After New Orleans's Chinatown came to an end in the 1950s, those looking for Chinese restaurants found most of them on the outskirts of town. It's only lately that Asian restaurants managed to infiltrate the Uptown area. Jung's Golden Dragon is one of the best of these relocations, having left a long-established Metairie restaurant behind to cash in on the current vogue among younger diners for Asian food.
On Magazine Street, hipness is essential. Perceived authenticity is the index that gets people talking about Asian places. In the Chinese arena, one must now have a special "Chinese menu" of dishes supposedly preferred by Asian customers, preferably printed in Chinese. And yes, that's here.
In the busy restaurant row centered on the 3000 block of Magazine Street, the reincarnation of the long-running Golden Dragon fits right in. The customers, wooed by such a variety of eateries, holds out for better food than take-out fried rice. Jung Tan rises to this opportunity and finds that the customers are ready for the best she can dish out.
Jung Tan was barely out of the UNO Hotel and Tourism School when she opened East China, her first restaurant, in the early 1980s. It was in New Orleans East, which had the best Chinese restaurants in town then. Things changed, and Jung moved a couple of times. She ultimately took over the Golden Dragon, across from the Clearview Mall. In the mid-1970s, that restaurant was a culinary leader in the Chinese restaurant market. Jung kept its food exciting, but the second-floor location in an unattractive strip mall became untenable. In 2011, Jung moved the Golden Dragon to Magazine Street, just as a wave of new restaurants there transformed the area.
The busy room looks classically Chinese, but in a modern way, with light-colored wood paneling creating a feeling of substance. Jung is always in the room, talking to everybody, and eager to give you background and recommendations.
Take advantage of the owner's presence and ask what might be especially good. Suggest that you don't need the food to be Americanized, and you'll wind up with a more interesting meal.
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