Dragon-i @ Sunway Velocity

Dragon-i @ Sunway Velocity was the venue picked by my sister-in-law for a luncheon with extended family and close friends (of a family member) though it wasn't a gathering of a celebratory nature....but decided to post/share it nonetheless since the food turned out far better than I expected.

I've been to Dragon-i before but that was from a long time ago...and my memories about their food is that they're pretty similar to Din Tai Fung with some common sought-after specialities like siu long bao, chilled drunken chicken, pork chop fried rice, la mian and stir-fried green beans.  I was tasked with ordering (there were 17 of us split into two tables) and noted that there were a lot more new food items on the menu since I last dined there.

We begin with a dish of Sauteed Hot & Sour Shredded Potato @ RM20.80 that showcased thinly shredded fresh potatoes stir-fried with very thin slivers of green and red bell peppers and dried chillies.  It had a nice refreshing crunch with a slightly tart flavour.  Great as an appetiser to start your meal off and get your tastebuds raring for the dishes to come.

Always a safe dish to order is the Sweet & Sour Pork @ RM30.80 that appeals to everyone, well-liked by both the young and old.  It's a dish that transcends generations.  I've not come across anyone who doesn't like sweet and sour pork, have you? ;D

This rendition had crisp nuggets of pork tossed in a well balanced, not too wet, sweet and sour sauce with chunks of fresh pineapples, crunchy green bell peppers, softened tomatoes and onions that have all been cooked to the right texture.

I went with an order of Sauteed Diced Chicken with Dried Flower Chili in Szechuan Style @ RM38 (which is one of their signature dishes) instead of the usually ordered dish of sauteed diced chicken & cashew nut in Szechuan style as I felt it'd be something different from their highly popular dish.

It was the right call.  The cubes of chicken were fried till it had a very nice crunch on the outside while still tender to the bite.  It was then stir-fried with 3 types of chilli peppers of Szechuan peppers, dried chillies and cone chilli pepper as stated in the menu (though they all seemed like just dry chillies to me...lol).  It was fragrant with a good dose of spiciness (but do watch out that you don't bite into one of those chilli peppers like an uncle unfortunately did)...yikes! >.<

I chosed the Stewed Sliced Fish with Preserved Vegetables in Szechuan Style @ RM43.80 (another of their signature dishes) to fulfill the fish component of the meal.  The photo in their menu is able to showcase the dish in a much better light.  

The actual dish arrived filled with soup to the brim that you can't even see the fish slices.  The fresh and flaky fish slices were cooked with preserved vegetables, straw mushrooms and red chillies.  Not sure what fish was used...the texture felt like it was sang yue (snakehead/haruan) or toman (giant snakehead) but it could also be any type of firm, flaky, white fish like grass carp or grouper.

The broth had this tangy and very appetising note to it that I loved.  It'll open up your appetite for more and I found myself going for a second bowl of soup coz it was so good.  The preserved vegetables looked like the suan cai fish dish that phonghong (used to) bake mentioned the other day at Fish With You.  Not 100% sure if this suan cai is the same as our haam choy (salted vegetables/ pickled mustard greens) here but it tastes similar (except this one is more leafy).

A second pork dish of Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables @ RM43.80 was ordered at the request of one of the diners (an uncle).  I didn't taste the pork belly (coz I don't like fatty meat but it looked tender enough).  The preserved vegetables of mui choy was soft and well infused with the flavours of the broth but would have liked to see the sauce a little thicker (and stickier) to hang onto the meat better.

The Stewed Spinach Beancurd with Wild Mushrooms in Abalone Sauce @ RM33.80 (yet another of their signature dishes) was a dish of braised assorted mushrooms (there were shiitake, eryngii, shimeji, button & wood ear mushrooms) with fried spinach tofu, broccoli and carrots.

Although the dish was decent in taste, it was disappointing in the sense that I was expecting to see the special/different spinach beancurd but what came didn't quite look like ones shown in the menu.   I think they used normal fried silken tofu but can't be sure since I didn't get to eat any (there were very few pieces of it as you can see).

A highly popular and commonly ordered dish here is the Stir-Fried Bentong String Beans with Minced Pork @ RM28 (sorry for the not-so-ideal photo).  My gold standard for this dish has always been the one at Esquire Kitchen when I first ate it (they probably should be credited for bringing this dish to fame...hehe).  Glad to report that the one here is just as good.

Next was another soupy dish of Amaranth with Century Egg & Salted Egg in Superior Soup @ RM28.80 (also one of  their signature dishes), a two-in-one dish (of vegetable and soup) that's always welcomed.

It's a soup that warms the soul but (unfortunately) after an earlier much more tantalising soup (with fish slices), this one will obviously come up a little short.  Again, it looked nothing like the photo in the menu.  I think they served it with too much soup (too diluted) and not enough salted egg yolk.

Rounding up our meal was the final dish of Deep-Fried Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk @ RM22.80 which had thick strips of deep-fried pumpkin and there were a good 15 slices (based on the way it was stacked up like a pyramid).  It was a perfect amalgamation of sweet and savoury flavours....sweetness of the golden pumpkin with the savoury, crisp salted egg coating that was moreishly fragrant.  It was so good that an aunt asked for a second piece immediately when I was serving/distributing the golden goodness to our guests.  I've to agree with her as this was the best dish of the day for me. ^o^

My Personal Opinion

It has been a long time since I last dined here remembering that I weren't that impressed with their rice and noodle dishes before (preferring similar dishes at Din Tai Fung instead then) but am pleasantly surprised (and impressed) by the taste of what they offer now.  I guess with over 20 outlets nationwide (both Dragon-i and Canton-i) over the years, they must be doing something right.

Many restaurants standard (and taste) of food tend to dip over time but this one seems to have gotten better from what I remember (and tasted)...and that should be the way, to keep improving and not let their food go stale (and I don't mean it in the literal sense).

From what I tried, the top three dishes (for me) were the deep-fried pumpkin with salted egg yolk, stewed sliced fish with preserved vegetables and sauteed diced chicken with dried flower chilli...in that particular order!  I was told the cost of the meal (for two tables) inclusive of rice, tea and charges/taxes came up to around RM900, not cheap but the good taste of the food more than makes up for it.  I'm certainly game to return for another meal here. ^_*

Dragon-i Restaurant

Lot No 1-29 First Floor

Sunway Velocity Mall

Lingkaran SV Jalan Cheras

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9770 1588