KL Dragon House (formerly Seadragon)!!
I'm so happy to report that it tastes just like I remember!
For those who may not know, KL Dragon House was reopened this week by the second son of the original Sea Dragon family. Sea Dragon was one of the OG places for Vietnamese-Chinese cuisine in Austin, the kind of restaurant where community weddings, graduations, family reunions, and big celebrations took place.
When it closed down, it was devastating. For many of us, it felt like we were losing another piece of Austin's Asian food scene.
There are certain dishes and cooking techniques that are very specific to Sea Dragon, and I had my go-to dishes that I would order only there: cha gio tiếu châu, hủ tiếu áp chảo, bò lúc lắc, canh chua, and a few others.
The reopening has a smaller menu, but IMO, it's basically the "best of" Sea Dragon, the dishes people remember and came back for.
Here's what we ordered:
* Bò lúc lắc (shaking beef) -- soft and tender.
* Bánh bột, bò lá lốt (betel leaf beef rolls) -- these were large, had a lot of filling, and the beef was really moist. At this point, I think these might be the best betel leaf beef rolls in Austin. It's easy for other places to dry them out, but these were juicy and tender.
* Pork sausage -- nice and bouncy, tender, and flavorful.
* Lotus root salad -- this was perfect. Everything was fresh, and the lotus root had a really nice texture.
* Salt & pepper shrimp -- really good flavor. I personally prefer head-on shrimp, but these were much easier to eat, and the seasoned lettuce underneath was still really good.
* Cajun fried rice -- this was the only dish our group had a criticism about. We thought it was a little too salty. Since everything else was really good, I think this was likely just a simple mistake during the soft opening. I'll be passing the feedback along to the team so they're aware.
Overall, I'm just really glad to see this family back and to have these dishes available in Austin again. Everything else we tried was fresh, well-prepared, and brought back a lot of memories.
They're also currently offering 20% off during the soft opening. Our party of 8, are for only $169!
If you go, please share your thoughts and pictures in the group to help support this new chapter for the family! read more