Going for new menu launches have stopped exciting me these days. I guess, so much has been done and dusted that nothing exciting seems to be happening. After all how much can you do to a menu? Within a cuisine. I'm a lot more excited when it comes to festivals than new menus. Of course, there are complete menu change overs with new chefs and stuff like that, but otherwise, it has become mundane. Golden Dragon has been one of the flag bearers of 5 star, comfort Indo-Chinese. Now that is like a cuisine by itself. 5 star, comfort and Chinese in the same line? It has gone through so many stages over the years that I'm left wondering what else can they do with the menu! And if the staunch GD fans accept a new menu. Most people there don't even need a menu, they simply order from memory!
Dinner started off mundane! The new dishes may be new on the menu, but nothing exciting to the palate or the eyes. The dumplings and starters arrived and for the first few dishes, it was all blah. I was late and I was starting to think if I should have gone home instead!
OK, I spoke too soon. Thought too soon too! A little plate of fried noodles arrived! Nope, it is not in the pictures and it was so oblivious to the eye that I didn't care to shoot it. One bite and it wasn't noodles. What was it then? We had a little guessing game and none of us got it right! Turns out to be mushrooms. I could have sworn those were noodles. Super slim, I mean, super super thin mushrooms with a tiny little barely visible head, called the Enoki mushrooms, fried with the usual Chinese spices! Easy to miss, easy to dismiss but hard to keep your hands off! It felt like a little Chinese snack that you can munch all day long. Super comfort food type fine dine dish! Yeah, I have no idea that kind of cuisine exists too! I had no idea you had such super thin mushrooms. Unless, they've done something to it to make that way!
While I thought Exciting was done and dusted with those mushrooms, then arrived the Taro Dumpling. Now we're talking! The 5th photo from the top! Crispy outside, super sticky inside!!!! Almost like caramel sticky! These are things I've not had before in the Indo Chinese restaurants and was glad to be excited and given new things to chew on! Yeah, pun intended! Oh, this has to come with a Statutory Warning: HOT INSIDE. It may feel cool outside, but is a boiling pot inside! Super super hot inside!
Main courses were mostly different variations of the usual Golden Dragon classics, except for one fish dish that felt more Bengali with the strong but yummy mustard flavour!
Soup was then served. Yup, soup! Yup, after main course! Only after I took a sip, did I realise that dessert was served. And the whole new menu suddenly made sense. Forget starters, forget main course, you could simply go for that one dessert! A, hold your breath, PEANUT freaking BUTTER soup! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!
I could have drunk another full bowl. I could have had that one dish for all three courses (three servings of course) and this new menu launch would have still made sense. I don't know if it is Chinese or Indo Chinese and I don't care if this is a Martian cuisine served in a Chinese restaurant, this was killer! Simply killer!
Golden Dragon is the Chinese restaurant at Taj Coromandel Chennai!
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