Author: Romford Dragon

Categories
blog

How is the Romford Dragon Keeping You Safe during Covid-19?

Due to the ongoing uncertainty with Covid-19, and the government’s constant changes; we felt that it will be better to have a central blog post to update everyone in Romford. This will ensure the safety of both our staff, and you the customers. So please keep up to date with our  #DoingMyBit  to limit the spread of Covid-19 updates.

This recent news and new guidelines will applies to both us here at the Romford Dragon, but also, to other Takeaways in Romford. Other establishments might be different, and it will be best to check with them.

Latest Corona Virus Updates for Romford Takeaways as of 10/10/2020

 

NHS Test and Trace App with QR Code

The printout of the NHS sign on a wall. It shows a QR code along with the text:

We have displayed a QR code on the left -hand wall as soon as you walk into the shop. this is to notify NHS the places you visited and to see if you came in contact with infected people; it doesn’t have any personal information of you, so please leave your tinfoil hat outside!

All you have to do is to download the NHS Test and Trace App for Apple or for Android; and point your phone at the sign.

 

10pm Curfew 🕙

On Monday 21st of September, the Prime Minister announced that pubs and restaurants would have to close by 10pm due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. This rule will start on Thursday 24th of September.

Are Takeaways affected?

Yes and no, deliveries are allowed after 10pm, but not in person.

Here at the Romford Dragon, we will be locking our doors at 10pm, so you will not be able to order or pickup in person, but you can still make an order over the phone or online, and we will deliver until 11pm like normal.

This includes delivery to the great distance to your car, or outside the shop… Don’t worry, because we are such nice people, there won’t be a minimum order, nor would we charge you for the delivery fee. 😉

 

The Three-tier Lockdown in Romford

On Monday the 12th of October, the government has placed different restrictions in areas, depending on the severity of infection rates; fortunately, Havering is under the ‘Medium’ rate, which means we only have to comply with the base rules , this includes the rule of 6 gathering one and the 10pm curfew.

Another Local Lockdown in Havering?

It is possible according to Havering’s Council chief executive; if the spread is not controlled, we could face a lockdown as soon as October. Welp, October is here, and we don’t see any lockdown, so well done all! But this doesn’t mean we are out of the red yet, please continue doing what you are doing to keep everyone safe!

If this happens, many stores including restaurants and even takeaways might be forced to close.

At this moment in time, we have no plans of closing again if a second lockdown happens. Extra measures will be implemented if we do decide to remain open during a lockdown. We will keep you updated.

 

Mandatory Face Coverings

As a customer, face masks are compulsory when you are visiting us in person to make an order or to pick up your food. More than ever, due to the increasing cases of Covid, you must wear a face covering; so please make sure you have a mask on when you visit us; unless you are exempt. You can learn more here.

 

Contactless Payments

We offer a contactless payment via a card machine, online on our website, and on our mobile app. If you are visiting us in person just tap your card or use Apple/Google Pay on your phones. If you are getting your food delivered, you can call us and pay over the phone using your card. Card is also accepted through our online platforms. We appreciate not everyone will use a card, so we are still accepting cash.

 

Contactless Delivery

Once our driver is outside, they will knock on your door, place the food down, step back and wait for you to collect your food before leaving. If you haven’t paid yet, please leave the money outside, we will not be giving change, however,  our drivers will greatly appreciate a tip during these difficult times.

 

Social Distancing

We are only letting in 2 customers in the shop at any one time, this will unlikely affect you, due to our limited footfall; but if you do see more than 2 people inside, please wait until someone leaves. If you are inside, please keep your distance from other customers.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and #DoingMyBit to keep everyone in Romford safe. We will do our bit by keeping up with new government guidelines, and keeping all our customers informed. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram so you are notified if this page gets updated.

 

Let us tackle Corona together!

Categories
blog

What Chinese Dumplings Can You order in Romford?

A golden dumpling icon is on a red background. on the top right is the Romford Dragon logo. Under the dumpling are golden texts: Chinese Dumplings

Dim-sumbody say dumplings? 🥟

Sorry, it had to be done!

I am sure most of you have tried one form or another of a dumpling before, be it the classic British stew or casserole Dumpling here in England, or the more exotic Italian ravioli? Put simply, if you can stuff it, it’s a dumpling!

