Dragon Castle

The most difficult thing about this place is possibly negotiating Elephant and Castle to get there. Then the next most difficult thing is figuring out what to eat, as the menu is really quite immense, and I'm fairly useless at choosing what to eat when there's more than about 5 choices!

I settled for some garlic and honey ribs - lovely sauce and not too fatty. Followed by scallops with stuffed prawns, fried rice and some soup. All absolutely delicious, about £20 a head, although we didn't drink. Not massively cheap, and if I had a bit more cash, I'd be tempted to try out some of the more exotic food items like the sea cucumber.

I'll be back at lunchtime to check out the dim sum here!

I've been to the Dragon Castle a number of times and after a poor first showing (I wouldn't recommend having the steamed fish) it's kept on impressing!

The menu is massive so plenty of choice for everyone and includes all your standard Chinese fair aswell as food for those looking for something a bit out of the ordinary (or lovers of tripe). The prices are cheap enough to encourage exploration - order three dishes, keep on sampling from the menu and you're not going to leave unhappy; and certainly not feeling empty.

Dragon Castle is one of my all-time favourite places to go for dim sum, far outweighing most places in Chinatown. Its location in grimy Elephant and Castle may put some people off, but don't let the horrors of the huge grey roundabout stop you; once inside, you are transported to a beautiful calm and restful oasis with twinkling chandeliers and the pleasing sound of running water as the koi carp at the entrance splash about happily. Ok, so I might be going a bit overboard, but it really is quite a lovely setting. On our first visit, we arrived just after 5.15 and were crushed to find out that the dim sum menu finished at 5pm sharp. But instead we feasted on lovely, non-greasy noodles, enormous prawns and fabulous little accoutrements, all lovingly decorated with fresh edible flowers. Our waiters and waitresses were smooth and efficient, bringing dishes as soon as they were cooked and with perfect timing, whisking away empty plates to reveal more beautifully-presented dishes. Our bill, including plum wine and tea, was extremely reasonable and we vowed to return one weekend soon to catch the famed dim sum menu. Needless to say, we didn't leave it long between visits and set off at 1pm a couple of Saturdays later. The grand space, previously almost empty, was now populated with lots of beaming Chinese families and couples of all ages.The great thing about the vastness of the space there is that no matter how busy the restaurant gets, it never feels full. The dim sum menus were on the table and we tucked heartily into most of the dishes on offer. They are incredibly good value and you can eat very well for less than £18 per head, with tea. Again, the dishes arrived promptly and puffed mouth-watering clouds of fragrant steam when we opened the bamboo baskets. The staff seemed even sweeter than before, plying us with free samples of lychee and plum wine. The range of dumplings, steamed and fried, was marvellous- I would wholly recommend the specials of green tea prawn dumplings- little parcels of heaven in the mouth. Dragon castle has fast become one of my favourite weekend hangouts and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the south-east and beyond. Try it now before it gets hugely popular and the prices go up!