July 2022. Dragon-i is one of the places that pops into my mind when I am seeking comfort food. I have many memories attached to this restaurant from my life in Penang and KL. My first dine-in was when their first store in Penang opened in Queensbay Mall in 2007. There were long waits with queue numbers given. I fell in love with the Xiao Long Bao, Sichuan Dan Dan Mien, Mapo tofu rice and salt and pepper deep fried bean curd. During my first two years living in Kota Kemuning after relocating, Dragon-i Sunway Pyramid was one of my must-go places when I missed my favourite food. I tried out several other dishes and found another new favourite: the black pepper stir-fried knife-cut noodles with beef. Then we moved again, this time to Kuala Lumpur. The Dragon-i outlet at Pavilion KL became the one we visited most frequently, compared to the 1 Utama, The Curve, and Mid Valley branches, which were also nearby. Perhaps because the Pavilion outlet is a Peking Duck restaurant, our favorite Black Pepper Knife Cut Noodles and Mapo Tofu Rice are not on the menu.Today, I walked over to Pavilion for lunch at Dragon-i and was happy to discover they now serve stir-fried la mian with black pepper beef (or chicken). It’s very similar to my old favorite, though they’ve replaced the knife-cut noodles with la mian. Pairing it with the salt and pepper deep-fried bean curd really brought back a lot of memories~
By the way, off-topic—did you know that selfies are not allowed in the washrooms at Pavilion? Not sure if it applies to all of them, but the one near Lavender Bakery has a sign prohibiting cameras at the full-body mirror.
