Best Chinese Restaurant With A Chinese Menu
STAFF PICK: Dragon's View Restaurant, between St. Mary's Road and Congress Street on Bonita Avenue just west of Interstate 10, does brisk take-out business. Dragon's View presents a 150-item regular menu with good renditions of standard dishes. Dragon's View also has a second menu, printed on red paper for good fortune, in both Chinese and English. You have to ask for it. This is the Chinese menu with some real Chinese food. And while you may not be ready to try stir-fried sea cucumber, pleasure marks this menu. A family dinner combination from this hidden menu to serve four to six people includes five entrées, soup and dessert for $55. There is the gingery-light sauce and crunch of pinenuts with quickly cooked shrimp and scallops, along with peas, baby mushrooms, scallion and a bit of celery. Stir-fried shrimp with greens, are also included in the combination. The glory of the dinner is whole braised carp, its backfins raised like a crown over sweet fish and savory sauce. Dessert is fresh orange, cut, sectioned and placed back into a shell of orange rind. These are dishes which, from a profusion of flavors, produce a complex and harmonious whole. It is no surprise that huge Chinese wedding parties often make their dinners at Dragon's View.
