PROFILED BY DEGROOTS MEDIAThis Chinese menu has the gods smiling down upon the dozen pages of numbered dishes of Dragon Court restaurant. The most humble, steamed rice, comes in at #832, but although we’ve all been challenged by Asian menus that read as long as a novel, it’s not often you come across one which flaunts over 800 dishes. Manager, Oilin, jokes that her Chinese diners would lament if it fell short of the customary 200 dish offerings but hints that there are really only about 80 dishes. No one, however, is likely to be heard grumbling about their selections.
It is great to see a menu of this calibre. Chef, Charles Wong, is Oilin’s brother and together they present traditional Chinese cuisine with hints of Charles’ cooking experience from Japan and Norway. The pages are highlighted with delicious words such as fermented, salted, preserved and dried. Jellyfish is marinated, chicken gets shredded, pork spare ribs are simmered and bean curd is salt and peppered. Peking duck which is marinated in Chinese spices is made extra tasty because it is hung out overnight before being roasted in the morning to ensure freshness, succulence and optimal flavour. An advance order of the eight treasure duck will reward you with a plump duck stuffed with dried shrimp and scallops, ham, peanuts, lotus seeds, black mushrooms and chestnut glutinous rice. Wrapped in lotus leaves, it is cooked over a low fire for several hours. Dragon Court respectfully seats 60 when it could greedily seat double that. To enjoy such fine Cantonese food in equally tasteful surrounds is delightfully pleasing.
Roz Taylor, July 2008