What is the Chinese Dumpling?

China is no different, and the Chinese Dumpling started with a man called Zhang Zhongjian, who after witnessing his village being hit with a bout of frostbite, that effected many badly around their ears; created ear-shape dumpling stuffed with lamb and herbs to hand out during those hard times. A bit mean if you ask me. “Hi Mrs. Chen, I noticed your husband lost his ears last Winter due to frostbite, here have some dumplings in the shape of ears…”

Today, this simple dumpling has evolved into different styles of Chinese dumplings enjoyed by many around the world during Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year. But you don’t have to wait for a special day to try some Chinese dumplings…

Introducing: Chinese dumplings at the Romford Dragon!

Yes, that is dumplings, plural, there are many different styles of dumpling in Chinese cuisine, from the Chinese pork dumpling, fried at your local takeaway, to the more traditional Har Gow served at restaurants in London Chinatown for Dim Sum. Here is what we have to offer on our menu:

Dumplings in broth

Wontons

Won Tons are quite common at your local Chinese takeaway, nearly every takeaway in Romford will have them on their menu.

Created by placing mincemeat in the centre of a square sheet of dough, which is folded up into a small dumpling,  then boiled in a soup with some veg or noodles. We can even deep-fry them for that extra crunch if you like!

Some takeaways use mince pork with shrimp, but we like to keep it simple with just pork.

We serve 5 in a rich broth with some tasty mixed vegetables, including Chinese lettuce.

You can find this under our Soup section on our menu, item #7 for £3.00.

Crispy Won-tons with dipping sauce

Those who are looking for that CRUNCH can find our Crispy Won-tons in our Appetizer section, J6 for £4.20. it also features a small pot of sweet and sour sauce to dip them in.

Crispy brown dumplings lay on a white plate.Crispy Prawn Dumplings (Fun Guo)

Take a guess what’s in this dumpling… if you’ve guessed prawns… well nothing gets past you does it?

Deep fried in oil, this crispy dumpling is wrapped with succulent diced prawns with carrots. Taste the freshness of the prawns as you crunch into this tasty Chinese morsel!

Located on our Appetizers, at #J17 for £4.80.

Grilled Peking dumplings

Grilled Peking Pork Dumplings (Sui Gao)

Sounds exotic, but another popular dish served by a lot of Romford Chinese eateries, this pork potsticker is also very popular in northern China and is the staple Chinese Dumpling.

Our Sui Gao are wrapped in a thicker dough than our Wonton that contains the juicy pork within. It’s then normally grilled, served with sweet chilly sauce for you to dip into. Although, not on the menu, you can request to have the steamed version, and you can dunk it into soy sauce, which is the traditional way of having this Chinese dish.

This really depends on your taste. You get 6 in a portion, and it makes a great shared starter!

Our Grilled Peking Pork Dumplings is #J16, found under Appetizers on our menu for £4.80.

Pork Dumplings with a cucumber garnish

Pork Dumplings (Siu Mai)

Despite the name on the menu, this is actually a lot more exotic, as it is not that common to find at  your average Chinese takeaway, the Siu Mai is filled with pork and shrimp, along with other ingredients such as mushroom, ginger, and green onions.

After being stuffed, it is slowly steamed so the meat inside is cooked with its juices spreading throughout the dumpling. We serve 6 in one portion. This dish is normally consumed at traditional Chinese restaurants as a Dim Sum, and the majority takeaways in Romford will not have this on their menu.

We featured this dish on our menu when we opened back in January as we wanted to introduce more authentic Chinese cuisine to everyone in Romford. So far it has been a huge hit! With at least 10 portions of Siu Mai being sold each week. You can try it out if you haven’t had it before.

You can order some traditional Siu Mai under Appetizers on the menu, #J28 for £4.80.

There you have it, all the selection of dumplings being served at the Romford Dragon, when you next place an order, why not give each one a try!

Before I let you go, I have an important question…
Do you know why the Romford Dragon’s soup is so heavy?

…Because it’s ONE TON soup!

