Imperial Dragon
8310 Tyler Boulevard
Mentor, OH 44060
440-974-8838
I had lunch at the Imperial Dragon in Mentor last week and I didn't think that it was anything special. I have heard rave reviews about the place, but I didn't think that it was any better than my local Chinese takeout places. One thing that concerned me about the Imperial Dragon was the lack of Asians. Yeah, that's right I said it. For a Chinese restaurant they were a bit short on Asians and to be honest, I don't know if I trust a Chinese restaurant without Asians. You would think that with all of the Chinese people in China it wouldn't be a big deal to lend a couple out for impression sake. Our waitress and all of the other people I saw working there were certainly Caucasian, but I guess what really counts is who is cooking the food. From the taste of it though, they might have been German.
I ordered the chicken and broccoli lunch special. It came with an egg roll and fried rice. The egg roll was the shizzy, it was definitely crafted by an Asian. Unlike the crappy the egg rolls you get from the take-out Chinese restaurants, the filling in this one actually tasted like something, not just paste. The egg roll even had those tiny little shrimp in it and it was well worthy of this praise. The rest of the meal though was pretty boring. The chicken and broccoli were ok, but as I said, I've had better from my local take-out place. The fried rice was fresh, but it lacked the flavor I was looking for to perk up my main dish. I lost the receipt, but I recall the price being about $7 or $8. That's a little high for lunch, especially considering the quality of the food.
I will give Imperial Dragon the benefit of the doubt, with all of the great things I have heard about this place, maybe their chicken and broccoli just stinks. It's kind of a boring dish to begin with so I might try it again and order something different. That being said, I'm still wondering about those Asians….
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