Golden City Restaurant - Restaurant Review No.3
Golden City Restaurant
What is it with the mixture of pork, chicken and shrimp that's so magical? I guess if I knew, I'd own my own dim sum palace. Although I'm sure that a regular ingestion of deep fried dumplings and steamed meat in the morning can't be good for you, I am powerless to stop my bi-weekly to monthly visits.
Golden City is my crack dealer when it comes to dim sum. You need to arrive by 10:30am or so to aquire a good table. By a good table I mean one close to the kitchen door so you have first dibbs on whatever portion of steaming yumminess comes strolling by.
What are my favourites? Well, you can't go wrong with the super delectable har gow or sui mi. The deep dried ham sur gaw have just the right amount of saturated fat in it to make your arteries sigh with pleasure. Other favorites for me are the ginger tripe and chicken feet. Come on, get over it. I know all of you have wondered just how delicous a chicken "foot" can be steamed to perfection with its meat falling off the bone.
Sometimes communicating can be difficult because I refuse to learn Cantonese. Luckily, if you have trouble knowing what to order, they have a handy-dandy picture menu with descriptions. In terms of a beverage to accompany your dim sum, Golden City offers both the oolong and Jasmine varieties. I prefer the Jasmine which is not quite as strong and, I find, less bitter.
Golden City Restaurant
721 Fisgard Street,
Victoria, BC
250-386-8404
Published Jan. 14, 2009
Kurt Marhue, originally from Toronto, has lived in Victoria for the last 20 years and is enjoying his new found calling as a publisher/editor/writer and provocateur.
Dim Sum 1, Service 0
I have been to Golden City several times for dim sum and it's now the only place I go to in Victoria. The dim sum is ordered instead of being served from a cart but that is usually not a problem. I say usually because only once when the restaurant was also catering to a bus load of tourists, the service has been good. On that one occasion, the service was horrible.
In general, I find the service hit and miss. It's one of those places where you ask the waiter for something and although he's nodding yes, you get the immediate feeling that he's not listening. When I'm just about to give up on this restaurant, I'll then have a great meal and the service shines. Hit and miss is the best way to describe it.
The dim sum dishes on the other hand have never let me down. It's traditional Cantonese dim sum, nothing fancy but it always delivers. All the favourites are in attendance like sui mai, har gow and sticky rice. If you're into more exotic stuff, the duck feet and tripe are also available.
Tim Woz...