Dragon-i Restaurant La Mian @ Sunway Pyramid

One of the premium Chinese restaurant that I liked to patronize is Dragon-i Restaurant. The name of the restaurant itself already sounded premium, even more premium when it is called in Chinese, Long Tik Chuen Yan, which literally means authentic Chinese.

Dragon-I Restaurant which serves authentic Shanghainese cuisines can be located in almost every major complexes in Klang Valley. They even have branches in Penang as well, at Queensbay Mall and The Gurney Plaza respectively. Since my house is in Sunway, I'd always tend to patronize this branch more often than other branches. Recently, I was there for a revisit of their food.

Dragon-i Restaurant

With the premium name, it is no surprise to see that they really set the place perfectly to a resemblance of authentic Chinese settings.

Welcoming oriental Chinese ambiance

Steamed Peanuts (RM 2)
Soft, mushy and flavourful, it can be pretty addictive.

Steamed Meat Dumpling (RM 9 per set of 4)
Known as "Siu Long Pao" in Chinese, each of the dumpling consisted of pork meat infused with their flavourful soup within. First bite will result in the soup bursting out in your mouth and instantly accompanied by the sweetness of it. A signature dish of theirs, I'd always enjoy eating them because they were freshly prepared and were served steaming hot. However, on my previous visit, the dumpling served was rather cold, thanks to the peak hours during the weekends.

Dragon-i are also well-known for their homemade noodles. Called the la mian, it literally means "pulled noodles", because the noodles are prepared by constant pulling and stretching from the fresh dough until they were shaped into noodles form.

As the la mian were only prepared upon each order, it resulted to a very smooth and springy texture. And, the length of each of the noodle were almost endless, so it is good to request for a cut on the la mian.

La Mian with Braised Pork Rib (RM 15)
The soup tasted very porky with a rich flavour coming from the braised pork rib. As for the pork rib, it was very tender and their meat were well infused with their aromatic braised seasoning.

Fried La Mian with Black Pepper Chicken (RM 15)
Tasted decent with slight hint of wok hei but I'd prefer it to be heavier flavoured with black pepper.

And as for the desserts,

Glutinous Rice Ball in Mango Juice with Extra Mango (RM 10)
The mango juice came in the form of shaved ice, offering a very smooth and cooling experience of enjoying the dessert. However, I was really disappointed with their glutinous rice ball that was as hard as a fried squid.

So I complained about the glutinous rice ball to an attendant and he promised me to replace me with a new one. Shortly, he came back with the same old bowl telling me that the glutinous rice ball were pre-prepared that were supposed to in such state because it was included together when the dessert was chilled in the fridge. I told him on my previous experience at other branch, it was not supposed to be like this. Then he told me that he has changed those glutinous rice ball for me.

As I thought everything was fine, the glutinous rice ball appeared to still be in a sorry state. I really wondered do they really has changed them or merely just taking the bowl in and out. So I called the attendant again, and proved to him the glutinous ball were still as hard by poking them with the spoon but yet it is impenetrable. So he went away again with my bowl of dessert and to the kitchen reception counter, conveying my problem to them.

Then suddenly, I heard the lady cashier shouting at the attendant. Since I was seated quite near to the counter, she shouted " What's the fuss? Just ask him (referring to me) to eat the glutinous ball. Tell him the glutinous ball is like that, eat it or leave it." I seriously felt pissed after hearing that. What? You are telling me that the glutinous ball should be as hard as the squid? Are you kidding me? What's with that kinda attitude when all I demand was just a decent glutinous ball. If you tell me the glutinous ball should be as hard as the squid, then please include them in your description of the menu. Else, I just don't buy that!

So I complained her attitude to a female captain and she apologized on her behalf. Then came another lady attendant which apologized on her behalf also. I was told that rude lady was having her bad day, but my reply to them was "You guys are in the customer service industry. No matter how, when, or what, you guys should always serve with a smile and pride". At the end, I was given a complimentary of another dessert.

Mango Sorbet with Pamelo Pulps (RM 12)
Still another mango dessert, but this one is slightly more expensive. The mango sorbet were smooth and well infused with the mango juice. Pamelo pulps provided some extra tanginess to the dessert, making it a better kick!

I am still satisfied with their food minus the slightly colder dumpling. However, I told myself not to visit this Sunway branch anymore for the unprofessionalism shown in resolving customers issue. It's a shame to the rude cashier lady for humiliating herself and tarnishing the good images of Dragon-i Restaurant, particularly for the Sunway Pyramid branch.

I BANNED SUNWAY PYRAMID BRANCH Dragon-i Restaurant!!

Steamed Meat Dumpling: 6.5/10 (non-halal)

La Mian with Braised Pork Rib: 7/10 (non-halal)
Fried La Mian with Black Pepper Chicken: 6/10
Glutinious Rice Ball in Mango Juice: 4/10
Mango Sorbet with Pamelo Pulps: 6.5/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Price: 4/10
Verdict: Their authentic Chinese food is pretty good but it came with a more expensive price tag. Do visit other branches, but not the Sunway Pyramid branch!

Dragon - i Restaurant (SP) Sdn Bhd
G1.43, Ground Floor
Sunway Pyramid
3, Jalan PJS 11/15
Bandar Sunway,46150
Petaling Jaya, Selagor
Malaysia
Tel: 03 - 7492 3688
Fax: 03 - 7492 3988
http://www.dragon-i.com.my/