Dragon Inn was a staple in my diet throughout high school, but when college came so did a new Chinese restaurant. It wasn’t an indictment of the ‘ragon (for years the “D” was missing on the building), but Hong Kong Inn was just down the road. I hadn’t been to the restaurant in years, so when I saw it down shined a beam of light and I knew it was meant to be. I was looking specifically for a $5 Lunch and it fit the bill. And the cashew chicken delivered.
It has the standard Chinese menu in SGF with a trio of $3.69 specials which come in under $5 (cashew chicken, sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour pork). Like other similar restaurants, General Tsao’s, Kung Pao, etc. cost a couple more. My meal, however clipped the $5 mark with a soda. Adding a 99-cent soda or eggroll comes to $5.04. They have a massive “Take a penny/Leave a penny” cup so you could make a 5-dollar bill work. I’m still uncomfortable with the penny cup. This is tangential, but do you take pennies from the cup? What’s the moral compass there? Is it OK? I know that’s the purpose, but is the employee the only one who can handle what’s leaving the penny cup? I’ve dropped off but never removed. All I know is that there are more than enough pennies in that cup to cover a sucker next to the register. I digress.
They offer all-white meat at an additional cost (I didn’t go this route, so I’m unsure of the charge). The dining room was packed, it’s cozy and conversations keep a white-noise backdrop constant. Dragon Inn has one large table (eight top), and on the day I went it was like the high school cafeteria. There was no place to sit, so we all shouldered up, strangers forced to dine together and interact. It was interesting to see how some people were clearly uncomfortable, but casual conversation led to a few brief friendships.
My cashew chicken was incredible. It didn’t last long, but it was better than I remembered (and I remembered it being really good). It has a lighter batter than most places, so the outside is extra crispy and not gummy at all. The oyster sauce (err, cashew sauce) wasn’t very thick, but that is definitely nit picking, because the flavor was on point, and when the chicken was gone there was sauce for the rice. The best part of the meal was the quality of the chicken. There was not one tough bite, tendon or chew of gristle. Dragon Inn established itself firmly back into my Chinese food rotation.