 

Please note, our dumplings may include allergens such as gluten from dough and crustaceans from shrimp and prawns, as always, please get in touch before ordering.
Categories
blog news

Face Masks are Compulsory, even at Takeaways in Romford

Ok so let’s make something very clear here, facemasks help, look at Hong Kong, then look at America; this however is not a political post, we are just a local takeaway in Harold Park, all we do is cook food, and provide information in a fun, interesting and often silly way. So here is the lowdown on the new law on wearing face coverings on this Friday the 24th of July.

A few weeks back, our health secretary, Matt Hancock announced that from the 24th of July wearing a facemask would be required of anyone visiting shops, be it supermarkets or restaurants (because Corona is currently on annual leave and will strike back on the 24th!) In all seriousness, this is more than likely to give everyone chance to purchase or create some.

After the announcement, everyone kept asking the burning question. ‘Do I need to wear one if I pop down to the Romford Dragon for my weekly Chinese?’ Ok so maybe not that question exactly, but more like, ‘is it required in all shops like a takeaway?’ At first, Mr. Hancock said yes, but then Business Secretary, Alok Sharma said, no! Which was probably followed, with many yeses and many no’s and some ‘he said’s’, and ‘she said’s’. Then after all that,  it was a YES. ( Editor’s Note: Trust me, I had to edit this post over 3 times!)

 

What can £100 Get You at the Romford Dragon

Anyone who visits the aforementioned shops without a face mask will get hit a £100 fine; that’s a lot, apart from saving lives, that could get you a lot, like 25 Chicken Chow Mein at the Romford Dragon, or 50 prawn crackers! So yeah good to be on top of your mask game. Remember those who are under the age of 11 or have other conditions are exempt.

 

Can I still Pick Up My Chinese If I Do Not Wear A Face Mask?

So if you do come and pick up your food, we do have the protected screen up when you make the order, which has been working extremely well for the last few months; and due to our location, we do not have many walk-ins and can easily regulate how many customers are in at once.

Therefore, we will not refuse your order, but those who do come in wearing a face-mask, we will give you a complimentary bag of prawn crackers or a can of drink; this is our little way to promote face mask-wearing.

 

Bottom line, wear facemasks; save lives, save £100 and enjoy some complimentary prawn crackers! 🦐🍘

Categories
blog news

No Eat Out to Help Out discount in Romford Takeaways

Today, the 8th of July, during the Summer Mini Budget Statement, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced several government schemes to help the economy. One in particular is the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme to boost the hospitality industry.

How Does Eat Out to Help Out Work?

Starting on next month, August, every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; customers that eat out will get 50% off of their order, up to £10.00 per person.

Does Eat Out to Help Out apply to takeaways?

Unfortunately, the Eat Out to Help Out initiative only applies to restaurants, pubs and other sit in eateries. This means, the Romford Dragon and other Chinese takeaways in Romford will not be able to participate. 😞

However, we still have some tasty deals here at the Romford Dragon that everyone can tap into if they do not feel safe out.

 

What Restaurants are Participating in the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme?

We don’t normally promote other businesses, but this is a good time to get the food industry back on its feet, plus supporting local businesses; so we would recommend  this handy guide from the Romford Recorder to see what restaurants are offering this in Romford. If you are not from Romford however, check out the government’s website to see what other places offering in your local area.

 

What Days are the Eat Out to Help Out Discount Available?

Starting on Monday the 3rd of August and ending on the Monday 31st of August, here are all the dates you can get 50% off of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme:

 

Week 1 – Monday 3rd of August, Tuesday 4th of August and Wednesday 5th of August.

Week 2 – Monday 10th of August, Tuesday 11th of August and Wednesday 12th of August.

Week 3 – Monday 17th of August, Tuesday 18th of August and Wednesday 19th of August.

Week 4 – Monday 24th of August, Tuesday 25th of August and Wednesday 26th of August.

The discount can be used unlimited times too, so people can enjoy it as many times as they like.

We hope this information is helpful.

 

If you do decide to go out and tap into the #EatOutToHelpOut discount, please stay safe, and we will be here if you need to order some Chinese food on your way home from the pub!

Categories
blog news

Back Open

romford dragon logo - We're back! text


 

Hello, hello, test test? Is this thing still on? 🎤

Wow! Long time no see, how are you all?

