Golden Dragon Restaurant (Chinatown, LA, CA)

Located at:
960 N Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Date of Visit: 11/1/13


     So the Golden Dragon has been around  for as long as I can remember. And I've wanted to try it out for as long as I can remember. So when my folks asked if we wanted to for lunch on a whim. I jumped on that opportunity.

      I had no idea what to expect really. I heard good things from my friends and relatives that had came here before. So that is a good sign.

     When I opened the door and had a look inside the first thing that struck me was how big this restaurant was. Their bar and waiting area combined is bigger than some of the sushi restaurants I've been to. And the massive dining room just seemed like it could have gone on and on. Though they board off part of it towards the back. The exterior sure did play a tricked me into believing this was a much more humble establishment.
     The place itself gave me kind of a lavishly decorate Chinese retro feel. Some may say this place needs a makeover but I'd say it's part of its charm.
     So once we were seated I noticed that there were a mesh of different dining styles going on at the same time. One of which is that they serve Dim Sum. Which is basically smaller portioned food which is usually carted around by servers. And when they stroll by they would usually tell you (or you can ask) what they carry on their cart. Then you can pick and choose those items for munching. And of course they will charge you for what you pick and seeing as how these dishes are more on the small side. You can rack up quite a bill if you don't keep track. But in most cases Dim Sum isn't too expensive unless you're at a higher end type of establishment. And aside from Dim Sum I saw people ordering full on dishes from their menu.
     Now I was torn as to what I wanted. I'm particularly bad at making decisions on the spot. So I said what the hey. Why not just get em both? So we ordered a few items off their menu and picked off a few things that had carted by.

     The Dim Sum here overall were just "alright". They were on the salty side. And just tasted like generic Dim Sum. The one thing i did like about the Dim Sum here though is the fact that the rice flour skin that they use on their dumplings and other dishes are on a thinner side. Which helps with the filling to wrapper ratio drastically compared to some of the other places that I have been where the skin was just too thick and chewy.

     Kung Pao Beef - It was alright. It was flavorful but the beef was on the tough side.

      Lobster Yee Mein - This dish was on their specials. It too was just "alright" the lobster was nicely cooked. But if i re-assembled it parts of it is definitely missing. The noodles felt undercooked and was hard at certain areas. And even though this dish is drenched in sauce. It was a little bland.

      Sweet n Sour Fish Filet - Dish was alright. It actually had a bit of underlying heat to it. The batter was still crispy but the fish didn't really taste fresh.

      Lemon Peel Shrimp - My favorite dish of the day. The shrimp was nicely cooked and the batter was still nice and crispy. The sauce had not gotten it all soggy. The flavors were nice too. Even if it did seem like a shrimp version of "Orange Chicken".
     "It's alright" was how i was feeling about everything at the end of the meal. Granted it seemed like I got every single stereotypical Chinese dish you could find at every other Chinese restaurants. But if they couldn't pull off those "popular" dishes well enough then that says a lot about that restaurant.
     The service here was "alright" just as well. They take your orders and then they disappear. And their unhappy demeanor were rather off putting.  But contrary to the male waiters, the female waitresses pushing the Dim Sum carts were very friendly. Though at times they did feel a bit too pushy.
     Just when we were paying our bill and packing up our leftovers I looked over to a waitress on a nearby table serving a elderly lady. And what I saw next left me a bit shocked. As the waitress was putting down a plate of friend shrimp balls, the elderly lady used her bare fingers to pinch them to see if the consistency was to her liking or not. She did no approve of the plate that she had been served and asked if she could get another. She gets served another one, pinched it and kept the dish. But the dish she had felt up with her bare fingers went into the cart to be served to another person! I was left rather mortified.... needless to say, I don't think I'll make a return trip anytime soon