Broadway Magic Dragon

Oh how I miss you. If the owner reads this please please open a Magic Dragon in the U Dist. I love the BIg combo you had and loved chicken curry with the potatoes, egg pancakes with gravy, chow mein, the hot and sour soup, and this one dish that was veggie with lots of tofu in it. It is in expensive and you get alot.

I love Magic Dragon. The noodles, chicken etc. Delish

I met the General at the Dragon.
He made me puke into a bag on
Broadway.
Never again.

I come from a long line of white trash that believe Chinese people actually eat this crap every day. And yet, I sorta love it. If the noodles haven’t been sitting in a chafing dish for a couple hours, they taste a little too fresh, you know?
I’ll hit the Dragon a couple of times a year, always on cold days when I’m tired and just want a mess of food, a warm TV, and a fortune to pin my next day’s hopes on. It’s not fancy, but it’s starchy, steamy, cheap and oddly comforting. So when I just can’t face another sad, overpriced Seattle pizza, this is a reasonable fallback.

I’m pretty sure people of Asiatic decent come up with the best names for restaurants, this place is no exception though I wish their food was as enjoyable as their namesake.
It’s fast, it’s pretty cheap and it’s totally random with the specials. Is it Chinese? Is it Japanese? Is it Thai? We’ll never know.

This place is exactly like Panda Express in the mall. Pre-​made buffet style food. I might come back if I’m in a hurry to get some good ol’ MSG in my body! The General Tsao’s chicken was pretty good. But, I’ve DEFINITELY had better.
The food here is decent, fast and cheap. It would’ve gotten 3 stars but at least Panda Express gives you a free fortune cookie with your meal. It’s just not the same without it.

While driving down Broadway I thought if fate opens a parking space I would try my luck with the #16 at Phở Cycle. A spot opened and as I was walking to PC I saw the banner at Magic Dragon proclaiming that as of April 10 it would be under new management and have Thai food.
Walked in and it was the same exact dirty place with the same steamer trays of deep fried food and tired vegetables. But for some reason I decided that I was in the mood for what a little voice kept telling not to get: General Tsao’s chicken and sweet and sour pork along with chow mein.
The noodles tasted like metal and the chicken was oddly fatty and the pork tough, but both meats were sadly satisfying in that deep-​fried way. As I sat there people kept coming in and ordering Magic bowls (one selection over white rice). Apparently that’s the way to order.
But I was disappointed that I had used my daily allotment of saturated fat on really bad bad-​Chinese food. Next time I will definitely walk past and try my luck with the #16 (grilled pork on noodles, 75% of the time good, 25% of time grissly and dry) at Phở Cycle.

good old regular chinese food that isn’t trendy thai or phở or sushi. the staff is very nice, and the prices are reasonable.
i second the recommendation of the eggplant and tofu.

Come on, admit it, sometimes you like to eat bad food. Sometimes you just wanna slum it and say to hell with all this gourmet-​fusion-​organic-​food. Sometimes you don’t even want to look at a menu, you just want to point to food on a steam table and say «Wrap it up, I’m eating that for dinner tonight!»
Where do you go for such a thing? Enter The Dragon! Broadway Magic Dragon is Capitol Hill’s answer to the mall food court.
Cheap, good, greasy, not even trying to be authentic, Khinese Fewd. (You know like crab with a K, get it?) Kewl.

I don’t know what it is about «honky Chinese» food that I love– the greasey-​ness, the overly large portions, the neon colors that exist nowhere in nature. It’s horrible and I know it. Yet I still eat it. And love it. It’s what I’d call my guilty pleasure for cuisine.
So when I’m feeling the need to spend less than $ 7 for a meal that will feed me for two days while simultaneously turning my arteries diamond-​hard and putting me into a diabetic coma, Magic Dragon is my poison.

Last night, I had my monthly Chinese Delivery Cravings. My body required Chinese food to survive the evening. Unfortunately, I live on Capital Hill and –as near as I can tell– some Thai-​food Mafia has driven all the Chinese food restaurants of note off the hill, and its nigh impossible to get Chinese food delivered.
So, cursing the universe, I threw on my rain jacket and walked out the door. My plan: Walk down Broadway until I found a Chinese restaurant. Buy take-​out and make it home in time for Survivor.
Several blocks later, I found myself standing under the sickly glowing yellow dragon sign of the Broadway Magic Dragon. Should I go in? Well, at least it would be cheap and I could make it home in time for Survivor.
«Yes, I’d like to do the two entry combo with General Tsao chicken and sweet and sour pork.» Scoop! Schlop! Scoop! Schlop! And I was on my way.
Back at home, I opened a beer, turned on the TV and dug into my dinner. Truth be told, for what it is, it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good either. And I’m pretty sure that my toy accordion is more authentically Chinese. But, then again, it was at least cheap and fast.
But, similar to when I’d get Chinese food from Haggen’s up in Bellingham, it might have satisfied my immediate Chinese food cravings… but its left me with a lightly sleeping Chinchilla in my stomach. Please don’t wake up, little Chinchilla.

Not the best Chinese food in the city, in fact, it’s not even that good, but I admit, after smoking a magic bowl, I’ll swing by here and pick up a magic bowl.

So you’re on Broadway, hungry, and a little strapped for cash? The Magic Dragon provides a vast selection of Asian entrees (Korean and Chinese, mostly) with minimal wallet damage. For just a few bucks, you can snag a huge dinner complete with rice (white, fried, or brown), chow mein, and whatever entrees you desire – I highly recommend the eggplant and tofu. Once you’ve paid up, you can sit in the gaudily painted, somewhat cavelike interior, grab a spot on the patio, or head home and enjoy some of the best takeout on the Hill.