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2017-02-13
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Dragon Noodles Academy, or DNA as they like to call it, is the new concept from the people who brought us Yum Cha. Now I like Yum Cha-- I even took a selfie there, and I don't do that lightly. So I was definitely jazzed to give this place a go, especially cuz I like noodles.According to DNA's website, "With one foot in the past and the other in the present, DNA provides guests with a truly unique meal, where they can experience contemporary Hong Kong through their palate and surroundings. We’r
According to DNA's website, "With one foot in the past and the other in the present, DNA provides guests with a truly unique meal, where they can experience contemporary Hong Kong through their palate and surroundings. We’re not just a noodle shop: DNA offers a wide array of must-have Chinese dishes, showcasing fine-dining techniques at an approachable price point." OK, that's not very informative. Let me give a try at writing the copy, "With one foot in the past and the other in the present, DNA specializes in lobster and has far fewer noodle dishes than you might think, considering its name. Some of the items on the menu are secretly off limits." FTFY.
24 HRS Sous Vide Beef Cheek Lo Mein ($129). Why this menu item is on the section of the menu entitled, "Rock Lobster Soup Noodles / Lobster X Shrimp Roe Lo Mein," will forever be beyond me. Perhaps it's more perspicuous in Chinese. Anyway, I thought the noodles were pretty good, but the beef was surprisingly not that tender for 24 hour sous vide cooking. It had a subtle spice to it (anise, maybe?). I'd say it was OK.
Rock Lobster Spicy Tofu ($169). I will say that this dish looks super unappetizing. It had a little bit of a spicy kick to it, but the tofu was pretty standard. I've never really understood what's so great about lobster. You pay a lot for it, you don't get that much, and it doesn't strike me as superior to other seafood. Anway, we had to get lobster, so there you go.
Crispy Lobster Wontons ($69). By "we had to get lobster," I mean that quite literally; it's hard to avoid. Every dish on the "Dim Sum" menu has lobster in it. Every. One. This style of wontons always looks so great, but then it usually disappoints. On the whole they were alright.
Muffin Chicken Tray ($99). This is cute and you get some pickled veggies. The chicken is fine, but the breading's not particularly crispy and the skin is a little bothersome. I have a long tirade on chicken skin and fried chicken that I'll reserve for another time. This dish isn't terrible, and the bonus pickles are nice, but I won't sing its praises.
Braised Fish Maw w/ Veg. ($129). In true Cantonese fashion, it's hard to get vegetables that are just vegetables. Like, y'know, vegan vegetables that a vegan could eat. (I thought "vegan vegetables" was redundant before I came here.) But of course everything has ham or egg or dried prawn or fish maw or whatever in it. We decided to duck into the punch and get the fish maw. Now I know what that's like. No comment.Scallion Pancake (n/a): I think this is the thing we tried to order but they wouldn't give us. "That's only on the lunch menu," they said. No, it's on the menu you gave me when I walked in here *for dinner*. It is, pardon my Latin, ipso facto on the dinner menu. Of course, I didn't say that. Feel free to use that line if you want a scallion pancake for dinner.
Mostly in this review I've just been trying to think of non-repetitive ways to say "it's OK" or "it's alright" or "I won't sing its praises." That's how I feel about the restaurant. This surprises me, because with Yum Cha, I thought there were a number of things that really stood out as good, like the turnip cake. And the... scallion pancake, oh yeah. It's probably because this place "has one foot in the past," which I take to mean something like, "unapologetically puts fish maw in things." That's maybe better than OK and alright if that's what you're looking for. But I just wanted a big fried up plate of noodles and, yeah, they don't do that here at the Academy.
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