Asian Dragon

This was the place where dreams came to hide.

Who can understand the hidden reasons behind craving? You have vanished all things fried from your life because your body compelled you so, and yet you find yourself craving for some greasy, gigantic plate of fried rice. Your repulsions have disappeared; unabashed desire tingles your memory banks in infinitesimal electric currents which recreate that taste in your mouth; you foam, your tummy urges you to follow your needs: "Let it come!" -it seems to say; "I won't feel full!" -you doubt. You know exactly what will happen after your Chinese feast is done; you will walk like a penguin amidst the streets of New York; a living balloon. And yet, in that devastating urge of the moment, I dared walk into the dive; Asian Dragon was my place of choice; the least dingy of the dingiest, so clean and well-kept but still bearing all the distinctive traits that characterize our well-known Chinese Take-Out places; the blood red wallpaper, a classical Chinese painting fading lonely by a wall, a fat Choi Sun -the Chinese god of wealth- http://static.px.yelp.com/photo/H5QNjHyWfZCyzDkU6a5Efw/l sitting by a corner to highlight superstition and tradition... An enormous fish tank filled with a variety of sea creatures (some of which I feared ended up on the tables), rustic furniture, crappy tiles, old gildings. Yes, all those details that I secretly relished for my personal amusement and mockery, and yet...there was something else.

God knows which strange days I decided to end up here; but everytime I went, there was a strange solitude which seemed to permeate the little place; the servers, the clientle, it was as if they existed in this netherworld that lied "behind" Manhattan... a peace exuded in the environment; old middle aged faces betraying a lost youth somewhere in the early 1980's... forgotten Chinese power ballads from another time and place http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixosRR7FhKk&mode=related&search= sometimes I would see a lonely Asian man, sitting in a corner, his eyes glassy; lost in some old memory back in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei... and I was right there with him; some of us are born with strange susceptibilities that long to reach out; uprooted from time or place, we belong everywhere and nowhere; in past times, in future times; we can see life through another set of eyes not our own. I am a voyeur, a dreamer, an empath.

One day I walked past Asian Dragon and it was gone; gutted out. But the place had not closed; it was under renovation, it said. I couldn't care less; I don't eat fried things.

Until the crave came back.

And then I strolled past to see if my favorite dinger had re-opened; and I was awestruck in disbelief. The dive was no more. They had underwent a complete makeover; dark brown colored walls, and white ceilings, new furniture, no old Chinese paintings, or gildings, or gods. Even the Fish Tank was gone, it's final fate I will never know. They had expanded the little counter for the sushi chef; even added some stools to bring some Japanese eating-place flare; surprised, I opened the menu and found that they had even added new things. So I went ahead and ordered a spicy salmon roll, a kettle of tea and of course, fried rice. It was great. The food had never disappointed me in Asian Dragon; sushi was always made with decency despite THE FACT, and I always thought that the sushi chef tried with effort and care, like a story of the "undiscovered chef".... the fried rice was exactly as I remembered; greasy, tasty, and huge. To end my feast, I must report (a special shout-out to Maria) that they have added a bowl of Lychee's on syrup as part of their dessert options; 7 or 8 ginormous lychee's chilled on ice!! A fortune cookie to end the meal and you're all set (I do miss the half orange the used to give in the old days) The only thing that ruined my meal was this absolutely rude miserable bastard that kept scolding the poor, humble waitress; who with the utmost gentility attempted to listen and please this hell spawned wretch. My eyes seethed with fury at this lack of manners and human decency. You are treated nicely? Swallow your complaints and behave with some class, or do the world a favor and eat the only thing that befits you: Cyanide.

After this I felt compelled to show my sympathy and compliment them on their makeover. And yet, why was I feeling this nostalgia? I should have felt aesthetically better now that the dive was gone; the music had been replaced by generic modern, the eyes were supposed to be happy. But then I understood, en empath path is one of contradiction; I asked the girl at the counter if she missed the old decor; and caught unaware by my question, she sighed and let out the Freudian slip: "Y-yes"

As I left the premises, I re-opened my fortune; it said:

"We cannot do great things; only small things with great love"

This place does sushi and/or Chinese food - they have separate menus for both. I've ordered each (delivery only) and never been disappointed except once my hot and sour soup was luke-warm, oh, and another time I ordered the Spicy basil chicken and it was almost too spicy to eat. I was crying! But they have nice lunch and dinner specials - less than $7 for dinner.

