Locals also flock to Silver Dragon Chinese Restaurant to satisfy their appetite for Chinese food. They come for dinner with their families and friends; the restaurant’s many round conversation-friendly tables accommodate big groups. Special events such their famous Chinese New Years buffet sell out rapidly.

Banff residents also appreciate Silver Dragon for their weekday lunch specials. Lunch Special A ($14) includes soup or spring roll, steamed or chicken fried rice, stir fried vegetables and your choice of nine perennial Chinese favourites such as almond chicken, fried shrimp, and sweet and sour pork.

On my last visit I selected ginger beef as my main. I was rewarded with a generous portion of tender meat with a crispy coating in a spicy sweet sauce. My three dining companions chose special chow mein, sweet and sour chicken, and fried noodles with beef.

The Lunch Special Menu at Silver Dragon Chinese Restaurant also presents Special B ($14) and Special C ($15) options, while additional offerings (such as today’s six beef or chicken satay skewers for $12) are posted on each table. Items from the regular all-day menu are available too.

The Chinese food at Banff’s Silver Dragon is reliably good, arrives hot and is served efficiently. “I’d come back,” remarked my dining buddy Chris. In fact, this restaurant is a go-to lunch spot often frequented by everybody at our table.