Dragon Fire – An Asian Eatery

Update — they are closed as of August 6, 2011. Bummer.

We were in the Northern suburbs and were in the mood for Chinese, so used Unilocal to find a place near where we were. Well, I am sorry we ever had a taste for Chinese, cause we may never eat Chinese again cause of this trash hole. This place is putrid. Our egg rolls were cold in the center and the food looked like mush and tasted bland bland bland bland. To top that off we all had stomach cramps during the night. A visit by the health and human services is overdue… stay far far far away… you have been warned.

OK, so the Kung Pao beef wasn’t the usual flavors I expected, the Thai basil chicken had more of a curry flavor than basil, and neither were spicy, but they were good. The quality of the beef and chicken was excellent. Tender and no mystery meat. I also like that the sauce for both dishes was light. I’m not a fan of Chinese food in thick or heavy sauce. I’ll definitely try other dishes here, and just make sure to request spicy.

This is a strong three star rating — the place just didn’t quite impress me enough to give it four stars. I had pot stickers and sesame chicken for carry-​out using a «Groupon Now». So the value was indeed good and so were the pot stickers but the sesame chicken didn’t really move me. Plus, a pile of broccoli at the bottom of the carry out piece made it look like I was getting a bunch of chicken to-​go.
I’d go back just to mix it up a bit, but as the high quality Chinese/​Asian food goes around here, Sun Shui still gets my vote.

Ok, let’s review this place for what it is– leaps and bounds better than Panda Express but if you want the real thing you drive to Yu’s Mandarin. They’re in a nice location, deliver to Long Grove, and the food/​service has always been great. Being that I only eat the veggie dishes (and they’re pretty hard to mess up) I recommend to carnivores the dishes frequently ordered by the boyfriend: Taiwan Chicken Five-​Spice Roll and Korean BBQ Skirt Steak.

Great restaurant :…A++++

I honestly cannot find anything wrong with this restaurant! It has a nice modern décor and would be a place I would want to eat in, even though I got take out.
I got the Mongolian Beef, the beef fried rice, the Scallion Pancakes, and the Crab Rangoons. Let me just say that the Scallion Pancakes were incredible! The Crab Rangoons are full of crab, versus many area restaurants where all contain is cream cheese. Also, the fried rice and Mongolian beef were cooked to perfection. I’m definitely taking my husband here!

My wife and I came here for dinner on a Saturday night. There was no wait for a table.
We ordered the scallion pancakes for an appetizer which were excellent. For our dinners, my wife ordered the curry chicken, which was very flavorful. I ordered the Viet Namese black pepper steak which was also very tasty. Both dinners were large prtions. What I liked best though, was that we could get brown rice for a small extra charge.
The service was very good. I definitely will be going back.

My husband and I live near Dragon Fire so after seeing all of the great reviews I was very excited to try them. The verdict? It was a good carryout meal, but definitely not great. I tried the chicken pad thai and my husband had the kung pao chicken. I liked the pad thai and the portion was HUGE. My husband LOVES kung pao chicken but was disappointed in his dish from Dragon Fire. I really wanted to love this restaurant so I’m sure I will give them another chance at some point.

LOVED the lunch special – big portions, good service! Menu is small but what they do offer is great! The Kung Pow was seasoned just right. Not your usual strip mall restaurant!

I wasn’t too hungry so I ordered only a chicken salad. It came in a huge dish, ingredients were fresh, and everything tasted wonderful. (The others in my family received nicely presented dishes, too, but I didn’t try any of their food.)
Service is phenomenal. The owner came out and had a nice conversation with us. Not a sales pitch or anything, just casual talk after we finished dining.
Décor is clean and trendy in an understated way. I’m glad I had to go to the bathroom here: the men’s room, at least, was massive and marvelous. Certainly deserving of a special trip, if only to wash your hands or look in the mirror.
Unfortunately we don’t live in the area and thus won’t be regulars here. Nonetheless, this restaurant was warm and cozy, and we found the owner’s personal gesture an extra welcoming touch.

First of all, I usually approach «Asian Fusion» places with a bit of precaution. Being Asian and from the Bay Area, I probably have unfairly high standards of Asian cuisine. Now, take me to an Asian Fusion restaurant in the middle of a Midwest suburb and I’m even more dubious.
Well, I just have to say that all my fears were completely unfounded in this case. Dragonfire is pretty darn legit and tasty. As others have mentioned, their scallion pancakes are really good and very authentically Chinese. I could have eaten the whole plate if I wasn’t trying to be polite to the other members of my party. We also had the lettuce wraps, Korean BBQ skirt steak (maybe a teeny bit on the saltier side), fried rice, and fried cheesecake rolls (um, seconds, please?). All very well-​made in generous portions.
On top of all that, the service was excellent and I’m a huge fan of the décor (high ceilings and modern furnishings). If I lived in the area, I’d definitely stop by often.