As you may have noticed, we have been closed for about three months, this is to ensure the safety of our staff and you, our customers.

Good news!

As of 28th of June at 4:30pm, we are back open. Our opening times will remain the same, the food you know and love will also remain the same.

New Covid-19 Health and Safety Guidelines

We take our duty of care towards our customers very seriously, as such, we ask you kindly to familiarise yourself with the following new measures that we have in place before making your next order.

  1. Contactless delivery – our drivers will leave your food on your doorstep and ring your bell, they will step back to insure you get your food.
  2. Cash Payment – we understand that not everyone uses card, so we will still be accepting cash payment, but please ensure that you have the right amount before our driver arrives, or any extra  (our drivers will appreciate the tip). We will provide a container next to the food for you to put the cash in. Card payments are obviously still accepted.
  3. In store, we are only allowing 3 customers inside our premises at any one time, please adhere to guidance on keeping a distance from other customers.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and be assured that we take everyone’s safety very seriously.

Remember if you haven’t ordered from us yet, our 20% offer is still available to you, and if you are one of our existing customers, an email will be landing in your inbox soon with another tasty deal, so keep an eye out for that.

We thank you once more, and here to your next Chinese at Romford Dragon!

Categories
blog news

Cheerio, Just for a While 👋

We are now back open!

 

CLOSED Temporarily UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

 

We are sorry, but due to the current Coronavirus outbreak, we will be temporarily closed until further notice.

This is in response to the Prime Minister’s statement on the 16th of March, advising everyone to limit social contact with other people. We understand that this is mainly for primarily restaurants, but we feel that this will help limit the spread of the virus, and for the safety of our staff and customers we decided to close for now, as it’s spreading rapidly and by closing we are doing our part to help.

 

We will be donating our perishable food to our local food bank in Harold Hill, hopefully this will help some people at these difficult times.

When Will You Open Again?

We are honestly unsure, given the current ambiguity of what the government is saying, we think at least a month, but we will let you know as soon as we are back open again, please follow our social media, so you will know when we are back open!

Facebook, Google, Twitter and Instagram.

Alternatively, please enter your email below and we will notify you once we are back open again.

Subscribe

* indicates required



Would like to just finally say, thank you for being patient, and we’re sure we can pull through eventually!

If you have any concerns, please visit the NHS page on Covid-19.

 

Finally, during this time, our social media will still be monitored, so if you have any questions, just reach out and we will be happy to answer them.

Please stay safe and see you very soon!

 

Definitely not a goodbye, just a see you soon,

 

The Romford 🐉

Categories
blog

*ENDED* Valentine’s Day Discount 2020

The golden Romford Dragon surrounded by red love hearts. Under the dragon, in red text reads: ‘ VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL. Buy one get one free on our Special Set dinner’

This deal has finished, for more deals and discounts, please visit our deals page.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love is in the area at the Romford Dragon, and we want to share the love with you! 💘

Only for tonight, buy one get one free on our Special Set Dinners  from our menu and get the other absolutely free. To be shared with another, or all for yourself, we really don’t judge here! 😏

 

How Do I Get This Offer?

  1. Make an order over the phone, in person, on our website or app.
  2. Visit our Special Set Dinner category, pick.
  3. Pick from the 10 dishes on offer.
  4. Order anything else you need.
  5. Check out.
  6. Say or enter the code Love2020
  7. Tell us what you want the free dish to be in the check out notes, or just tell our counter staff.
  8. Enjoy your meal!

 

Available Dishes on Offer

  • D1. Sweet & Sour Chicken
  • D2. Chicken with Green Peppers in Black Bean Sauce
  • D3. Beef With Green Peppers In Black Bean Sauce
  • D4. Roast Pork In BBQ Sauce
  • D5. Chicken Curry
  • D6.Beef Chicken
  • D7. King Prawn In Oyster Sauce
  • D8. Sweet & Sour Chicken Balls
  • D9. Barbecued Spare Ribs In Sauce
  • D10. Chicken In Satay Sauce With peanut sauce

The Terms and Conditions

  1. Only available from our Special Set Dinner category, other things on the menu is not a part of this deal.
  2. Only available over the phone, in person or on our app, not available on our partners such as JustEat.
  3. Only available tonight ends at 11pm today.

