I’m always on the prowl for great Chinese food, and I don’t even really know why. But I suspect what my heart truly desires, is to find the perfect 1-2 combination punch of great egg rolls and great pork fried rice at one place. The last place that had that perfect combination was the Red Pagoda on Broadway in Chicago which closed in the late 90’s. The Red Pagoda and I go back at least 40 years to my early childhood, back to when my parents would get their carryout from there at least weekly. It undeniably formed what is still my taste for Chinese food now.
Last night I ate at the Dragon-Dragon, "Delicious Chinese food To Take Out" or at least that’s what the sign in front said. And no, it’s no Red Pagoda. But since thinking about Chinese food always makes me think of Red Pagoda, I felt like sharing that little story. So alas, the search for my next Red Pagoda continues on.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed Dragon-Dragon, and if I find myself in a pinch looking for late night eats nearby while I’m out here in Warwick I'll eat here again. Tonight’s carryout order consisted of a very tasty pork Lo Mein for my main entre, a side of pork fried rice and some not so enjoyable egg rolls.
The Lo Mein had everything I like in it, and was very well done; the pork was in razor thin strips, nicely tossed with the noodles and too oily. I also liked the pork fried rice; it was the slightly sweet, light brown variety that has just right balance of stir fried goodness without any one element being overly obnoxious.
The egg rolls just stunk. They were the mostly won ton thick dough kind, that are wrapped to tightly and have little to no meat or substance to them; it was more like eating a giant fried won ton than eating an egg roll, so I obviously won’t repeat or recommend them.
Dragon-Dragon is really a pretty straight forward Chinese carry out joint, with limited seating of two small tables, and it has the standard menu of around 200 dishes cooked fresh to order that are done fairly well, and they deliver too. So while I don’t see them winning any city wide “best of” awards anytime soon, I sure bet that they must be loved in the neighborhood they serve.
Taste - 7
Experience - 5
Value - 8
Score – 6.6
Next time try the spring rolls; infinitely tastier.
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