Oriental Dragon - review

Brains headed a chapter in that timely work published by Faber in 1940, as did crow braised in the French manner. In an aside, Heath pointed out that the British tended to use crow only to eke out heart and liver. Well, who knows whether a resuscitated Ministry of Food, having turned off our water, won’t take to issuing us with ration books and food coupons. It seems quite likely. Meanwhile, even if the assemblies mentioned above do not beguile, read on. There is much else to relish at the conventionally named Oriental Dragon, one of the rare triumphs in my ceaseless toil of looking for good new Chinese restaurants.

At the back of the premises there is an open kitchen behind a grill plate and a display of fish and crustacea on ice. Chefs are from Dalian, a port in northeast China, where cooking “Shandong style” puts an emphasis on presentation. This was beautifully apparent in the steamed scallops and razor clams that we chose to kick off the meal. Both plates were a work of art in the simplicity and purity of the pearly main ingredient contrasted with the visual intricacy of the garnish. Razored slices of red cabbage under the scallop shells looked like a wallpaper that might be featured in World of Interiors.

Slices of steamed, spiced pig’s tongue — “cleaver action like there is no tomorrow”, observed Jeremy — were arranged to resemble an opened-out artichoke and scattered with enough chopped garlic in soya sauce to divert any wayward worries about what pig’s tongue might taste like (very chatty). But if that is a conversation you feel you might want to avoid, do not on any account miss tofu with preserved egg and spring onion.

“Crème caramel of the gods” was how Mr Lee summed it up — it is so useful when a companion writes the review for you — with a “caramel” that was soy-based and savoury. Oblong slices of golden tofu were silky — perhaps not silken, which is a precise definition of a sort of beancurd — and a perfect foil for pieces of clear amber yolk and the greeny-grey white of the “1,000-year-old” eggs. Reg returned the following day to have the same dish for lunch. Sliced cucumber and jellyfish salad — “a genius salad” (J Lee) — was not the usual mechanically sliced discs and rubber-band strands but a handcut mixture of tastes and textures refreshingly dressed.

The centre spread of the menu illustrated with photographed dishes as well as faint watercolours is devoted to “Sizzling” and “Chinese Traditional BBQ”. After the cold and texturally yielding first courses the arrival of four skewers of hot grilled lamb (at £1 a skewer) should have provided an ideal contrast and a sort of interlude. However, they were spiced in a way that seemed like an afterthought (and seemed like cayenne pepper) and might have been better had they been £2 a skewer, like the pig’s kidney cooked in the same manner (chosen at a previous meal) which was quite delectable.

Many of the items on the two pages entitled Meat Dishes are served “with brown sauce”. We asked for the components, wondering if HP or Daddies was involved. “Soya sauce and other secret ingredients” was the answer. Braised Dongpo pork hock (named after the Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo — honest) was a huge knuckle with undulating treacly dark skin and deeply savoury flesh. The impact was such that I would recommend limiting a brown sauce assembly to one per meal. Having said that, braised aubergine in brown sauce was one of the best aubergine dishes I have ever come across. The sauce had been used sparingly with chunks of the peeled vegetable, which magically had a slightly sweet crisp edge to them.

Another vegetable option is the Szechuan classic of stir-fried green beans with minced pork. A more peaceful, less chilli-hot version comes with preserved olive leaves. I can never resist Singapore noodles and here I am glad I didn’t. Their freshness and delicacy made me hopeful for the separate narrower (in every sense of the word) menu. This is a more populist list including Malaysian satay and Thai curries alongside conventional Chinese favourites and doubles as the takeaway menu.

It would be a shame not to embark on the main menu even if you don’t order the pig’s ears with red chilli oil (wonderful cartilage crunch) or sautéed intestines with hot pepper. The young, friendly staff respond helpfully to interest and look on in delight as Westerners make discoveries in their gastronomic kingdom. Full disclosure: Oriental Dragon is close to where I live. But I would travel a long way to eat there even it wasn’t.

100 Cleveland Street, W1 (020 7387 7878). Daily noon-11pm. A meal for two with wine, about £70 inc. 10 per cent service.