Golden City Part 3 of 3 - Dinner and Coming Full Circle

*** As of July, 2006 Golden City is under new Ownership - posts on the "New" Golden City, can be found here and here.

Waaay back in September of last year Golden City Chinese Restaurant reopened in a new location. At first I was over-joyed at having one of my favorite inexpensive Chinese Restaurants open their doors again. I was somewhat embarrassed at being the first customer at the new locale.  And as is somewhat normal for any new restaurant, the food was a bit of a let down. About a month later the Missus and I had sampled the late supper specials in Part II. Though the prices were still very reasonable, the food really was just a  "shadow of it's former self."

So, a few months back the Missus and I decided to drop by Golden City and sample a few dishes from the "regular" Dinner menu. We started with the Fish, Preserved Egg, and Cilantro Soup($8.95):

We've had this soup before, and when it's made well, the clear broth is well flavored and comforting, with the cilantro adding a very clean taste. On this occasion, the soup was on the weak side, though the fish was very moist and tender. There wasn't very much preserved egg in the soup. We were slightly disappointed at this dish.

The Peking Duck($18.00 - 2 courses):

The Peking Duck at Golden City is priced right. And though the duck was not as high in quality and flavor as the $18 Peking Duck Special at Pearl, an everyday price of eighteen bucks isn't bad. The buns and duck were a bit on the dry side. What the missus really wants is the minced duck meat with lettuce. She enjoys that much more then the duck skin. Duck meat is stir fried with water chestnut and other items, and provides a nice rich dish when wrapped with lettuce. Whatever we take home usually ends up in a fried rice the next day.

I had intended to end the post here. But I thought it would be fun to try the exact same dish as my first visit again to see if the kitchen had now hit stride. On entering, I noticed that some of the furniture had been moved around.

I again ordered the Pork Chop with Spicy Salt($6.25 - prices had gone up 30 cents), that started with the Hot and Sour soup:

I've always enjoyed the Hot and Sour soup at Golden City, but today it tasted a bit off. I also noticed frozen carrots, and some corn(egad!) in the soup as filler.

The Pork Chop arrived a few minutes later, along with the same lousy egg roll.

This time the Pork Chop was fried to a nice crisp state with a moist interior. The garlic wasn't burnt and overall this was a pleasant dish, a definite improvement over my first visit.

Though we still think that Golden City is a mere shadow of it's previous "self", the prices(especially the late supper menu) are fairly reasonable, and the service has always been good. Golden City is also one of the few restaurants open until midnight in the area.

Part I of this post can be found here.

Part II can be found here.

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Open Daily 11am - Midnight

Comments

[dietchilicheesefries]

kirk,

i hate going places with expectations and then getting flattened... probably why most people keep going to the same places over and over and over...

[Jack]

I haven't been back here since they first re-opened. I sounds like things haven't improved much since then. That's too bad. I might have to go there for a late-night fix though. It's hard to get a decent late-night meal here in San Diego.

[Reid]

Kirk,

I like pork chops, I just don't eat them too often. Like you, I like them when the fat is crispy and the meat is a little dry...don't know why though.

[Tommy Lau]

Epicures,

My name is Kit Lau. I am thinking about opening an "authentic" Chinese cuisine and a Chinese cafe in San Diego. My goal is to bring the Hong Kong flavor of Chinese food with Americanize customer service to SD. I am wondering how the market in SD will react to an establishment like such. My father, who has been a chef for more than 30 years (originally from Hong Kong China), will be over seeing the food production. I personally will be managing the front of the house. Please guys, any suggests in regards to locations, ambience, and how "authentic" the food should be is greatly appreciated. And for those of you who love eating out and trying new food, please email me so I can invite you to a pre-opening tasting of our food. Thank you for your help guys. I will be participating in these blogs here on. [email protected]

[Tommy Lau]

I just realized a typo to my previous post. "I am thinking about opening an '"authentic"' Chinese cuisine RESTAURANT and a Chinese cafe in San Diego." The word "restaurant" is was left out.

