Simon Food Favourites: Golden Century

15 February 2010

Golden Century Seafood Restaurant: Chinese New Year, Haymarket (14 Feb 2010)

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

Toss to prosperity

Kung Hei Fat Choy! I hope everyone is having a great time celebrating Chinese New Year. This year brings my family to Golden Century to mainly try the traditional Yee Sang which is mixed and tossed with chopsticks. It's the first time I've tried it and it was a fun and tasty dish to have while the Chinese Dragon danced its way throughout the huge restaurant to the beat of the drumming. Last time we tried the Salt & Pepper Lobster which was good so this time we tried the Steamed Lobster with Supreme Sauce. The lobster meat was a lot easier to eat with this style of cooking and less dry which provided chunky moist pieces but the Supreme Sauce itself was quite bland. I couldn't even work out if it actually did have a taste so I'd try the Braised Lobster with Ginger & Shallots or Lobster with Szechuan Sauce next time for hopefully a more flavoursome dish to enjoy with the prized lobster meat. The Scallops stir-fried with Vegetables was pretty good which had about 9 plump sized scallops — was nice with a bit of fresh chilli and soy sauce spooned over them. The Steamed Barramundi with Ginger and Shallots was very good — beautifully cooked and went so well with the sauce. As per last time when the bill is paid a thank you sign is placed on the table establishing the end of the meal and service.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Live seafood, Extensive menu, Fairly authentic

CONS: Very popular, limited parking, Typical Chinese service

MUST TRY: Braised Lobster with Ginger & Shallots next time

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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

Sang Yee $48 small

Tossing the Sang Yee with chopsticks

Steamed Lobster with Supreme Sauce $177.10 ($143 per kg)

Lung Ma Chine Sun (Energetic)

Scallops stir-fried with vegetables $31.80

Steamed Barramundi with Ginger and Shallots $31.60 ($48 per kg)

Nin Nin You Yu (Making Profit)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Prawn Crackers

Fried rice $13

Complimentary watermelon and Chinese desserts

Chinese Dragon Dance

Dining upstairs

Dining downstairs

Bill: $309 for 5 people

Yee Sang menu

Chinese New Year (Tiger) Special Menu

Catch of the day menu prices

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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

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Other visits to Golden Century: