Dragon Castle, Elephant & Castle, London

There is rarely a distance too far when it comes to matters of the stomach, however I do not often find myself South of the Thames and Elephant and Castle is just not a pretty area of London. A photographer was arrested there in January for posing an “unacceptable security risk.” As a known local Artist he had been photographing the evolution of the area for 25 years. Be warned. With this in mind, Dragon Palace roars with credible recommendations – Jay Rayner (2006), Giles Coren (2006), and most recently Time Out (2009). Even heralded as the best Dim Sum in London by some and the most enjoyable Cantonese food in London by others.

Dim Sum for two had turned into six and we had well over 25 dishes, so there was plenty for all. But the dim sum was forgettable. The few dishes that I have tended to judge any Dim Sum restaurant by were either standard or below par. Fried foods should be hot, crispy and fresh. Steamed dumplings should arrive steaming and burn the roof of my mouth off and their contents should be plump, bouncy and explode with flavour. The Wu Kok arrived only luke warm and what should’ve been a fluffy and crispy batter, whilst light, was flabby and soft. Like most Chinese food, I want it to arrive and burn the roof of my mouth off. Prawn, char siu and fried dough fritter cheong fun were again average. The noodle had sufficient bite but the fillings weren’t outstanding. Cold chicken feet really don’t do anything for me at the best of times. I do however love Fung Jau, which we didn’t order. The beef hor fun with black bean sauce and green peppers was just too salty and portions of Char Siu Pork and Roast Duck were average again.

Dim Sum is about convivial times over great food and good conversation was had. But there are plenty of places in London that one can get Chinese food and with the invasion of sanitised and westernised versions like Ping Pong, standards of Dim Sum have arguably been challenged. Yauatcha is good but just too expensive and in a surrounding just too sterile for spilling tea and making that mess with your chilli oil and soy sauce. Royal China is ok. Leaving Pearl Liang as the most universally applauded Dim Sum venue in London. Wherever it may be, attentive and friendly service should not be at a premium, unfortunately the waiting staff had a real problem with bringing us water and being first to arrive the staff were notably shocked with disgust that I hadn’t made a reservation for my expanded group. Twenty notes a head really is quite an outlay for Dim Sum but that’s just an indication of overeating. So, is this a question of value or quality? Both, and Dragon Palace hasn’t won me over on either this time.

Dragon Castle. 114 Walworth Road, London, SE17 1JL. Tel: 020 7277 3388

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Technorati Tags: london, dimsum, chinese

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