Chinese Dragon Café, Nugegoda

Chinese Dragon Cafe is one of the oldest and most recognised dining spots in Sri Lanka. Starting on a small scale, this has evolved into a large franchise spanning over 80 years, with numerous branches in Colombo and one in Dubai as well. As the name suggests, the restaurant offers a Chinese taste, but not exclusively so.

Due to its high popularity, I wanted to taste their varieties for a long time, and last week I got the chance with my wife. But it's not the perfect experience as expected.

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The Location

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All of its branches are situated in very strategic locations in Colombo. And so does the Nugegoda branch. From Pettah Bus Station, take any bus that goes through the high-level road, and it's around 30-minute journey. From Nugegoda town, it's around 2 km away. As the restaurant is just beside the main road, it's not hard to find.

This is a very common route, a highly crowded area with a lot of important institutions, schools, classes, etc. So, the name, the brand, and the place have become a popular joint.

The entarnce view

As you can see in the images above, the surroundings and background are quite beautiful. They have a lighting arrangement, which is quite spectacular at night. There is a nice and big decoration celebrating their 80 years of excellence. But unfortunately, there were no discounts or offers. It's just for the show and attraction.

There are plenty of parking spaces in front of the building for free.

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There are two floors in the restaurant. Our first impression was quite good with the decent arrangement, atmosphere, and friendly staff. The ground floor has a few tables with entrance decorations, a cashier, etc. There were a few customers there, so we chose the upper floor. It was almost empty, and there was a separate area for VIP options, I think with the drinking facilities as well.

The seating was comfortable, and we could have a good look at the surroundings through the glass walls.

The Menu

So, let's move to the most important thing: the menu. There are so many varieties of food, with different tastes and portions. It's not just the main courses, but other appetizers and curry items as well. I will list the main items.

• Rice Options - Fried Rice (Chicken, egg, Seafood, Mix), Basmati Steamed Rice, Nasigurang, Spicy Thai Rice with Seafood, Dragon Rice
• Seafood items- Hot Butter Cuttlefish, Devilled Fish, Fried fish, Prawns, Sweet & Sour Fish
• Chicken, Beef, Pork, Vegetarian items
• Drinks, juice, desserts, and beverages
• Appetizers

Actually, there are options in each category. You can order chicken curry in 10 different ways. So, it's best to refer to their website, Menu. It's well organized, regularly updated, and has clear images of the prizes. They display all the ongoing discount, offers, and their new additions on the site as well. A 10% service charge is added to all orders. (1$ = 307 LKR, 1 Steem = 22 LKR)

Our order

Well, we ordered full Chicken fried rice and two Cokes. Well, the prices are a bit higher than we expected, considering the other similar restaurants. It's our fault for not researching a bit before. So, we were just satisfied with a small meal.

It took around 15 minutes for the arrival of the food to arrive. Actually, the portion is not enough for two people. But they recommend it for two, so we were disappointed with that, considering the high price. They even charged a higher price for the beverages than mentioned on the bottle.

Anyhow, the taste was good, and it had a fair amount of chicken as well.

Well, we enjoyed our time being there. Customer service is good. At the cashier, they have card or cash options. They don't give printed bills, instead send a message to our mobile. That's a good initiative. Our bill was Rs. 2450 (8 dollars).

The Place	Chinese Dragon Cafe - Nugegoda
Type of place	Chinese Restaurent
Address	242 High Level Rd, Nugegoda
Branches	Multiple across Colombo (Bambalapitiya, Mount Lavinia, Rajagiriya, Wattala, Nugegoda, Kadana, Kaduwela, Pelawatta), Jaffna, Dubai
Contact no:	+9411-7808080
Time	Every day from 11.00 AM- 11 PM
Location	on Google Maps
Social Media/Website	Official Website, Facebook, Instragram
Time of Visit	16th of November, 2025.
Facilities	Free Parking, Washroom, Dine in, reservations, or delivery
My Rating of the place	6/10

So, after all, it's not our best experience. Maybe their other meals are good, but our order didn't meet the expectation with the price and portion.

Until the next time! Enjoy!

Thank you.
Best Regards!