Like a tongue on a flagpole in February, fusion cuisine results from curiosity and a shortage of popsicles. Rein in restless taste buds with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of fine pan-Asian fusion cuisine and beverages from Ruby Dragon Restaurant and Lounge on Jasper Avenue Northwest.

Ruby Dragon's stunning modern interior is an impeccable, glittering backdrop for the culinary alloy that is the restaurant's union of Malaysian, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Indonesian cookery. The piquant crown of a menu is studded with such sparkling marvels as the spicy rainbow bird nest, where tiger prawns roost alongside chicken in a litter of veggies and potato ($18), or the lychee sweet-and-sour pork, an unlikely pairing of pork with its only natural predators, lychee and pineapple ($12). Overwhelmed chopstick jockeys may wish to ease into the action with one of the Dragon's many appetizers, which include bacon-clad scallops ($8), indonesian satay ($2 each), green-onion puffs ($3.50), and a wide range of soups (starting at $4).

The chic lower dining area is an extravagant nebula of polished surfaces in classy orbit around a sparkling central sculpture. The upper dining area, which overlooks the adjoining crimson-accented lounge, is a cubist culmination of modernity and polished metals. Meanwhile, the multihued tearoom lets fluid fanatics quench their thirsts for a wide range of wines and Chinese teas amid gold statues and towering floral arrangements. The Ruby Dragon is closed on Sundays, and reservations are always recommended.

Reviews

Five OpenTable reviewers give Ruby Dragon Restaurant and Lounge a 4.3-star average, and 83 per cent of Urbanspooners recommend it:

• Great creative menu! – OpenTable reviewer who dined on 21/01/2011
• The atmosphere is beautiful and relaxing, the staff are very friendly and provide great service, and the food is amazing. – Kris Hildebrand, Urbanspoon