Dragon Palace Chinese Restaurant - Victoria — Restaurant in Victoria

I know I've reviewed Dragon Palace before, but it seems that Google has changed something because it's gone now. I hate to admit that I grew up in Victoria, but I will say Dragon Palace is one of the few places worth going for Chinese there in my hometown. I lived in Portland, Oregon for two years and had nothing that even came close to the quality of Chinese food you get at Dragon Palace and the closest I got was a place in Vancouver, Washington. I now live in San Antonio, and I have yet to find a suitable replacement for Dragon Palace here. The fried dishes like sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken etc. are all hand breaded and freshly fried, the egg rolls are hand rolled, and the fried rice is the best I've ever had. The sweet and sour sauce along with the lemon sauce are made in restaurant not prepackaged or bottled. Yes, the restaurant is old, it's been open since 1979 and while it's been renovated a bit it could use some more TLC. That being said, if you can get past the aesthetic and the Kenny G CD playing on repeat, it's worth trying. Some people complain that it's not a buffet, but the portion sizes are decent, especially the dinner plates. I have a friend that worked there and the reason it's not a buffet is because then the quality of food would have to be sacrificed and that's not what the owner wants. My favorite dishes to order are pan-fried dumplings, combination lo mein, Hunan beef, lemon chicken, sweet and sour anything (pork is my favorite but it's all good), and crispy fried...

Part of my likes that this place hasn't changed since the 90s. It brings back vivid memories of food and family. We all remember how busy this place would get packed full of dinners munching down on traditional americanized Chinese fare. We marveled at cooking methods that out 90s brains could not fathom. Flavor profiles we couldn't easily decifer. With the popularity of cooking and reality based tv we found we could easily prepare these dishes in the comfort of our own kitchen. For years I've hoped for new dishes modern twist or maybe just less celery. I will continue to go here maybe once a month or every other month not because I love the food. But because of the price point. At 8 bucks no one can rival a choice of protein veggies rice an egg roll and ice cold glass of tea. Not much has changed you have been a model of consistency for decades that most corporations would salivate over. Victoria needs better Chinese options. Tokyo goji and Yamato don't count they are pan asian sushi bars. I want ethnicity innovation and flavor. Why can't u be this...

This is one of the worst place to eat 😕 Bill my partner ordered sweet n sour port and it came from the kitchen looking like it had been triple cooked and it even looked worse when the lady came and ask how's your food he told he it's nothing like I wanted and looked twice as bad 👎. She said if you don't eat it they will still charge you she said order something else whice he did and it was a little better . My sweet n sour chicken was nothing like I had before cold rice n warm chicken. I did send it bad because I'd have to order something else or pay for something I didn't eat paying for the food was another problem the lady at the register doesn't know how to add but that's another problem I just wanted to leave before she added for standing in front of the register without paying parking tax lol We will never set foot at this place the service was ok she did tell us order something else or pay what you didn't eat 🙄 So long Dragon Plaace Chinese...