Super Dragon - Phoenix

After the debacle that was our visit to Gourmet House, I was in the mood for some good Chinese. As has become a semi-ritual, we decided to got to Super Dragon on our way to shop for groceries Sunday night. We got there a bit after 7 and snagged a spot in the lot as a car was leaving it. Several huge parties were there, but after a short wait for a booth to be bussed, we sat. During our meal, a party of 8 and a party of 16 came in and were somehow seated with no problems.

We got the pan fried dumplings, hot and sour soup for me, Sesame Chicken for Tara, and Orange Beef for me. I also got a pot of tea.

The soup was so much better than the stuff at GHHK. The flavors were balanced and it lacked the horribly overpowering vinegar taste that plagued GHHK's. I really enjoyed it. The dumplings were nicely fried and came with a nice soy-based sauce. We cleaned that plate in short order.

Our meals came out and somehow they brought me Orange Chicken instead of Beef. The waiter took the dish away and said the correct one would be up shortly. Tara's Sesame Chicken was as ordered. It's got a nice sweet flavor, with distinct sesame overtones. We really like this dish, and it was Tara's favorite up until my Orange Beef arrived about 10 minutes later.

Very dark pieces of beef in a dark sauce filled the large plate. Several whole hot peppers were mixed in, but we picked them out. Small bits of orange peel were also evident. The pieces of beef had been breaded and fried and were buttery soft. The sauce had a very savory flavor, and while it didn't seem very orangey to me, it was an outstanding flavor. Unlike the "sauce" on GHHK's Orange Beef, this had a full flavor bouquet. Tara tried a piece and immediately declared it her favorite. She loves savory over sweet, and apparently this was right up her alley. We each had about 2/3 of our dish leftover, and she took some of my leftovers instead of hers for lunch today. That was fine, since I really like the Sesame as well.

The memory of the horrid meal at GHHK displaced with this outstanding one, we left the restaurant very happy.