Asian at Eastern Dragon

Eastern Dragon
7001 Route 309 (Fairmount Village Shopping Center)
Coopersburg, PA
(610) 282-8988

I've purposely avoided reviewing Chinese restaurants. As noted in an early post, there are more U.S. Chinese restaurants than McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger Kings combined. (Both categories have health issues. Two cups of General Tso's chicken packs 830 calories and 37 fat grams, which rivals Wendy's new "Baconator" sandwich.)

Nonetheless, when my friend John invited me to Eastern Dragon with his hearty recommendation, I couldn't pass it up. Like most Chinese restaurants in the Lehigh Valley, it's in a strip mall. But the similarities end there. The interior is tastefully decorated; the garish, cliche Chinese wall hangings aren't prominent. (However, "Chinese zodiac calendar" placemats mark each seat.) Cove lighting in the ceiling provides a pleasant indirect glow. A sushi bar is at the rear.

The menu has all the typical American Chinese dishes: ____ in garlic sauce, ____ with broccoli, kung pao ______, szechwan ______. (Fill in the blank, of course, with your protein of choice.) However, several gourmet specialties caught my eye. I ordered the Shrimp Amazing, which had tender large shrimp stir fried with peppers in a thick, spicy red sauce. John ordered shredded beef, which featured thinly sliced beef with julienned veggies, seasoned with a kick supplied by peppers and chilies. We split a house lo mein, which had chicken, shrimp and pork. All three dishes were big on flavor, freshly prepared, and low on grease. Brown rice was available instead of the typical white. Each grain was cooked to perfection: toothsome and a tad chewy, not at all sticky. (Few Chinese restaurants have brown rice, which is more flavorful and healthier than white rice and exponentially better than fried rice.)

Other enticing items included Ma-La Seafood with Basil (shrimp/scallops with a hot basil sauce), Walnut Honey Shrimp, New Zealand Mussels (with ma-la sauce or black bean sauce), and two roast duck dishes. The sushi bar options are fairly typical -- rolls and hand rolls, sushi and sashimi. Considering the care put into the Chinese food, I'd wager the sushi is good or better.

Eastern Dragon is BYOB. There's a state store in the strip mall if you care for wine. However, I don't recall there being a beer store, so you'll have to bring your own Kirin or other favorite Asian beer.