"Dragon Castle—aptly in Elephant and Castle—is less a restaurant and more a dim sum social hall where both feasting families and lone chilli-seekers party. And by ‘party’, we mean eat an alarming amount of cloud-adjacent, fluffy char siu buns and a whole duck beneath huge, bling lamps. It has a proper “the more the merrier” attitude: toddlers eye up bamboo steamers like they’re birthday presents, and someone will probably stop by your table to ask how your day is going (answer: great) after they’re done catching up with regulars. The mammoth lunch-until-late Cantonese menu is just as big as the space but we like Dragon Castle best for a daytime dim sum moment, to spend some quality time with the cheung fun texture love match, crunchy fried dough and glistening rice noodle rolls. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Food Rundown photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Fried Dough & Spring Onion Cheung Fun There are several cheung fun variations on the menu at Dragon Castle but this combination of crunch and chew has our hearts. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Char Siu Bao All together now—“fluffy”. There’s a rich more-is-more sweetness to the barbecue pork filling and, because this is a safe space, we’re not afraid to admit that tearing the chewy dough apart with our little bao claws ranks highly on our list of solo self-care moments. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Dragon Castle Signature Peking Duck What you’re looking at here is a crispy nest filled with prawn crackers and topped with sweet, crisp duck skin. We salute the innovation and although the duck meat is a touch dry, this makes for a fun all-hands-on-deck sharing experience." - Heidi Lauth Beasley
