Dragon-i Restaurant @ Mid Valley Megamall — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Google is like a dating app - shows this restaurant is a 99% match for me, and of course I had to try given they got 4.5 stars from +1500 reviews!

Def agree - was at least a 4* experience/food (5* for staff - attentive and friendly service). If you like Din Tai Fung, check out Dragon-i (they have a handful of branches including at MidValley megamall, TimesSq & Pavilion). You get that familiar DTF feeling entering Dragon and seeing how the staff are sharply dressed and well trained/attentive service.

The Shanghainese fish appetizer is a must try - crispy on the outside while the inside is soft & moist, glazed with a lightly sweet plum sauce.

The xiao long bao’s shell is not as thin as at DTF, but still thinner than most places. More importantly, the soup inside and the filling are delicious. Also enjoyed the other two dumplings dishes.

Dragon is closer to DTF than Dolly’s Dim Sum. Both have unique menu items that make them worth repeat visits.

This branch of Dragon-i is in the Cititel Hotel lobby, connected to the Megamall. It’s not a large restaurant, and filled up by 12:30PM with maybe only 1-2 small tables left unoccupied. The noise level got uncomfortably loud as customers completed to be heard. Try to avoid the peak meal times...

Staff is attentive but the way the management arrange for waiting is not ethical and inconvenient. This shop is located at a dead end corner with very little space to stand. With the covid virus still lingering among us, they require at least one person to stand at a tight spot to wait while the crowd has piled up at 20 and above. I asked if they can just give us a call when my table is ready while i wait outside of the tight waiting spot just about at Coffee Bean(not even 20 steps away)but they refuse to because management does not have a simple and ethical arrangement with just a phone call away. They have forgotten Corona Virus still still living among us. My review has nothing to do with the food and services but only the management of queuing. After waiting for awhile and sat down, we realise half the menu is sold out, the guy that got us a table didnt even bother telling their customers about Half the MENU is sold out. Felt cheated and wasted our time. They tried to get you waited and sat down without informing about the menu and hopefully you will just order and not leave the shop because customers have been waited for awhile for the table. What a way to do business. They way this shop operates is not honest and...

Serving reasonably good food that one can expect from a respectable Shanghainese / Cantonese restaurant. They claim to be famous for xiang long bao, but does not come close to reputable ones around KL. Prices are on the high side, with dishes costing about RM30–40 but only large enough to serve 2 or 3 people. The best dish by far here is their fried carrot cake (XO Lo Bak Kou) which comes piping hot, crispy on the outside yet melt in the mouth on the inside. It comes with several prawns, beansprouts, eggs and crispy bits, dried chilli flakes all fried with a pungent, spicy seasoning. Wonderfully prepared, and I just wish the carrot cakes were cut smaller so one gets more crispy edges.

Every other dish is decent at best though. Their la mien (both fried and tossed) is heavy on the Chinese herbs, other dishes can be slightly too sweet or slightly too generous with MSG, similar to other restaurants of that ilk. Service is fairly efficient if you get a local, but the foreign workers are frankly abysmal as they don't even understand Malay, English or Chinese. It gets extremely busy during mealtimes and all day on weekends, so it may be safer to call to make reservations, or end up having to...