[Green Turtle]

I think the last time I was there on a Sunday around noon time, they had a $2.99 niu roh mien special. I didn't try it but have been meaning to go back to see how much you get for that low price. I wish they'd bring back the dim sum they had at their old location. It was always less expensive than Emerald/Jasmine.

[RONW]

well that's a worthy idea....have restaurants advertise themselves on your comment page. Neat.

[Kirk]

Hi DCCF - The old version of Golden City used to be part of our rotation. The new version, is not quite as good...bummer!

Hi Jack - Definitely worth a late night visit - since it's kind of slim pickin's 'round here.

Hi Reid - Well, I try not to eat this too often......

Hi Tommy - I dont quite know how to respond to your Email - i'm not a restaurant owner. Just let me say that there is always room for a good Chinese Restaurant in San Diego. It sounds like you haven't ever been to San Diego - so I think that should be your first priority if you're serious. The location would probably be on Convoy St in the Clairemont Mesa area.
Good Luck!

Hi Green Turtle - $2.99 NRM, I'd say that's a pretty good deal...hmmm, I may just have to check it out myself. I still haven't gotten to Bangkok West, I'm hoping to get there soon!

Hi RONW - LOL! It's pretty interesting what "pops" up.... Is it Spam or isn't it...sometimes I can't tell the difference.

[Jo]

HEY TOMMY! We need good Chinese here in North Carolina! The restaurants here are LOUSY! I'm not even sure they speak real Asian. I think when they go home at night they sound like every other southerner! ::grimaces::

[Tommy Lau]

Thanks for the responds guys. I have been visiting San Diego the past few days (i live in L.A.). There's a reason why I am looking at golden city (*hint hint). I am actually looking at three locations right now in SD. Two of which are located right next to the 99 ranch market. I checked out the golden city menu and I must say guys, you get what you pay for. So I am wondering, how much are you guys willing to pay for a quality meal? That is, food that actually is hot in temperature and tasty when it comes to flavor (not the MSG type of tasty). My dad and I reviewed the business plan and I must say it would not be a good investment if we were to hold the prices the same as now. So I am curious how price sensitive are the folks in San Diego when it comes to good food. You think folks around the area are more concern with prices or quality? And if anyone of you had tried the Sam Woo next to the 99 market, what do you think about the food and decor there? Your inputs are very important to my next restaurant. Thank you again to all. And if you folks need any dining suggestions up here in Diamond Bar, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Alhambra, let me know.

One last thing, do you think Golden City is out of the area? Is it a place people are willing to drive to?

[Green Turtle]

From Tommy's post, I wonder if GC is in trouble and is looking for someone to buy out their location. I don't think it's a bad location, it's still in the general Kearny Mesa area, less than a mile away from Convoy St. China Max is an authentic restaurant with higher prices and higher quality food, as well as Pearl in Rancho Bernardo. Both seem to be doing pretty well. I think Sam Woo's service and atmosphere leave alot to be desired, but for the price, you get good food. Unfortunately, San Diego will probably never have the price/quality ratio that Rowland Heights, San Gabriel Valley, etc have. I don't know if it's due to less competition, higher expenses in food supplies (costs more to ship from LA), rent, higher labor costs due to it being harder to find a good chef, etc.

[Jo]

I say that if you really want to do something culinarily earth shattering in a market that can bear a higher than normal price menu, you really should look into an eastern market. The Asian restaurants here are deplorable yet the Asian population is growing and with the military presence there are numerous "educated" palates that would love to find something truly authentic. Hand cut noodles, a variety of dumplings, dim sum that really is dim sum, recognizablely regional dishes such as Ma Po Tofu, Lion Head Meatballs, soup dumplings, congee, etc. I also think that the local farmers would be ready to meet the challenge of supplying produce which is currently unavailable. I myself am seeking Asian herb and vegetable seeds for my own kitchen if not a restaurant.