Dragon Castle is a pleasant surprise in the last place you would expect a decent Chinese Restaurant – huddled in the middle of the housing estates and blocks of grimy grey cement at Elephant & Castle. The doors of Dragon Castle are red and imposing (though you actually enter via glass doors immediately to the left and right of the giant doors. Behind you will be greeted by a fountain flowing into a small pond filled with red koi fish and the coins of those who have come before you.

The restaurant itself is like a giant hall – long, narrow with an extremely tall ceiling. The decor is light and airy with giant chandeliers and red lanterns so provided a nice clean atmosphere for dining. We arrived at just after noon and were immediately taken to a table but when we departed about an hour plus later the waiting area (a nice little lounge area just inside reception) was filled with waiting diners (though it wasn’t nearly as crowded and full as the restaurants in the more central locations.)

For our dim sum dishes we went with our usual so we could compare it with other dim sum restaurants and we weren’t disappointed. Presentation-wise it was very smart – food was served on distinctive and unusual shaped dishes with nice garnishes. Taste and quality – I couldn’t fault it. Not quite up to the Princess Garden standards but considering dishes are significantly cheaper and only 10% service is charged (as opposed to Princess Garden’s “optional” 13%) it was very good indeed. Service was impeccable – as soon as dishes were finished they were whisked away and we had hardly any wait between dishes. Our tea pot was topped up almost as soon as we poured out one single serve of tea ensuring it was always hot and we never had to wait for a top-up.

Dragon Castle may take a little bit longer to get to then the plethora of dim sum restaurants in Chinatown but that extra 15 minutes effort taken is rewarded in the end. Our experience today leads me to wonder why I’ve never heard of it before today. I’ve read that the non-dim sum dishes are also pretty good so I guess that’s next on the list!