 

If you have any questions regarding this offer, please get in touch. For future offers and discounts, please follow our social media.

Categories
deal

20% Off of Your Next Chinese Takeaway in Romford

A shopfront with red doors and wide windows. The sign on top in red and gold states the name 'The Romford Dragon' with the address '19A The Parade, Colchester Road, Romford, RM3 0AQ' and finally the phone number '01708 3381818'. Inside the shop looks busy with a cue of people waiting as a woman behind the counter takes orders.

To say hello, and to give you a chance to try out our delightful Chinese food we will be offering a 20% discount to your first order online.

 

How Do I Get 20% Off of My Next Chinese takeaway?

  1. Download our app, on Android or iPhone. Alternatively, you can order on here.
  2. Create an account
  3. Make an order
  4. Enjoy your food, 20% off! No codes required, easy and quick!

 

The Boring Stuff

  1. No codes are required, as long as it’s your first order, it will be automatically applied.
  2. All dishes and any amount are applicable, whether you are ordering a bag of chips for yourself, or a £500 party with hundreds of dishes, the 20% off still applies.
  3. Not available over the phone or in person. We cannot provide this offer offline because our fancy apps and things keep track of who has or has not yet made an order with us, and if we extended this offer to offline it will make remembering who is a new customer or not will be super difficult. You can however make an order online as you come and pick your Chinese food up to get this discount.
  4. This offer is only exclusive to our official apps and website, it, it is not being hosted on any of our partner platforms such as Just Eat, Uber Eats, and Food Hub. We like to give our own customers this exclusive offer.
  5. As of now, there is not an end date until this offer is over, most likely to the end of 2020, but we might remove and add new discounts in the future, so don’t leave it too long.
  6. First orders only, you will not get this offer again unless we offer 20% with future discounts.
  7. Do not create new accounts to exploit this offer, if the Dragon finds out by its techy ways, we may be forced to exclude you from future offers, so please play fare!

 

If you have any questions regarding this offer, please get in touch and we would be happy to explain!

 

We hope you enjoy this deal, and for future deals insure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or you can join the email newsletter.

Categories
blog

A new Chinese Takeaway Coming Near You in Romford

A shopfront with red doors and wide windows. The sign on top in red and gold states the name 'The Romford Dragon' with the address '19A The Parade, Colchester Road, Romford, RM3 0AQ' and finally the phone number '01708 3381818'. Inside the shop looks busy with a cue of people waiting as a woman behind the counter takes orders.

Hello hello, 👋🏻 we would just like to introduce ourselves as we are still new to the area.

We are a small family who recently moved into the area and decided to bring to the lovely people of Romford some more Chinese food. Our business might be new, but we have been running takeaways for the last 30 years, so you are in safe hands!

Another Chinese Takeaway? Don’t we have enough of them already?

I know, but surprisingly small family ran Chinese takeaways are declining. This is mainly due to the new generation of children not being interested in the Chinese takeaway industry (personal opinion, they are scarred from the times their parents asked them to help out in the shop 😏)

On top of this, there’s modernisation, the Chinese are a very conservative bunch and they don’t like change very much,  all these apps, online ordering malarkey, is getting way too technical!

Despite the Chinese restaurants and takeaways dwindling there is still a huge demand for Chinese food; in fact, Chinese food remains the British’s favourite cuisine, and on Deliveroo alone sales have jumped by 136% in the last year.

This is where the Romford Dragon swoops in, we believe in innovating, bringing wonderful Chinese food to the locals of Romford and Essex in a multitude of ways, from a classic phone call to our very own app. We have even partnered with companies like Just Eat because we know a lot of you use them, even though you shouldn’t…

It is unusual for a takeaway to have a blog, but we would like to communicate better with our customers and provide you with a little something to read as you order your Chinese food, so expect this blog to be updated,  and to insure you get the latest, follow us on our social media. See? Innovating!

That’s all for now, I won’t keep you any longer as I’m sure you are ready to order after my ramblings…

Oh yeah, just one more thing, as a welcome gift, I will be giving 20% off of your first order with us, give us a try by making an order now!