Jade Dragon is located down Marine drive, on the ground floor of the Sunhill Restaurant building. As we gathered this place used to be Sunhill Chinese Restaurant – whether it's under new management or just a renaming, we are not quite sure. However, they mainly serve Chinese fare with various spins on them, some authentic, some Sri Lankanised.
Food & Drinks
Their menu is quite extensive, starting from appetizers, soups, plenty of seafood options, and meats – chicken, beef, pork and mutton, as well as rice-centred specialities to pair them with.
The Thai Style Seafood Salad (Rs. 788) ended up being our starter, as a direct suggestion from the chef himself. The salad came decorated with, prawns, cuttlefish and fish marinated in sauces alongside, bell pepper, sliced scallion, onions and pieces of tomato.
We weren't huge fans of the pungent aroma coming from the fish sauce that was spread over the prawns. However, the prawns seemed fresh, plump and while the bits of cuttlefish were soft and chewy, and the chunks of fish had a moist texture. The dish as a whole came packed with contrasting flavours of sweet, and lime-citrusy flavours coming from the dressings, and coupled with the flavours and texture from the veggies, this one was a flavour blast on a plate.
The Kung Pao Chicken (Rs. 588) came with a plateful of peanuts, riding side by side with the soft battered up fried chicken, soaked in a spicy sauce alongside bits of carrot, dried chilli and bok choi. The chicken was soft and the batter had a slight crunch without being too thick. The sauce itself was spicy enough, sporting a bit of sourness all the while without drowning out the chicken flavours. We wouldn't have minded if they went low on the peanuts, but we don't really mind since they were well marinated in the sauce and provided a good, crunchy texture. Not the most authentic version as we feel, but we positively enjoyed this dish.
Even though we had high hopes for the Sweet & Sour Pork Spare Ribs (Rs. 688) it ended up letting us down. The pork looked unappetisingly black and didn’t have any pork flavour to speak of, but was a bit starchy. The sauce itself, however, was sour and had plenty of sweetness, while the pineapple, carrot, onion, cucumber and bell pepper all soaking up those flavours, which added to the texture and flavour. They can do much better with the pork as we feel.
We got the large portion of Egg Fried Rice (Rs. 758) which was positively huge plate and can be easily shared among three. The rice was a tad oily, but not too much, had a pleasant work fried aroma while being fluffy. There were bits of carrot and leeks as well as egg mixed in.
Even though they have had a bar, at the time of our visit they were not serving cocktails, so we resorted to a Lime & Soda Juice (Rs. 400) and an Orange Juice (Rs. 400).
In the Lime & Soda Juice, the lime flavour meets the bitter and fizzy notes from the soda to make a drink that will give you a refreshing kick. The Orange Juice was not too sweet but could have done better with bit more orange flavour. Plus, it wasn't cold as we anticipated.
Ambience & Service
The place itself is a huge hall with plenty of space and seating to hold a good crowd without being cramped up. You can get the classic Chinese food place style – round wooden tables and chairs which can easily accommodate 30 people or so. There's a separate outdoor space for smoking but given that it's located on the front side, and everyone has to walk through it in order to enter or exit is a bit off-putting.
While the waitstaff was quite nice, they didn’t seem like they know much about the menu. When we asked about items, the chef himself was called to our table to answer our questions, and he actually seemed like an attentive, pleasant fellow who was happy to recommend what to choose. Our food came to use without much delay too.
Conclusion
Jade Dragon serves up a good spread of Chinese food for you to choose from. They have room to improve when it comes to flavours and value for money on some options as we found. This can be a good place if you wanna drop by with a crowd and chow down on some Chinese fare without breaking your bank too much.
