text: Wow a lot of star reviews on the Dragon Palace I suspect many are giving heavy handed reviews as this is a sentimental favorite I guess even my rating is slightly biased that way too But stars people Meaning it cannot get any better than woohoo as good as it gets Ok I will end my rant and get to the reviewnnIn short this is your typical old school MandarinSzechuan style chinese restaurant Decor is slightly tired but who really cares about decor anyways for a neighborhood chinese restaurantnnStaff could not have been friendlier It is family run from what I gather and take out service is quick and efficient They include almond cookies sauces utensils and fortune cookies in a nice packet with your to go order Everything was packaged VERY wellnnThe menu is a diverse variety of your typical chinese items Be aware that some dishes like the Moo Goo Gai Pan have alternate names like Snow White ChickennnStill with me Goodon to the foodnnI ordered BBQ pork slices Kung Pao Chicken and a dish they called Bo Bo Shrimp nnThe BBQ pork slices were generally not too fatty as they can be other places however some pieces were sliced too thin as they were dry Also the seasoning did not permeate the meat that much There was also no sauce which is good because Char Siu should not have any sauce per se Maybe I am just spoiled with good BBQ pork and I also realize it is just an appetizer but could have been better and more flavorfulnnThe Kung Pao Chicken is very average First I am appreciative of chinese restaurants that use dark meat instead of white as it is not dry But add to that a lot of peanuts that were a little overpowering I felt like an elephant lots of cubed green pepper and onion and a lot of sauce made this the typical Kung Pao chicken Was it bad It was not bad but not stars great either I do not know if I really understand why Phoenix area chinese places are compelled to throw a ton of vegetables in Kung Pao It would be nice for once to have a relatively vegetableless meat dish and order vegetables separately like how you order at better chinese places Compared to other places in Phoenix it was probably better than what I have had but again not stars amazingnnThe Bo Bo shrimp was a breaded shrimp dish with a spicy brown sauce On the positive I tasted the ginger and garlic come out of the sauce but the breading on the shrimp was so heavy it was falling off as I ate it Perhaps it was because it was take out and it got soggy so I will reserve some judgement for when I dine in person but I have had plenty of take out and the shrimp are not always like that I would have preferred a lighter coating which can be achieved with a dusting of cornstarchnnI can see why this place has gotten the accolades because relatively speaking there is not a lot of good accessible chinese food here in Phoenix well unless you go to Cofco Plaza Lee Lee Market Great Wall etc But again there is much better aroundnnWith that being said if you have read my other reviews you will see I am a big fan of locally run nonchain restaurants So do not let my review scare you too much I am just picky and have high expectations I certainly could have ordered items that are difficult to make poorly Mushu pork mongolian beef etc but chose Kung Pao as it is difficult to pull off properly So please try this place for yourself and form your own opinion At least you have mine