The Silver Dragon Restaurant – Banff Alberta

Our first evening in Banff…and we walked up and down Banff Avenue plus a couple of the side streets checking out the town’s varied and many, many shops.  After a bit, we needed a break so we looked around for a place to rest our feet and order a drink.  Fortunately, we settled on a below street level place right in the middle of downtown named Tommy’s Neighborhood Pub. 

Tommy’s provided us with a couple of drinks…and more importantly…the Aussie Bar Tender gave us his recommendations for a couple of places to eat dinner.  He was spot on!  We enjoyed our meals in both of the restaurants he recommended.  Tommy’s earned some recognition for the bartender’s efforts… This Pub’s website can be found at http://tommysneighbourhoodpub.com/Home.aspx.   

The first place our Aussie recommended was the Silver Dragon Restaurant.  As you can see, like many of the restaurants on Banff Avenue, this restaurant is on the third level of one of the street’s plentiful mini-malls.

The inside of the Silver Dragon Restaurant is spacious and as you can see, the restaurant is long and relatively narrow.  This photo was taken from our table looking toward the rear of the dining area.  We noted that although it was early, several of the tables were occupied by Asian diners…always a good sign in an Asian restaurant!

Given the long, narrow and deep configuration of this restaurant, we certainly lucked out when we were seated.  This was our view…looking over Banff Avenue with the mountains as a backdrop!  

If you enlarge this photo, it is a bit blurry… Laurie gave two thumbs up for her small bowl of spicy Hot and Sour Soup! ($3.25) There were a total of 14 different soups listed on the menu…some of them with enough ingredients and size to qualify as a meal.  One example is the Wor Won Ton Soup, with 6 wontons, assorted seafood, meat and vegetables. ($16.00)

For a starter, I perused the Appetizer Menu and its 18 offerings!  I didn’t want to fill up so I went with a half order of the Grilled Pork and Vegetable Dumplings. ($7.00) A full order with 8 pieces was $12.00.  The Fritter Tiger Prawns looked interesting to me as well…

For some reason…perhaps because it’s a special dish that is meant to be shared…a full order of Peking Duck with 16 pancakes is listed as an appetizer. ($46.00) Although we were already getting used to Canadian prices, I did note that a single egg roll cost $3.50.

For her entrée, Laurie ordered the Ginger Deep Fried Beef. ($16.00) She also ordered a small bowl of steamed rice. ($2.85) She asked for it to be extra spicy and, unlike many Chinese restaurants, they actually believed that she wanted it hot! It was indeed spicy…but it was just right!  The beef was tender and the ginger really made her dinner pop!  Laurie gave her meal 5 stars!

I decided to order the Fried Chicken in Chili Soya Sauce with a small bowl of steamed white rice. ($17.00 plus $2.85) I ordered my chicken one step hotter than Laurie’s entree…and the chef definitely got it right!  The chicken was excellent and that chili sauce was terrific with the rice…

FYI…As with many Chinese Restaurants, the menu at Silver Dragon is huge!  There is a wide selection of chicken, duck, beef, pork, sparerib, vegetable, tofu, Egg Foo Yung, seafood, (including 6 lobster entrees), rice and noodle dishes.  There is also a menu for group dinners for up to 10 diners.  My only menu disappointment was that they didn’t offer brown rice…which I prefer.

The Silver Dragon Restaurant is located at 211 Banff Avenue, 3^rd Floor, in Banff Alberta Canada.  Phone: 403-762-3939.  If you’d like to look at the extensive menu, just click on http://www.banffdiningguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Silver-Dragon-Dinner-Menu.pdf. Laurie and I went back into Tommy’s Neighborhood Pub to thank our Australian Bar Tender for the restaurant tips…but he was off duty.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for dinner with us!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave