Calvin recently told me that he wanted to grab some lunch….not meet outdoors for a lunch to go; but actually dine in. Of course we'd take precautions; masks, tests, and eat during the middle of the week at 11am. As for what he wanted? He was craving Golden City, which used to be a pretty regular stop for us when our offices were located in Kearney Mesa. It was interesting…….even though I've done takeout from Golden City during the pandemic, the last time I actually ate in the restaurant was with Calvin at the beginning of 2019! Over 3 1/2 years ago!
So, I arrived and waited a minute or so before Calvin got there. We were the first and other than one other group that arrived about 20 minutes into our meal, the only folks dining. There was a steady flow of takeout business though.
Based on my last takeout post on Golden City a month ago, you might be asking if I'm just a glutton for punishment. Still, I did want to see if the Kwai Fei Chicken was goin to be better then what I'd last gotten for takeout.
So, of course we ordered that, plus two items from the lunch specials menu.
Since we had ordered the two lunch specials soup was included. Both Calvin and I got the hot and sour soup.
Which was really bad. Look at that color; it was so thick like glue, you could smell the vinegar smell from a distance. Both Calvin and I took one sip and were done.
This did not bode well for the meal; but things turned around quickly once the Kwai Fei Chicken arrived.
Take a look at the color of the ginger-scallion sauce to the right and compare it to what I had gotten on my last takeout visit. This had the perfect amount of ginger, tasted crisp, and was perfect. Versus the browning, rancid flavored stuff I'd had last time.
The chicken, while still not as flavorful as it was when I used to get it at the old Convoy location; this was super moist and tender. Which made me wonder; Kwai Fei Ji should travel well, its served at room temperature or colder so I don't think this would be a takeout versus dining in issue. Perhaps the "B" team was on during my last visit?
Speaking of "B" team, look at the rice we were served.
Can you see the hard clump? And the uneven cooking?
I had forgotten that Calvin doesn't care for eggplant, so we ended up getting the Salted Fish and Chicken with Tofu instead of eggplant.
In spite of needing some "color" other than greyish-white….the presentation looked awful, this was decent if not quite up to the versions at Noble Chef in terms of funky-salty tones from the salted fish. The tofu was soft and tender as were the pieces of chicken, the dish wasn't over salty.
Calvin enjoys eating with me because he can get dishes that his Missus won't eat….or even allow in the house for that matter! We got the Crispy Pork Intestines.
This had a decent offal-ly flavor if a bit on the sweet side. The sweetness nullified any of the salty-earthiness that the fermented black bean would contribute. The intestines were hard and chewy instead of crisp and the "sauce" was a bit too "gloppy" and clumpy.
Still, the Kwai Fei Chicken was better than any version I've had in recent memory. Which, on this day was good enough for me.
Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
That chicken looks much better than your last couple of posts. Glad to see! I love ginger scallion sauce! Making me hungry.
Yes, it as much better than what I’d had recently RD!
nice you & Calvin had a nice time.
Yes we did have a good time Kat!