I’ve eaten here many times since it opened. delicious/​quality food and friendly service. If you like this place, I also recommend another for the best chinese food. in northbrook on pfingsten and willow rd. Szechwan North

I wanted to give Dragon Fire a second chance, so I returned to try the lunch pecial. for $ 6.95 you get soup and a meal. The egg drop soup was pretty good, I only wish they added some pepper. As I said in my last review, the miso soup is lacking. it only has tofu (no scallions or seaweed). HOWEVER, the lunch portions were just as big as the dinner portions and came with a soup! A much better deal. I got the governors chichen and it was yummy. My mom ordered the panko fish and the special fish sauce was delish. I will return for lunch, but unless they improve the dinner not such a fan…

Found a jewel in the suburbs!
I am still savoring the scallion pancakes… that should tell you what not to miss out on! Both the dragonfire Lo Mein and the Spicy Kung Pao vegetables were flavorsome not to mention the portions big. We ended with the Nirvana fudge cake which truly took me to heaven and back!
Not only was the service outstanding but they went out of their way to accommodate us with whatever we required… now that’s what I call «CLASS!»
Can’t make a decision whether it was AWESOME… EPIC or RADICAL!

when you visit dragonfire, and you WILL want to visit dragonfire after you see my recommendations, you must, MUST get the following dishes when you go to dragonfire:
— scallion pancakes (appetizer)
— thai basil chicken
— korean bbq skirt steak
— sweet & sour chicken (bc it’s made with all natural fruit juice and is cooked up with sliced grapes — how original!)
drooling yet?
i also hear their beef noodle soup is tasty, though i have yet to try it.
they also have great weekday lunch specials for $ 6.95! so stop reading this review, go eat there right now.

Two Words… Shanhai Noodle Soup and Mongolian Beef! The flavors explode in your mouth. It’s really quite good.
This place is definitely more authentic than your average Chinese joint and I also heard that its related to Szechuan North (my mom’s favorite restaurant) in the Northbrook area.
The place is a full service restaurant and although its not too large, its definitely larger than a sit down fast food place. The owner seemed really down to earth and the service was great.

Thank goodness for a place like this in the suburbs. Chinese takeout joint that delivers good food. The variety that they offer is awesome and I enjoy the fact that they are fast. I really suggest that everyone give them a try.

I have mixed feelings about this place. The décor definitely leans towards a trendy/​modern feel. But the seating area seemed as though it couldn’t hold more than 20 people. We arrived as a group of 8 for dinner and felt like we were taking up most of their seats. A majority of us grew accustomed to a family-​style way of having chinese food. This would consist of all-​you-​can-​scoop rice with a generous portion of entrée. We were in for a surprise when the dishes came. The portions were a bit on the pretentious side. And for the amount of money per dish, I wished there was more entrée. The taste however, was right on the money. Very flavorful with a homage to the authentic.
My favorites of the evening were the korean BBQ skirt steak, Crunchy Katsu, and Vegetables & Tofu. I enjoyed how some of the dishes came with a side salad, drizzled in a light and sweet ginger vinaigrette. The presentation was very well executed.
All in all, this place is a step-​up from the usual subpar, neighborhood chinese take-​out place. The prices seem a bit steep for the amount of food in their signature entrees. You’re better off buying the Ramune at a local asian mart. If you’re used to family-​style, I wouldn’t come here, unless you’re willing to order multiples of each.
I would’ve given this place 3 stars, but I feel that I am not the intended customer at Dragon Fire. I believe it’s best for those itching to break out of the usual varieties of sauce-​coated-​boring. Dragon Fire allows them the leeway to do so in the comforts of a clean, friendly, and contemporary spot.

The place just opened up recently and came for lunch. Nice modern décor and comfortable surroundings. We had the Shanghai Scallion Pancakes for an appetizer and they were great!
The the main meal, we both had the Shanghai Beef Noodle Soup. The portions were good, the beef had a bit of tendon on it was DELICIOUS. Service was prompt and quick and the owner came out to greet us a couple of times.
I would definitely attend again and I’m planning to bring my wife here within the next couple of weeks.