Fat Dragon Review: Upping Silver Lake’s Chinese Restaurant Game

A communal table sparks conversation at Fat Dragon

Residents of the Silver Lake and Los Feliz area have spent decades waiting for good Chinese food to hit the area. Tired of hearing “Just go to Chinatown,” or “Monterey Park is only 15 minutes away,” we were thrilled when Pine & Crane opened a few years ago and significantly upped the Chinese food game.

Now along the same stretch of Sunset Blvd., Fat Dragon has joined the party, adding those guilty pleasure dishes like orange chicken that so many people crave, but with a light and modern approach.
Located in the same mini-mall that houses boho brunch spot Trois Familia, Fat Dragon has no lettered sign, just a neon dragon glowing above the storefront. As at Pine & Crane, you step up to the counter to order and the food is then delivered to the table. Some people are confused by the prominence of the tea menu on the board behind the counter, thinking it’s just a teahouse, and Fat Dragon does have a wide selection of teas. But don’t be fooled. There’s a full menu of crowd-pleasing Chinese dishes carefully prepared using high-quality ingredients like Mary’s chicken and Angus beef.

This isn’t San Gabriel Valley-style Chinese -- spice levels are on the subdued side, and there is no toothpick lamb or braised eel to be found (five-spiced quail is probably the most adventurous dish). Most dishes are clean-tasting with lots of fresh vegetables, though there are still plenty of indulgent and/or deep-fried choices. Honey walnut shrimp is almost dessert-like and too rich for just two people, but a few bites of the beloved banquet dish are just right. Orange chicken is deep-fried like the familiar mall version, but fresh orange slices and a light touch with the sauce keep it from being cloying.

Ma-po tofu at Fat Dragon

Some less common dishes well worth trying include Dragon fried rice, with Chinese sausage and bacon combined with the unusual addition of kohlrabi; and pork jowl stir-fry with dried tofu. Mapo tofu and Szechuan eggplant are both exceedingly solid versions. Mild-flavored moo goo gai pan and pan-fried noodles include plenty of vegetables, while dry-fried string beans, cauliflower and orange tofu are among vegetarian choices. The menu isn’t large -- hot and sour soup and more dumplings would probably be popular additions. And the Szechuan spicy wontons are perfectly good, but won’t make anyone forget the ones at Chengu Taste.

Crucially, Fat Dragon, which is part of the Sticky Rice group of restaurants, works with a number of delivery services including GrubHub, Caviar and Postmates, so that Holy Grail of good Chinese delivery is now accessible to the Silver Lake-Los Feliz area. But the food, especially fried items, is even better when eaten in the restaurant, which has a large communal table in the center as well as tables along the wall. There’s no beer and wine, but cold brew wild berry hibiscus, lychee lime green tea, and Hong Kong milk tea keep the drinks interesting. And not to be ignored: the housemade fortune cookies with irreverent sayings blow any mass-manufactured ones out of the water.

Upscale ingredients and a central location mean a meal for two will run at least $50, but the quality and flavor makes it well worthwhile.

Wolfdown Review: Secluded Spot Flies Under the Radar in Silver Lake

Citrus radicchio salad at Wolfdown

Here's EatingLA's review of Wolfdown from the Los Feliz Ledger. Click through to see how many forks it received.

In the four years since Nicky D’s stopped serving pizza on Rowena Ave., Silver Lake has changed a good bit. Restaurants in the area have upped their game; real estate prices have climbed. Maybe because of its understated Rowena location, the seven-month old Wolfdown, which replaced Nicky D’s, has flown somewhat under the radar.

Wolfdown, which focuses on Asian-influenced dishes, comes from Jason and Chrissy Kim, the owners of Forage, the Sunset Junction cafe that incorporates produce fresh from neighbor’s gardens. The Kims freshened up the funky bungalow, and the woodsy patio now sparkles with twinkly lights, while several seats at the bar look out over the open kitchen inside the cozy house. Like at Forage, the menu highlights bright bits of acidity and crunch that put the spotlight on startingly fresh produce. But unlike Forage’s counter, this is a full-service restaurant with wine, beer, and sake.

The top of the menu offers shareable plates like tangy citrus and radicchio salad textured with crispy wontons, or grilled calamari with lemon and mayo. Coconut black rice ($13) melds several intriguing flavors: deeply flavored oil-roasted vegetables, nutty rice, and fresh pea tendrils.

black rice with root vegetables at Wolfdown

The fact that chicken and shrimp dumpling is listed as a singular item might tip you off that it’s not a plate of potstickers: It’s more of a large pancake with a delicious dumpling filling on the inside, though the presentation is unexpected. Brussels sprouts are slicked with chili oil and contrasted with crispy chicken skins, while other vegetables like beets and broccoli also get their flavor amped up with olives or black bean sauce. The kitchen knows how to make vegetables complex and fascinating in a way that completely escapes some of the vegan restaurants in the area.

Main courses include proteins like Korean fried chicken with spicy chili or soy honey butter and slaw ($25); noodles with beef cheeks; or a $45 Prime New York steak with herring butter. Braised black cod ($25) arrives in a ceramic bowl in which pieces of buttery fish alternate with chunks of purple daikon, swimming in a lightly sweet and spicy sauce with a side of fragrant Mori’s rice.

Pan-Asian restaurants often get a bad rep for covering everything in sickly sweet soy-based sauces. Luckily, Wolfdown’s much more nuanced dishes include plenty of tart notes to balance the sweetness, while sauces are differentiated with varying flavors like miso, sesame, and regional sauces like Korean kochujang.

Desserts also incorporate creative uses of fruits and vegetables, like sugar snap pea gelato with strawberry shortcake or black and blueberry compote with dense, creamy peanut butter semifreddo --a sophisticated take on peanut butter and jelly.

Black- and blueberry compote with peanut butter semifreddo at Wolfdown

Is there anything not to like? Both the menu and the servers can seem a bit quiet and serious -- a few more snacky hors d’oeuvres or welcoming bites might give the menu a little more sense of fun and generosity. Or how about a ramen night once a week? Dinner for two will run around $100 -- fairly standard for the neighborhood, though still a splurge for many. But overall, Wolfdown’s setting is relaxed and the cooking is perfectly calibrated.