Set inside the Regal Riverside Hotel in Sha Tin, Dragon Inn comes close to exactly what’s expected of a traditional Chinese dining setting. The feel is of an old Chinese dining room with plenty of ornate wood decoration and the lighting is red and amber hues. The atmosphere is calm and relaxed with decent spacing between tables so that the wait staff can move easily and conversations can be kept private. Due to the hotel’s location the restaurant does, unfortunately, look out onto a road but by night the area is so peaceful one would hardly notice.

Dragon Inn has an elaborate menu of Chinese food in the Huai Yang style of cuisine. Dishes are visually colourful and appetising. Among many signature dishes are stand-outs such as smoked egg with fish roe (HK$38 per piece) which is not only stunning to look at but the salty roe also matches nicely with the creamy egg yolk and smoked egg white. The sliced five-spice beef shank (HK$29) has been braised perfectly and the meat is tender and flavourful with just a hint of sweetness. The steamed pork dumplings (HK$38 for four pieces) are sublime with more than enough soup inside the dumpling that makes them a real pleasure to eat. One signature dish, the fried duck stuffed with eight flavours, more commonly known as eight-treasure duck in Cantonese, (HK$380) needs to be ordered in advance so it’s advisable to request this upon making a reservation. Both the diced mandarin fish broth with chopped vegetables (HK$38) and the minced beef broth with parsley (HK$30) are enjoyable options for a soup course. The spicy ground meat with string beans (HK$78) is not as spicy as expected while the sautéed minced pork with preserved vegetables and Shanghai pancakes (HK$88) is both delicious and fun to eat. A dish not to miss is the steamed crab in hua diao wine (market price), which is fabulous with succulent fresh whole crab steamed and served in a generous Chinese wine broth.

The wine list at Dragon Inn is pretty standard with nothing jumping off the page to entice the consumer. The wait staff has a basic knowledge of wine and there are eight wines by the glass – four red and four white. There is a variety of price ranges and Champagnes are available too, but overall the list is uninspiring.

The service at Dragon Inn is very good. The staff are attentive and extremely knowledgeable on the food side and are able to recommend dishes when others are unavailable. Dishes are served with exact timing and plates and cutlery are cleaned and replaced rapidly when necessary.

A full a la carte dinner with Chinese tea and without wine will come to about HK$300 per person, which is a very reasonable amount. But if you go for high-ticket items such as crab or lobster alongside wine, expect to pay a lot more per head.