MUKILTEO – One of the most frequent complaints I hear from Herald readers have about restaurants is being a faithful customer but having no one remember them or their favorite dishes.
This wasn’t a problem during our recent visit to Golden House on a Saturday for late lunch or early dinner. The restaurant’s only server at the time knew the four men in the corner by name, plus the two women who arrived and took a booth next to us, as well as the man dining alone. And she knew their favorite dishes and, as she placed their glasses of water on the table, asked if they were going to have the usual today.
My friend had previously visited Golden House but with a group of co-workers, so the server didn’t recognize him, and it was my first visit to the restaurant. My dinner partner ordered his favorite almond chicken, which was part of the $12.95 Single Dinner No. 1. This hearty selection comes with soup, barbecue pork, deep fried prawns, chicken chow mein and pork fried rice.
I ordered one of the daily specials: honey walnut prawns ($13.95), which came with pork fried rice, hot and sour soup and an egg roll. It took a while for my order to arrive, so my friend shared a little of his barbecue pork with Chinese hot mustard and a bite or two of the almond chicken, which was deep-fried and covered with an excellent gravy.
My friend hadn’t tried honey walnut prawns, so I shared some with him. He decided they were “interesting” and didn’t ask for more. For those of you who haven’t tried this Americanized dish, it’s prawns topped with walnut halves and a sauce made of condensed milk, mayonnaise and honey. This dish might be too sweet or not authentic enough for some of you, but it’s one of my favorites and these were excellent.
Even though the soup, almond chicken and honeyed prawns were delicious, what stole my heart was the fried rice. It had tasty little bits of barbecue pork and egg sprinkled throughout. More importantly for me, there wasn’t one soggy carrot cube or withered canned English pea. For the first time in a very long time, I ate all of my fried rice. Our server was pleased that we enjoyed our meal, and she’ll probably remember us when we return.
Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs. Contact Anna Poole at features@heraldnet.com.
Golden House
12030 Mukilteo Speedway Mukilteo 425-438-8833
Specialty: Chinese cuisine
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 10:30 p.m. Sunday
Price range: Moderate (nothing over $15 with most in the $9 range)
Liquor: Beer and wine
Vegetarian: Numerous selections
Reservations: Recommended for large parties
Disabled accessibility: No apparent barriers
Credit cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
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