Here’s the thing about Chinese food. You could eat at 100 different restaurants and the menu would look about the same at each of them. In fact, at many of them, the food would even look about the same.
Yet, at some of those restaurants, the food would be divinely delicious, while at others the offerings would be more like flavored cardboard.
I have, sadly, a dubious talent for finding bad Chinese food.
So, with a little bit of wariness, I tried a new Chinese restaurant.
Golden House in Mukilteo, happily, seems to have broken my string of bad luck with Chinese restaurants.
Golden House occupies what once was a private residence. The dining room is small and cozy. I was goofily fond of a piece of art featuring 10 frolicking pandas.
My husband and I browsed the menu, which did, of course, look like a lot of Chinese restaurants’ offerings. However, I was pleased to see that the combos were a bit more interesting than usual.
Also, the menu said substitutions were welcome, a pleasant change from some restaurants that are strict about their combo options.
After our usual long debate, Jerry and I settled on the House Special Dinner combo ($14.95) and Hunan beef ($8.95). The combo came with wonton soup or hot and sour soup, pot stickers, barbecue pork, sizzling seafood, cashew chicken, sweet and sour prawn and pork fried rice. We traded the sweet and sour prawn for matsutake mushrooms with Chinese greens.
The service was friendly and prompt, without feeling rushed.
Our soup arrived first. I had wonton soup, which I loved. It was a perfect starter. The broth was simple while the wonton contained a strongly flavored meatball.
My soup was gone before Jerry could even ask for a taste.
Jerry tried the hot and sour soup, which he declared decent, but nothing special. I gave it a taste, which only reminded me I don’t like hot and sour soup, so I’m hardly an objective judge.
Our pot stickers arrived next, along with the barbecue pork. The pot stickers were huge, delicious and extremely hard to eat. Eventually I gave up and used my fingers, making a bit of a mess with the dipping sauce. The meat was, again, well spiced and it paired well with the simple sauce.
The next dish to show up was the mushrooms with greens, which turned out to be bok choy.
For me, this dish was the star of the night. The mushrooms were large and meaty, with an intense flavor. If you like mushrooms, you’ll love this dish. The bok choy was perfectly cooked.
Jerry and I spent several minutes wondering how they make their bok choy so perfectly. We’ve tried many times to make it at home and we had no idea it could be cooked so well. It was still firm, but tender without a hint of mushiness. The bok choy didn’t soak up the flavor of the sauce as strongly. The simple, fresh taste of the greens contrasted well with the stronger flavor of the mushrooms.
I next tried the sizzling seafood, which included prawns, scallops, crab, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli and celery. The veggies were fresh and crisp. The mild sauce was a pleasant compliment to the dish, and it didn’t overpower the flavor of the scallops or shrimp.
The fried rice was simple and rather boring. I added soy sauce to spice it up a bit. It didn’t really matter, though, because the rest of the food was plenty flavorful. I ignored the rice while I focused on the next dish.
Hunan beef was my husband’s favorite dish of the night. The sauce was strongly flavored, but the beef held up to it well. The meat was incredibly tender and was the star of the dish. The mixed vegetables almost seemed an after thought amid the flavorful beef.
The cashew chicken was decent, but it didn’t compare well to the rest of the dishes. I found it a bit bland. I could have spiced it up with soy sauce, but it seemed unnecessary with all the other good food on the table.
As we ate our meal, several groups came in or left. The server spoke with many of them happily, clearly used to seeing them regularly. I can understand why. With such tasty food and pleasant service, Golden House is sure to attract regular guests.
Golden House
12030 Mukilteo Speedway, Mukilteo
425-438-8833
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 10:30 p.m. Sunday
Cost: Reasonable. Many dishes for $9 to $12
Alcohol: Beer and wine
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