- The Airport Garden launches signature Chinese restaurant the Golden Dragon
By Naveed Rozais
The Vivanta Gateway Airport Garden in Seeduwa, or the Airport Garden as it is more simply known, is one of the Colombo suburbs’ oldest five-star hotels, having opened in the late 1980s and undergone multiple renovations over the years.
Last week, The Sunday Morning Brunch found ourselves at this staple hotel near the airport to mark a new beginning – the launch of the Airport Garden’s new Chinese restaurant, the Golden Dragon.
The Golden Dragon
Nestled in a restaurant space that hasn’t been used since the pandemic and has been redesigned to reflect Chinese spirit and cuisine, the Airport Garden’s Golden Dragon restaurant is an intimate fine dining restaurant that focuses on Sichuan and Cantonese recipes that have been slightly adjusted by Vivanta Gateway Airport Garden Executive Chef W.A.J. Sanjeewa to create the perfect balance between authentic Chinese flavour and the Sri Lankan palate’s craving for a hit of spice.
Speaking to Brunch, Chef Sanjeewa (who has, at one point or another, been one of the culinary hands behind a few of Colombo’s much-loved East Asian restaurants) shared that the recipes at the Golden Dragon were carefully researched to give both international and domestic travellers a taste of amazing Chinese food while also differentiating itself from the Taj Samudra’s Golden Dragon restaurant (all Chinese restaurants at Vivanta hotels go by the name of Golden Dragon).
Offering a different menu from its Colombo proper counterpart, the Airport Garden Golden Dragon focuses on creating unique Chinese flavours as well as creating a unique ambience that channels the benevolent hospitality of the Chinese spirit. At the door is a sculpture made in-house by a member of the Golden Dragon team, as well as fabric banners with Chinese symbols for happiness, wealth, and prosperity hung across the ceiling to add a depth of Chinese culture.
Sugar, spice, and everything nice
Moving on to the food, we were treated to a sampling of the Golden Dragon’s expansive menu, all of which uses ingredients brought in from China through Chinese vendors based in Colombo, right down to the various spices and sauce mixes used. Everything is done in-house.
You can’t have Chinese food without dim sum, and the Golden Dragon’s dim sum offering included Chicken and Prawn Siu Mai, Prawn Har Gow, and Pork Chives Dumplings, each of which was delightfully tender and chewy.
Our feast began with a helping of appetisers – Crispy Conjee Lamb, which was perfectly cooked and subtly spiced, and we also sampled the Butter Garlic Prawns and the Sichuan Chilli Chicken (a dry preparation which was nevertheless incredibly tender and juicy). Our run-away favourite from this segment was the BBQ Pork Spare Ribs, which apart from being delicious, were perfectly cooked to the point where the meat fell off the bone.
For the main course, we enjoyed two versions of fried rice – a Burnt Garlic Fried Rice which was nice and subtle and the Fiery Dragon Fried Rice, which was most certainly fiery. Our favourite carb was the Wok Fried Vegetable Hakka Noodles, which came to us thick and glossy and delicately flavoured to pair well with just about any other dish on the menu.
With our carbs, we were served Mixed Seafood in Oyster Sauce, Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple, Tomato and Bell Peppers, Kung Pao Chicken, and Eggplant in Chilli Black Bean Sauce. At the risk of being boring, we have to say our favourite dish was the eggplant, although the Kung Pao Chicken was a close second.
A special mention should be made of the Lemon Coriander Vegetable Soup, a springy, zesty chicken stock-based soup. It was the perfect comfort food for a rainy day, and the day of our visit was decidedly not dry.
For dessert, we were given the Golden Dragon Big Show, a tasting platter of some of the Golden Dragon’s desserts, all of which were beautifully executed, including Filo Pastry Stuffed with Dates, Caramelised Spring Roll Pastry, and the Dragon Roll – vanilla ice cream wrapped in sponge cake to form a kind of Swiss roll.
The Brunch verdict
Good Chinese cuisine is most certainly not limited to greater Colombo. The Airport Garden’s Golden Dragon more than holds its own and its location – not too far from Colombo and a stone’s throw away from the airport – means that it is certainly set to make a great splash.