Dragon-i Signature @ The Pavilion

My household often receives guests from India. These guests are often people I don't know - distant relatives who are, for example, my grandmother's sister's brother-in-law's daughter. Some of them come with bitchy attitudes, while others tend to be genuinely nice. Recently a gentleman - priest and headmaster, had dropped by. We were keen on giving him a taste of Chinese food.

Our destination was Dragon-i Signature at the Pavilion. I have been to their establishment at the Pavilion quite a few times now, and have constantly been impressed at their standard of food and service, though it was interesting to see if it had changed. Dragon-i Signature is located on Level 1, right opposite the Food Court at the Pavilion on Jalan Bukit Bintang - and serves Shaingainese food.

As an appetiser, Dragon-i always serves its customers Beans which have been Steamed in Tea. The beans were soft but retained a bit of crunchiness. The delicate flavour makes you want to eat more and before you know it, its all gone.

Our first dish to arrive was the Fried Rice with Seafood, Char Siew and Yam, worth RM16. The delicate flavours blended perfectly. The tender meat, soft yam and the crunchy vegetables blended perfectly with the rice which wasn't excessively oily at all.

The next dish that arrived was the Sauteed Spare Rib with Signature Sauce - worth RM22. The pork was crisp on the outside and tender inside - which made the meat easily come off the bone. The only downside to this dish was that the sauce was excessively sweet and overpowered the subtleness of the pork.

After that, we were served another pork dish which was called Sliced Pork with Assorted Paste, Black Pepper and Bean Sauce worth RM18. This dish was served with some steamed rice-paper rolls. The thin strips of pork in this dish were tender, and the sauce that flavoured it had a nice sweet/salty balance. The pork strips contained enough of fat to give the dish its 'yum' factor, and with the rolls - we were all in for an interesting but yummy treat.

Our vegetable dish was the Stir Fried Spinach with Garlic and Mushroom, worth RM18. The spinach was soft and well cooked, but not overcooked as it it still retained a bit of crispness. The only complaint I had for this dish was that it tasted incredibly bitter for some odd reason, and that there were hardly any mushrooms in it.

The final dish to arrive was the Fried La Mian with Black Pepper Chicken - worth RM15. The black pepper sauce perfectly complemented the noodles, which we could see being made right before our eyes, in the kitchen. The the pieces of chicken were tender, and the capsicum was sweet - and both ingredients were present in abundance.

On the whole, the service there seems to have slowed down, as they were rather unresponsive at times. The quality of food seemed to have decreased too, though not by a significantly large amount. If you ever do choose to eat at Dragon-i Signature, you probably won't be let down. The food was still tasty and of a reasonably high quality, though do bear in mind that prices there are a bit steep. After all, quality does come at a cost.

Presentation: 7/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Service: 6/10

Overall Taste: 7/10

General Impression: 7/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic

Unique Seafood, in PJ

Apologies for the poor quality of photographs, as these photos were taken using my BlackBerry phone.

My cousin and his wife treated my family to a wonderful dinner at a halal chinese restaurant named Unique Seafood, where we enjoyed one of my most favourite types of food, that is seafood. The restaurant featured a wall with fish tanks from floor to ceiling, where we saw waiters catching the food that we (and everyone else of course) were about to eat.

The restaurant is located in Section 13, along Jalan Kemajuan in Petaling Jaya. While waiting for our food to arrive, we were served Acar - which is a traditional pickled salad of cucumbers, carrots and onions. The acar, having a little sweetness to it was subtle in flavour. The dish also contained small bits and pieces of peanuts, which added further flavour and texture to it.

The first dish to arrive was the Panfried Tiger Prawns in a Spicy Sauce. The sweet and spicy sauce complemented the prawns very well - though the sauce was not spicy enough (in my opinion). It was also a pity that the large prawns were slightly overcooked and dry.

We were then served Seafood Fried Rice. This dish was an 'authentic' variation of fried rice, as it contained no excess oil, salt and was not lacking in filling. There was an abundance of filling such as prawn, green beans, anchovies and chicken - with each filling adding a variety of different flavours and textures to the dish.

After the fried rice, we were served Fish in an Asam Curry Sauce. The fish was incredibly soft and flaky inside, and the texture of this contrasted (and worked well) with the crispy skin of the fish. Despite the incredibly strong flavour that the curry had, the subtle sweetness of the fish could still be obtained. A great dish to have when with a lot of people, in my opinion.

Our next dish was Mango Chicken. The boneless chicken pieces were cooked really well, being crisp on the outside and tender inside - with the right proportion of fat and meat. The only downside to this dish was that it was there was too much of sauce - and that had overpowered the meat.

Then, we were served our vegetable course, which was Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli, also known as kai lan. The leafy vegetables were well cooked - being soft, but maintaining a certain degree of crispness at the same time. The kai lan (Chinese broccoli) was also flavoured with the right amount of oyster sauce.

The final dish to arrive was the Japanese Tofu with Minced Meat in a Clay Pot (picture unavailable). The small and tender meat pieces in soy sauce complemented the tofu very well - providing a nice balance of texture and flavours. The disappointing fact to this dish, was that there was not enough of tofu pieces to go around.

On the whole, my cousin (reluctant to tell me the exact amount) had said that the bill, inclusive of drinks, came up to about RM300. I had a really good dinner sampling a variety of dishes which were of a reasonably good quality. I also loved the fact that I could see my food being caught before my very eyes.

If you ever find yourself in Petaling Jaya, longing for seafood, you will probably not be disappointed when try Unique Seafood. The food that was served - was definitely fresh, well prepared and seemed to be of a reasonable price. Further more your dinner with good company, will surely enough, become a wonderful meal.

Presentation: 6/10

Ambiance: 5/10

Service: 6/10

Overall Taste: 7/10

General Impression: 7/10

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Cheers,

BrianandRepublic