fail to get the balance right. They also offer a strange combination of Chicken or Crabmeat and Shark’s Fin Soup, which tempts me, but as I disapprove of the barbaric practice of finning, that accounts for over 30 million sharks annually, we give it a miss. One soup will be enough. I look into the appetizers section and am surprised to discover that the first entry is the famous Crispy Aromatic Duck, weighing in at a quarter, half or whole; some starter. But among the kebabs, rolls, wings and ribs I spot the ‘combination’; this is for me. It comprises spring-rolls, mashed prawns on sesame toast, spare-ribs, wings and seaweed. I try the companion’s soup, very nice, allow her a nibble of my starter dish, which is actually for two, but I didn’t tell her. The perfect accompaniment to Chinese food is tea, and I order lots of it.
The companion is having the Crispy Aromatic Duck, which is the star treat of most Chinese establishments. This dish is not as old as most people believe, it does not come from the great tradition of Imperial cooking but was actually produced by the diaspora that settled in the UK in the mid-twentieth century. The absolute sine-qua-non of this dish is the presence of the five spices: sweet, sour, bitter, savoury and salty. This should involve cinnamon, star anise, anise seeds, ginger and crushed cloves.
After consuming my generous plate of combinations, I decided I’d try the Szechuan Spicy Prawns and have a bowl of beefy noodles to help them go down; absolutely spot on. However, when the companion’s duck arrived I was made aware by the all knowing one that the pancakes were not as she liked them, ‘a little more steaming please’. No problem, the highly attentive smiling waiter anticipated her disapproval and immediately whisked them away and replaced them in a micro-second; apart from the pancakes, everything was fine. We finished with a lemon sorbet that hit the spot.
All things considered it was a very jolly evening and well worth another visit; food, staff and service did not disappoint. The management obviously approved of my predilection for tea as they failed to charge me.
The restaurant is open every evening and in winter serves lunches. It does a take-away service at slightly reduced cost and can accommodate about 180. The majority of the staff are Chinese, which includes the five chefs in the kitchen, which is always a comfort.
VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALITY Chinese food
WHERE 1, Stassinou Street, Engomi, Nicosia
CONTACT 22 591733
PRICE Very reasonable
