The just-off-the-highway big box tourist restaurants might have been easier to find. But instead, Staff Writer Audrey Parente directed her friend Gary Gordon of DeLeon Springs to a more hidden restaurant off the intersection of I-95 and RouteState Road 40. Royal Dynasty is hardly noticeable at the corner of the busy Towne Square shopping center. It's reflective windows give no inclination the placeit is even open. But a freshly handwritten sign listing new menu additions gives assurance the place is still cooking.
What was the place like?
Royal Dynasty has changed hands and staff over time, but it's been at the same location for nearly 20 years, and it has remained consistently good during all that time.
What did you start with?
Gary arrived before I did and was hungry, so he ordered two appetizers before I even arrived.
"I never start a Chinese meal without egg drop soup," he said. The other was a spring roll. He said they were tasty and the soup "was far less salty than other places" he's tried. He shared an appetizer I ordered -- one of the new items from the handwritten sign: cold sesame noodles, an interesting little plate of cold pasta noodles, julienne cucumber and sesame seeds in a tasty brown sesame sauce.
What else did you order?
The menu was enormous -- columns A through H and then some -- from lo mein and chop suey to seafood, poutlry, pork and beef. As I said, Gary was hungry. He ordered two meals: beef with young gingerroots, which came with snow peas, corn, red pepper and a brown sauce; and honey duck -- a fried half of duck with honey sauce.
I was thinking of ordering crispy duck, but I like a lot of veggies, so our very helpful and attentive waitress, Tiffany, suggested the Royal velvet duck with steamed vegetables. She wasn't wrong. The menu cautioned "allow 15 minutes" for extra preparation time, but we didn't even notice any time lag.
The three meals and steaming bowls of white rice (fried rice was an option) were presented, garnished with huge color coordinated radish roses, shredded lettuce and parsley. My velvet duck, lightly battered, was ringed with broccoli and beneath it was a surprise bounty of steamed veggies, including zucchini, snow peas, mushrooms and baby corn -- all very delicious, especially with the mushroom onion sauce served in a separate bowl. I only ate half and took the rest home.
Gary said the beef was very good and the honey duck was "magnificent, tasty, juice, tender, succulent." I tasted a bite. I have to agree. As to the two meals he ordered, he didn't leave a morsel.
Anything else?
Fried banana-flavored ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce, with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry on the side, enough for two. Ahhh. And one thing fun about eating Chinese -- no bum's rush about the bill. Time for fortune cookies and waitress Tiffany from China taught me how to pronounce a few Chinese words, so to her, xie xie (Chinese for thank you, pronounced sheh sheh).
How much did it cost?
Egg drop soup $1.60; spring roll $1.45; sesame noodles $4.25; Royal velvet duck with steamed vegetables $13.95; beef with young ginger, $11.95; honey duck, $12.95; fried banana ice cream, $4.25. Total with tax and tip $65.68.
Royal Dynasty
WHERE: Ormond Towne Square, 1482 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach
HOURS: Lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11:30 a.m. -3 p.m. Sunday and holidays. Dinner 3-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Sunday and holidays, 3-10:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday
MISC: Handicapped accessible, takeout available. Major credit cards accepted.
