In January, Oro Valley restaurant Dragon Village was named one of the nation's top 100 Chinese restaurants by The Chinese Restaurant News, a California trade publication.
The Star covered the story and, though I didn't write the article (it ran in the Business section), an e-mail from a reader found its way into my mailbox.
Jan Sershen and his wife visited Dragon Village after reading about the restaurant in the newspaper. And they were less than thrilled with their experience.
In fact, they really, really didn't like the food.
Could a restaurant ranked in the nation's top 100 serve subpar cuisine? Or was this just another crazy e-mail?
The situation merited further investigation.
For its part, The Chinese Restaurant News said it hired a private contractor to review restaurants that were nominated for "top 100" status. It e-mailed us a copy of Dragon Village's evaluation -- much of which focused on cleanliness and friendliness, rather than the menu.
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One of the questions on the evaluation asked the reviewer to "choose one word to describe your experience at this location." The reviewer chose the word "perfect."
Needless to say, expectations were high. When we arrived on a recent Monday evening, business was booming — always a good sign. The host seated us initially at a table in the middle of the restaurant, before a manager asked us if we'd be happier at a table up against the wall. We accepted the relocation.
The restaurant was clean and well kept, with artwork depicting pandas and goldfish and neon Tsingtao and Kirin beer signs.
On the near wall sat two framed newspaper articles: one, a Star review from 2005 with the headline "Hitch your wagon to the tasty Dragon"; the other, the Star story from January announcing Dragon Village's inclusion in The Chinese Restaurant News' top 100 list. Below the articles was a framed photo of owner Mary Wong accepting the award in New York.
Behind the register, the silver trophy awarded to Wong was prominently displayed.
The service was friendly and quick — maybe too quick. I appreciate it when a restaurant gives me enough time to finish my soup and appetizer before bringing out the main course. Dragon Village didn't allow us this luxury.
We started with a pot of piping hot tea (50 cents). Next we each ordered a bowl of vegetable soup ($1.50), which was filled with tasty bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots and cabbage. But the broth was far too salty.
We each devoured a vegetable egg roll ($2) served with sweet and sour sauce. The roll was cabbage and vermicelli noodles wrapped tightly in rice paper and deep fried. It was crispy, if a little greasy.
Many of the items on Dragon Village's menu have smiley faces next to them, indicating that they are "healthy and light." The vegetable lo mein ($5.95) was the only lo mein dish with a smiley face. We tried it and found the dish tasty but greasy and a little short on vegetables.
The Szechuan tofu ($6.95) and accompanying mixed fresh vegetables were bathed in a brown sauce that pulled no punches when it came to sodium or red chile pepper spice. The vegetables were crisp and well-cooked but were overwhelmed by the too-salty sauce.
Wong told me that her restaurant's food isn't exactly like the food she grew up eating in Canton, China.
"With American food everything is more sweet," she said. "Americans like sweet."
That may be true, but the teriyaki eggplant ($6.95) was too sweet for this American. The eggplant was deep-fried, served on a bed of broccoli and dowsed in a saccharin sauce. Any crispness the eggplant acquired when fried was lost after it was soaked in sauce.
Give Dragon Village this much: The prices are low and the portions are generous. But the food was disappointing and the flavors lacked any subtlety or nuance.
Was it much worse than the average Chinese restaurant experience? No. But it was hardly perfect.
12152 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd., Oro Valley.
• Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Noon-9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
• More info: 229-0388.
The Bill
Pot of tea: 50 cents.
2 bowls of vegetable soup: $3.
Vegetable egg roll: $2.
Vegetable low mein: $5.95.
Szechuan tofu: $6.95.
Teriyaki eggplant: $6.95.
Total, before tax and tip: $25.35.
