Restaurant Review: Dragon Boat Fusion Cuisine

It's been awhile since I posted anything.  Maybe I've just been too busy - or perhaps nothing's been worthwhile enough to post.  I'll start with a restaurant review today.

Dragon Boat Fusion Cuisine is tucked in a far corner along East Beaver Creek where about two dozen other restaurants are located.  At last I found a dim sum restaurant I can finally recommend without having to add a 'but...' - as in: "The food is good but the service is horrible!", or "They have huge portions and it's cheap but the dishes are chipped and the chairs and carpets are really stained!", which is actually a lot of the Chinese restaurants in the Markham/Richmond Hill area.  Dragon Boat is not new, and I've actually been here a few years ago but never returned and I'm not sure why!

Today's visit was all around excellent in terms of taste, presentation, value and service.  The menu has a lot of dim sum favorites with most of them presented and/or cooked with a twist.  My brunch party of three today ordered a table full of food (so much we ended up with 3 take out boxes to bring home).  Steam Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow), Steam Pork Dumplings (Siu Mai), Steam Beef Balls, and Deep Fried Sticky Pork Dumplings of course are the must haves.  The noteworthy dishes we tried today were Steamed Seafood Dumplings in Soup, served in a fancy heated bowl and an excellent value for $2.80/each; Deep Fried Pumpkin and Sweet Potatoe in Spicy Salt, great batter mix which was not overly greasy/oily; Steamed Rice Noodle Roll with Fried Dough, served with the sauces on the side so it doesn't get soggy (wish more restaurants would so that); and Baked BBQ Pork Bun on Pastry, which is a Char Siu Bau/Pineapple Bun hybrid!  Everything came out piping hot within a few minutes of ordering.

The restaurant was bright and nicely appointed.  The simple white tableware was a pleasant change from some of the more gawdy/gold accented decor that many Chinese restaurants in the Richmond Hill area seem to favour.  Even though there was a line up when we arrived we only waited about 10 minutes before we were seated.  From being seated, to ordering, to getting the check, the service was friendly and efficient, just the way it should be in a busy Chinese restaurant.

The fact that the parking in this commercial plaza is terribly lacking can get somewhat overlooked by their great brunch special pricing.  All Small, Medium, and Large dim sum dishes are $2.80 each if your order is placed before 11:00am (this includes weekends) but payment must be in cash.  There is ample parking behind the building and parking is allowed in the adjacent lot by The Keg but this can be very inconvenient if it is raining or snowing.

Today's visit came to $48 (taxes & gratuity included) for 11 dishes.  I will definitely be returning with the hubby and kids soon.

My Little Big Girl

Yesterday was M1's birthday.  She turned 10 and since she hit double digits, she's a big girl now, right?  The wife asked her if she wanted a special birthday present.  Her response was that she wanted to sleep between Mommy and Daddy.  I was hit with a wave of emotions - difficult to describe but they ran the whole spectrum from happy to sad.

Recently I've been asking her to "grow up" quite a bit.  I asked her to help clean the house, set the table, babysit M3, and take care of M2.  While she doesn't always listen, she has come through most of the time.  I need to remember that she is only 10 years-old - she's still just a little girl!  I was sad that I was putting pressure on her to grow up.  But I'm happy that I got to hold her to sleep last night.

Big Oh