Enter the dragon in animated style

TO Kaetsu, the Grand Hyatt's tony Japanese restaurant where movers and shakers abound at lunchtime, to meet the man who aims to be Asia's Disney.

Michael Chow is a guy with an animated vision. He wants to see his creation, Siu Loong, competing with Mickey Mouse for the hearts and minds of the teeny masses.

And he has good arguments for upholding the claims of Siu Loong (Cantonese for ''Little Dragon'') and his family of characters (Tai Loong, Yok Loong, Loong Lui et al) who are soon to appear in a comic strip at a newspaper vendor near you.

''The dragon is an icon in Asian culture,'' he intones. ''Here it represents power, wisdom and strength.'' It also represents a considerable investment by Chow's company, the aptly named Dragon Corporation, which hopes the cartoon characters will take off and help spur a lucrative secondary merchandising market.

Chow goes on with missionary zeal: ''Mickey, Minnie and the rest of the Disney characters have been forced down our throats. We feel that with Siu Loong, Asian children will be able to relate to something that is part of their culture.'' The comic book will be launched next month in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Also released will be a short cartoon film and a Siu Loong song, rendered by Filipino songstress Janine Desediro, who followed Lea Salonga as Miss Saigon in the London production.