16 June 2009

Golden Century Seafood Restaurant: Chinese, Haymarket (14 June 2009)

393-399 Sussex Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
http://www.goldencentury.com.au



Lots of live seafood choices

This very large chinese restaurant has an impressive selection of tanks with live crabs, lobsters, fish, prawns and abalone. Tonight is a welcoming dinner for one of my Malaysian cousins visiting Sydney who's on holidays from studies in NZ. My dad spoils the family with a live lobster deep fried in salt and pepper which is shared amongst the 7 diners giving us a chance to sample the tasty meat. The usual pork san choy bow is substituted with chicken and is a generous portion and very nice served in it's perfectly cut lettuce bowl.

The fried rice with prawns (instead of the usual pork) is served in our bowls by the waiter and we back up the supply with steamed rice to enjoy with the other dishes. The Mongolian lamb is tender and the sauce in the Szechuan style prawns had a bit of a kick to it, but not enough for my Malaysian cousin's well trained taste buds. The two kinds of mushroom and vegetable dish was quite a decent size but I wondered why it cost more than a lot of the meat dishes.

At the end of the meal we received complimentary cakes, mandarins and a sweet potato and ginger soup which was quite refreshing and full of ginger flavour — I love free stuff. Around the time of paying the bill the waiter places a little sign in the middle of the table thanking us for our support. Quite a funny gesture I thought but I guess a nice one and probably signifies to other waiters we've paid and free to go? As we stroll out with our stomachs full we admire the full tanks of live sea creatures and wonder if we'll be lucky enough to feast on them again one day.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Plenty of live seafood to choose from, Fairly authentic dishes
CONS: Very popular, limited parking, Typical Chinese service
MUST TRY: Finding a good chilli mud crab
Other visits to Golden Century:
14 Feb 2010 - Yee Sang, Lobster in Supreme Sauce, Scallops with Vegetables, Barramundi with Ginger and Shallots
14 June 2009 - San Choy Bow, Salt & Pepper Lobster, Crisp Skin Chicken, Szechuan Style Prawns, Mushrooms & Vegetables, Mongolian Lamb

San Choy Bow with chicken (2 serves) $9


Fresh lobster out of the tank and weighed ceremoniously before cooking


Live lobster deep fried with salt & pepper $163 (Market price: $148/kg)

Fried rice with prawns (instead of pork) $13 [served out to 6 bowls]

Crisp skin chicken with ginger & shallot $17.80

Prawns sauteed Szechuan style (hot) $29

Braised two kinds of mushrooms and vegetables $24.80

Mongolian lamb hot pot $18.80

Fresh chilli and soy sauce

Complimentary mandarins

Complimentary Chinese sweets

Complimentary sweet potato and ginger with red dates soup

End of dinner sign placed on table by waiter

Live king crabs

Live abalone

Live lobsters

Dining area

Live tanks view from outside

5 comments:

Leona @ Pigged-out said...

Overall did u like golden century?? or is east ocean better?

as for th l obster, you just reminded me.. i lost a bet to a friend so i owe him lobster Damnit!

Simon Leong said...

hi leona, i haven't been to east ocean for a very long time and have only had yum cha previously there so hard to say. hope you enjoy the lobster wherever you decide.

Rilsta said...

Wow, that is one expensive lobster but hopefully it was worth it!

Simon Leong said...

hi Rilsta, they certainly don't come cheap. it's always worth it when someone else is paying hehe

Taste Buddies said...

This is the first place I ate at on my return from Vancouver and oh how I missed it. If you go again, try the XO pips with rice noodles, salt & pepper squid and crispy skin chicken with ginger & shallots. Drool.

Simon Food Favourites Map

View Simon Food Favourites in a larger map Key: BLUE - Location visit and review PINK - Simon Favourites and places offering something special

Small Bars in Sydney map


View Small Bars in Sydney in a larger map