Golden Swan Restaurant 金天鵝海鮮酒家 : Alaskan King Crab

DIM SUM POST AT GOLDEN SWAN [HERE]

ALASKAN KING CRAB POST AT TOP CANTONESE [HERE]

ALASKAN KING CRAB POST AT EMPIRE CUISINE [HERE]

A friend of mine has been wanting to try dinner at Golden Swan for quite a while and as for me, do not have much interest. I used to come here for dim sum a few years ago but stopped due to inconvenience and that there are better restaurants. As for dinner, I have never tried. Golden Swan is located on Victoria Drive and I forgot how big the restaurant is! The restaurant has plenty of seats and comfortable seating arrangements, although there is one crappy table for two near the washroom which was BF and I's seat for our last dim sum visit. Asides from the seating arrangements, the restaurant is fairly clean and is considered one of the "nicer" Chinese restaurants due to the high ceiling, chandeliers, and managers wearing a suit which generally means better than usual typical Chinese service. 

9LB ALASKAN KING CRAB ($21.99/LB) + GLASS BOTTLE OF COCA COLA ($2.75).

Fortunately for my friend, I was craving for Alaskan King Crab and since Golden Swan is currently offering a great price at $21.99/lb, she finally got her wish to dine here. When only dining for two, I like to find a better deal for AKC since, well, it will be cheaper LOL. Anyways, something I have always liked about Golden Swan is that the restaurant serves glass bottles of Coca Cola! Also, the price is pretty fair considering some restaurants charge the same for a glass of fountain pop. 

STEWED CONCH AND CHICKEN SOUP ($11.99).

The broth tastes flavourful and actually, is one of the best slow cooked soups I ever had. The soup is cooked from an original chicken stock rather than canned and has a couple of generic herbal ingredients such as wolf berry and mountain yam. As for the price, it is a pretty good deal considering some restaurants serve daily soups for a bit less than double the price. And most importantly, the soup tastes pretty rich.

FIRST COURSE,

STEAMED ALASKAN KING CRAB LEGS WITH MINCED GARLIC AND GREEN ONION.
I like that the legs are cut in shorter pieces so it is easier to eat. As for the meat, the legs taste moist as well as buttery and despite the heavy appearance of minced garlic, the taste did not overwhelm the natural taste of the AKC.

SECOND COURSE, 

SPICY DEEP FRIED ALASKAN KING CRAB KNUCKLES ($10.00).

The fried knuckles have a nice spiciness but I may have been spoiled by Top Cantonese's version. At Top Cantonese, the knuckles tasted moist as well as juicy with a very light batter, therefore the natural taste of the meat was definitely the highlight. As for Golden Swan, the knuckles are tasty, however, since the batter tastes really good with a spicy as well as a flavourful peppery salt seasoning, the taste of AKC is overwhelmed which is somewhat a waste. Although despite the lack of AKC taste, the knuckles are crisp and the seasoning is on point which makes me think their peppery salt dishes should taste good. If I wanted to be picky… the knuckles are fried for a bit too long and the meat stuck in the shell rather than easily popped out.

BEAN CURD SKIN WITH ENOKI MUSHROOM AND DRIED SCALLOPS ($16.99).

The fried bean curd skin tastes crisp and juicy, as do the enoki mushroom. Unfortunately though, there is no hint of dried scallop despite seeing some in the sauce. And although the sauce does not taste salty, it does taste extremely bland and should have been cooked longer to bring out the taste of the dried scallops. Having this reminds me of how much Shining Garden's dried scallop dishes are consistency flavourful and taste so much better.

THIRD COURSE, 

BAKED ALASKAN KING CRAB FRIED RICE WITH PORTUGUESE CURRY SAUCE ($13.00). 

The baked fried rice consists of baby shrimp, egg as well as diced scallop and has a very simple as well as a light taste that I prefer. Although unfortunately for those who prefer a heavier curry taste, may be disappointed. Other than the light taste, I also like that the diced scallop tastes just-cooked and very moist, not rubbery or dry.

COMPLIMENTARY COCONUT MILK TAPIOCA DESSERT SOUP. 

The dessert soup is served warm and tastes slightly sweet with a nice consistency, not too watered down.

TOTAL: $265.25+ TIP $25.00 = $290.25.
Overall we tipped 10% because it was only the two of us dining and there was no service, despite the not even busy restaurant. As for the food, the soup was pretty good and is 10x better than what I had at One Spot Soup. However, for the bean curd skin with dried scallop, that was a fail. In the end, I only came here for the AKC because to be biased, would rather visit Sun Sui Wah or Kirin for dinner.


POSITIVES
- Average eats
- Staff is not rude
- Pretty good soup (in our case)
- One of the currently cheaper restaurants for Alaskan King Crab

NEAGATIVES
- No service or plate changes despite the slow evening
- Taste of the fried knuckles are overwhelmed by the seasoning

LITTLE THINGS
- There should be service for tables of at least four since generally, staff at any restaurant would make an effort
- AKC post at Top Cantonese [here]
- AKC post at Empire Chinese [here]

Food: 2.5/5 (bean curd with dried scallop 2/5)
Service: 2.5/5