Golden Eats Seafood Restaurant 佳坊海鮮食館

I often get asked if my favourite cuisine is Chinese… and the answer is no. A reason why I go for Chinese so often other than based on convenience is because my standards are very high for Westcoast cuisine, and I hate going Downtown. I have no idea why, I just hate it. Hate as in if I am shopping downtown, I will deliberately leave to eat elsewhere (unless there is a restaurant I want to try). Having said that, I am running out of Chinese restaurants to visit! Fortunately though, I noticed a new restaurant on Kingsway Street, Golden Eats Seafood.

Walking in on a weekday, the restaurant was packed and we were greeted by a friendly waiter. The restaurant has booth seating along the wall and a good six to seven tables for larger parties of five to ten.  The interior is simple, well lit and has a nice chandelier as well as two televisions. As for the staff, everyone was friendly which is expected for a newly opened restaurant (uh… except for IPOH Asian House). I am not sure whether or not the restaurant offers dim sum during the day, but Golden Eats does have a late night menu.

COMPLIMENTARY DAILY SOUP, HAIRY MELON AND PORK.
I am not sure if the daily soup will always be complimentary or not, but in our case it was. The soup has a clear, light and healthy broth with a flavourful taste of hairy melon, carrot as well as pork.

2 1/4LB STEAMED TILAPIA ($10.80/LB).

Err I can debone fish but would prefer to use a fork and not just a spoon, for convenience and to look a bit more ladylike LOL. By using just the spoon, it was a bit hard to debone the fish, however, it was not because there was no fork… it is because the fish was still raw! Obviously this sucks, however, I do not blame the restaurant since no one ever wants to overcook fish.

SAUTEED SCALLOPS WITH GREENS ($14.85).

Usually the restaurant makes this with celery but we asked for broccoli instead. The scallops taste properly rinsed, extremely flavourful as well as tasty, and not overcooked. As for the broccoli, although a tad oily (in a good way) since I am used to steamed, tastes perfectly cooked with a nice crunch.

2 1/2LB LOBSTER ON STICKY RICE ($38.80).

The meat pops easily out of the shell, tastes perfectly cooked with a nice bounce, and has a flavourful supreme broth sauce. As for the rice, no complaints, although some may prefer a bit of extra sauce. I personally think it was fine because when there is too much sauce, the rice can get mushy.

PORK HOCK COLD CUTS AND JELLYFISH ($7.50).

This is usually one of the first dishes to arrive but because we added it on later, it arrived near the end. As for the dish, Golden Eats actually put some effort in this, and I do not mean by simply properly rinsing the jellyfish (which some restaurants cannot even do!). The jellyfish has a tasty sesame oil mixed with chilli sauce taste, and a mild to medium spiciness. As for the pork hock, the meat has been marinaded and tastes pretty flavourful.

Wrapping up the dinner is the re-cooked tilapia which can get tricky to cook. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts (at least I hope so...), the fish tastes overcooked by at least five minutes. The meat tastes stiff as well as powdery and was annoying to debone because of the stiffness. If anything, I appreciate the knife to prevent the meat from touching the soy sauce. Also, there was a fork provided this time too!

COMPLIMENTARY GREEN BEAN SOUP. The soup is served hot and tastes slightly sweet with a nice consistency, not watered down.

TOTAL: $91.40 + TIP $18.60 = $110.00.

Overall we tipped 20% because we love supporting family restaurants, especially friendly as well as welcoming ones with good food. Furthermore, the staff was attentive, provided plate changes and asked if we needed refills. To simply put it, they cared. As for the food, everything tastes great and above average, with only the tilapia as a complaint.

POSITIVES
- Friendly as well as welcoming owners and staff
- Above average eats
- Open late night (until 2:00am)

NEGATIVES
- Tilapia issue
- There may be a wait if the restaurant is busy since there are not many tables

LITTLE THINGS
- I would revisit to try other dishes

Food: 3/5 (3.5/5 if it was not for the fish)
Service: 3.5/5