Their sushi is very fresh and they will give you monster size pieces of salmon, tuna, mackerel, whatever. They also give you a free California Roll with any order more than $20 which is a nice bonus.

I just moved to the area, and clearly since I had no food yet, I ordered sushi my first night in. I chose Asian Dragon and was definitely not disappointed. It was certainly not the last time I've ordered from them.

They have Chinese and Sushi menus which are separate, but items from each side are good and unbelievably affordable.

Every roll I ordered was amaaazing and perfectly balanced in regards to taste and texture. All of the fish was perfectly fresh and btw the delivery literally takes all of 15 or 20 minutes regardless of when you call. SUCH a great find.

Giving it a shot again, I ordered for pickup this time. They didn't ask for my name or number. It's cool that they separate your rice from your meat at least. Still, I think I am closing the book on this chapter, as Grand Sichuan is better..and closer to my job for lunch options

-L20 Ma Po Tofu w/ minced Pork ($6) - per my friend, nothing special, generic
-L24 Spicy Basil Chicken ($6.20) - the hot & sour soup had more kick than the chicken, to their credit there was about 10pcs of chicken, the rest was snow peas and mushrooms, sauce was generic, LOTS of corn starch, at least there was actual basil in it

*chucks takeout menu in garbage*

Finally a good straight-up American Chinese food joint that delivers to the UES!

Since moving to the Upper East Side, I've been testing out the Chinese dives trying to find one that is cheap and can serve up some solid shrimp fried rice. I was 0 for 2 until today--it seems hard to mangle shrimp fried rice, but at both of the prior places I ordered from, the dish was totally flavorless and lackluster, not to mention expensive.

Woohoo, behold Asian Dragon!

I ordered the Hunan Tofu dinner combo ($7.55, comes with white/brown (yay!)/egg fried rice and some type of egg roll or soup) and, of course, shrimp fried rice (large for $6.45). Both were tasty and well executed.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of veggies in the Hunan Tofu--broccoli, green peppers, snow peas and water chestnuts (is that a vegetable?) in a brown sauce. The sauce was just a touch on the thicker side than I prefer, but that's entirely my personal preference and not a failing on their part.

The shrimp fried rice had onions, peas, egg, and tons of fresh-tasting butterflied shrimp. No scrawny little veiny things or mushy old 'uns. And, thank goodness, there was flavor. Mild and pleasant, which is fine with me.

Let's be clear--this place doesn't offer revolutionary or spectacular food--though the prices are spectacular, especially compared to the joints that are within the Upper East Side. The place to go if you just need some reliable Chinese food that isn't bungled or off in some way.

Delivery was super-fast, and they came from almost 20 blocks away.

AND, they gave me a tri-flavor fortune cookie. mmm.

Note - they also offer some Thai dishes and have a Japanese menu that seems like a good bargain ($14 bento box - soup and salad, entree, and california roll). After my positive experience this go round I'll definitely be giving their other stuff a try.

Cheap chinese specials. i like ordering from here especially they are on seamlessweb and there are usually coupons available.

Delivery is fast and food is well packaged and presentable. Quantity is large. overall, the food is just ok, nothing special.

Asian Dragon has the best Chinese I've ever had. It is a standby for my husband and I. We love the General Tsao's Chicken. My husband will order that from any Chinese restaurant and this one's by far the best we've had.

Great service and atmosphere. And orange wedges with your bill.

The Dragon is the spot for lunch - $6 chinese dishes, $9 bento boxes, and cheap sushi specials, as well. Super fast service, clean and fancy interior.

I really like this place for lunch! Cheap, great-tasting Chinese food!, Fast service, never gets my order wrong. Great deal indeed.

Used to work in the area and this was one of my fab spots for lunch. Great value on the lunch specials and quick friendly service.