RESTAURANT REVIEWS
Featured Restaurant for February 2025:
DRAGON COURT CHINESE
Anyone who knows me in real life usually has two things to say about me: I look like a scrawny nerd, and I love Chinese food to an unreasonable degree. I can’t help it; my glasses are thick and my appetite for rice is cavernous. For real, though, I am always on the lookout for new Chinese restaurants to try out. I’ll take the good and the bad, the take-out and the sit-down, the cheap and the bougie. By far the greatest discovery to come out of my city-wide quest, though, has been Dragon Court.
Situated in the heart of Westdale, Dragon Court is a really classy, beautiful restaurant with two giant windows that fill the whole place with natural light. For our lunch we got the pan-fried beef with noodles, the Kung Bo chicken, and the dry cooked string beans. We considered getting the honey ribs, but seeing as we are only two mortal men, we had to save them for a future trip lest we overeat more than we already were.
The noodles from the beef dish were thick, soft, oily and delicious. Rich and savoury. The beef was grilled insanely well, and the beansprouts made for a nice fresh crunch to an elsewise very tender dish. If you are a coward person who can’t handle spicy things, this dish is a great option. The Kung bo chicken was full of dark meat cooked to perfection. The sauce was spicy and smoky, following each bite with the delicious mouth-numbing of Sichuan pepper. The cashews added an earthy, sweet bite to the elsewise bright and savoury dish. In my humble opinion, though, the real stand-out dish that makes Dragon Court special is the green beans. They are coated in an addicting slather of chili oil, spicy and tangy and garlicky and salty and just irresistible. Cast aside any notions that vegetarian dishes are second-class; these beans are the star of the show. The first time I tried them it spawned a several-month long journey of trying to recreate them at home, and while I can now green a mean bean, nothing I make can even come close to the Dragon Court green beans. It is the type of authentic, unique dish that is exactly what I hope for every time I enter a new restaurant. They are something truly special.
So, whether you’re looking for a place to celebrate Lunar New Year, trying to find a fancy place to take your date on Valentine’s day, or itching for a bite to eat after a show at the Westdale Theatre, give Dragon Court a shot, you won’t regret it.
- FGW
DRAGON COURT CHINESE |