... Dragon Palace?

New name, new style, but the quality remains.

That's the story at Dragon Palace in the Village Plaza. It was originally Bamboo Village, but underwent a metamorphosis earlier this year. The 2010 renewal of The Gleaner-sponsored Restaurant Week will be the first as the new entity. There have been a few changes to the decor (water screens now adorn the dining area) and the revitalised Sunday brunch is quite a hit. So with things going well, it's no surprise that participation in another Restaurant Week was on the cards.

Another constant is head chef Paul Lee. He has more than 20 years' ex-perience in the kitchen and has been working in Jamaica for 11 of those years. He knows some English, but asked manager Andy Ip to help out with other information we were curious about. Lee joked that he became a chef because "I like eating. So I decided to learn how to cook and earn a living at the same time."

He is 40 years old, but his looks belie his age. Even before he came to Jamaica, he had much experience in the industry, having cooked in different regions of the huge country. Each region has its own styles and food preferences and he is comfortable in all the different styles of cooking (Cantonese, Sichuan etc), but specialises in seafood. Food was curious as to whether he does the cooking at home. Like some chefs, he doesn't.

"I cook every day at work so at home I just enjoy Jamaican food. My favourite is oxtail with rice and peas," he smiled. He's no rookie to Restaurant Week and he's looking forward to it again.

"I hope I am as busy as last year," he laughed. "The more people come, I enjoy it more. If I get good comments, I'll be happy."