Golden Lake Seafood Restaurant 湖濱海鮮酒家

REVISIT POST ON GOLDEN LAKE SEAFOOD [HERE]

I wanted to take a photo of the restaurant's exterior but was too embarrassed since we parked so close to the entrance LOL… plus, I would have had to walk back quite a bit just to snap a photo. Walking up to the entrance, I actually quite like the front doors! Although I think the doors would look better if the restaurant used Chinese characters rather than "G&L". Upon entering, there is a large fish tank which looks fairly nice and by the way, clearly I have not learned how to take photos because my finger is on the camera lens.

From the outside, the restaurant looks really tacky especially because of their banner (wish I took a photo), so I was quite surprised when the interior looked like this - pretty clean and not run down. The interior follows a gold along with a red color scheme, and the table setting has a chopstick holder as well as a serviette rather than a napkin, which always gives the impression of a "nicer" Chinese restaurant. The only complaint would be that seating arrangements look cramped, especially because of the drapes on the chairs and tables. I cannot imagine what the restaurant would be like when they are busy, there will be lots of bumping for sure.

CRAB MEAT BRAISED WITH SHARKS FIN SOUP ($13.98/BOWL).

The soup tastes pretty good, flavourful and not too salty with two fairly big pieces of crab meat.

DEEP FRIED CRAB CLAWS ($?).

We did not see crab claws on the menu but the restaurant does offer them. The crab claws are pretty much perfectly made. The exterior has a nice crispiness and the interior has flakes of real crab meat (some restaurants use imitation).

2 3/4 CREAM AND BUTTER SAUCE CRAB ($13.98/LB).

Unfortunately the sauce does not taste very flavourful, and has more of a creamy taste than buttery. Furthermore, I felt like I tasted huge chunks of corn starch on every piece of leg. Although the sauce does not taste bland, the only enjoyable thing is that the crab was not overcooked.

BRAISED CRISPY SQUAB ($13.98).
The squab tastes really juicy and the skin is perfectly crisp. BF thinks the squab tastes better than Sun Sui Wah's but… meh, I think it is around the same. By the way, this is only half because our waiter placed half of the squab on each of our plates, before I got a chance to take a photo.

GINSENG FREE RANGE CHICKEN ($13.98/HALF).

BF always orders drunken chicken, hainan chicken, crispy chicken or cold chicken, and I always find them nothing special, especially if they do not taste very good. However, ginseng free range is one of my favourites. The chicken tastes soft as well as tender, and the meat is not too stiff. If anything, there could have been a stronger taste of ginseng.

PEA LEAVES IN GARLIC WITH BROTH ($18.98).

The photo on the menu shows the vegetables with a broth… but, unfortunately ours did not come with any! As for the taste, the pea leaves taste perfectly cooked with a nice crunch (which I prefer), although most may think the vegetables are slightly undercooked.

CLAMS IN SPICY CHINESE WINE BROTH ($16.98).

The clams are okay and the broth tastes alright but we both could have passed as there is nothing really special about this. There is a hint of spiciness with a dash of wine though.

COMPLIMENTARY SESAME BALL COOKIES, ALMOND COOKIES AND RED BEAN SOUP.

The red bean soup does not too sweet and is fairly simple. As for the cookies, they taste housemade as well as tasty. The sesame balls have a nice crunch and the almond cookies melt in the mouth.

LOOK WHAT I GOT AT THE END!!!

I declined the cookies at first because BF hates it when I accept someone's offer… but, she brought them out always! The owner's wife was only going to give me six… but look at the amount of goodies! Is a very generous tip worth these? YUP.

POSITIVES
- Interior looks much better than the exterior
- Some dishes taste average while others are better
- Friendly and professional staff

NEGATIVES
- Some dishes are pricier than a usual Chinese restaurant but only by $1.00
- Seating arrangements look cramped

LITTLE THINGS
- Revisit post on Golden Lake Seafood [here]
- Tried the dim sum here around half a year ago and the food as well as service was not very good. My parents also had a really awful experience, food and service wise before too LOL. However, the staff was attentive as well as professional tonight and the owner as well as his wife tried really hard to please their customers
- To be honest, dessert at a Chinese restaurant is my make it or break it, since there are plenty of Chinese restaurants in Vancouver that serves average food. And if we did not cookies tonight, I would probably not revisit in the future. Or if we got cookies and no red bean soup LOL (just because every table had both and I feel like everyone should be treated equally no matter if it is only a table of two or four, plus, I am a greedy fat ass)

- Despite not having a dish that I felt was a "must order", I would come back to try more dishes because the staff was friendly and the owners tried really hard to please every customer. I am big on customer service

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 4.5/5