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View Full Version : Review: Golden Central Chinese Cuisine (DIMSUM)



flipstah
02-18-2010, 06:40 PM
After hanging out with some buddies early this morning, I had a hankering for dimsum and my friend recommended a new place.

Golden Central Chinese Cuisine
5016 Centre Street NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 731-9199

This was a completely random trip so let's get started!


Ambiance/Atmosphere: 7/10

Near McKnight Blvd and Centre St., Golden Central is located is an odd spot near gas stations and a 7-Eleven. Their parking is adequate but for some reason, it was busy when we went today (noon-ish.)

It's a big place but you can totally notice that the place is brand-spankin' new; bright white walls, modern decor, and very utilitarian. It's not bad but I'm not used to it. Usually I get bombarded with Chinese decor of dragons and an overabundance of red and gold.

It's a chance of pace but some people may not like it. I think it could use a little bit more decor, maybe some framed pictures to liven things up but so long as it's clean, I'm okay with it. As expected, the restaurant is busy and loud which is good; I'd be worried if it was dead empty.

Food*: 8/10

* Hmkay, here's the tricky part. Now, I will be talking about the food with an emphasis on quantity over quality. The reason for this is, for me, all dimsum taste the same. Whether it may be a slum in the hood or some uber-fancy overpriced place *coughT-Potcough,* all dimsum tastes the same; awesome. Also, you're probably eating dimsum because it's cheap so in this instance, I will be defining 'food' as a ratio of quantity vs. price.

With that in mind...

The food at Golden Central is your generic dimsum eatery but one thing I noticed was the missing appearance of chicken feet. Where's the chicken feet? Maybe I missed it, whatever. We ordered the usual: dumplings, wonton, shaomai, crispy noodles with beef, steamed meatballs, etc. but there was one thing on the menu that my friend boasted as their 'specialty.'

It was #19.

It was this weird concoction of a steamed bun with an egg yolk filling... When I first tasted it, I immediately made a mess as yolk oozed out of the bun. It was an interesting taste of egg yolk and custard. Weird but it works. This should be a desert rather than a main course order but let's keep it coming.

The wontons were crispy and tasted better dipped in sweet-and-sour sauce. Very nice. To this day, I still don't know what you call this dish where there's a fried doughnut wrapped in rice flour(?) and then you dip it in this oyster/peanut sauce deal but I always ask my arteries for forgiveness whenever I have a bite.

The shaomai was probably the biggest set I've ever seen in Calgary; they were massive and similar to golf balls. So much food. So good.

Service: 7/10

The food came out quick and hot but I got sloppy service; when she served us one dish, the sauce spilled all over the table, getting our order menu wet. She then used my friend's napkin without ever replacing it. Tsk tsk.

Pricing: 9/10

C'mon, it's dimsum. You can't beat that. At ~$4/dish with the noodle dishes starting at ~$7, it may seem to be on the steep side but for the amount of food you get, you can't beat it. It cost $48 to feed four starving men and it was very satisfying.

Overall: 7.75/10

Seeing as how it's a new place, I say you enjoy this place while it's still clean! It's a great place with awesome, cheap food. Any broke-ass student can get on board with that! :thumbsup:

For me, dimsum is 'U & Me' but Golden Central is a distant second.

Sorath
02-19-2010, 01:03 PM
I like this place for dinner. I find that their dim sum isn't as good as their dinner. I like bobby chao's the best for dim sum.

Amysicle
02-21-2010, 10:37 AM
Originally posted by flipstah
To this day, I still don't know what you call this dish where there's a fried doughnut wrapped in rice flour(?) and then you dip it in this oyster/peanut sauce deal but I always ask my arteries for forgiveness whenever I have a bite. Is it like a long Chinese dougnut in the shape of a stick and with the rice stuff, cut into smaller cylinders? I think it's "jar leung" but I could be wrong.

legendboy
02-21-2010, 11:30 AM
I have been to this place twice, T-pot beats them in every area imo (except line ups)

K3RMIT.
02-21-2010, 12:10 PM
ive been to this place once, when it first opened. i thought it was pretty good when i went =D

CRXguy
02-21-2010, 12:36 PM
They do have chicken feet.

Been there twice. I think the dim sum is OK. The price seems a bit more than what I'm used to paying in chinatown, and I usually order the same items. It's closer to my house, so maybe the convienence is ok.

The chinese doughnut rice crepe is #33 or #34 I think. I was just there yesterday. :rofl:

flipstah
02-21-2010, 12:50 PM
Originally posted by Amysicle
Is it like a long Chinese dougnut in the shape of a stick and with the rice stuff, cut into smaller cylinders? I think it's "jar leung" but I could be wrong.

Yup! That's the one! I still think it's crazy to have a doughnut as a meal. :nut:


Originally posted by legendboy
I have been to this place twice, T-pot beats them in every area imo (except line ups)

T-Pot is so overpriced and you pay for the atmosphere. Chinatown is where it's at for crazy dimsum at cheap prices.

CRXguy
02-21-2010, 10:28 PM
Originally posted by flipstah


Yup! That's the one! I still think it's crazy to have a doughnut as a meal. :nut:



I don't find it THAT greasy. LOL

dj_rice
02-22-2010, 12:20 AM
Originally posted by CRXguy


I don't find it THAT greasy. LOL


That donut is good for congee mmmmmmm

flipstah
02-22-2010, 12:25 AM
Originally posted by CRXguy


I don't find it THAT greasy. LOL

LOL it's not greasy but there's so much fat and carbs... :drool:

GQBalla
02-22-2010, 09:05 AM
Originally posted by flipstah


Yup! That's the one! I still think it's crazy to have a doughnut as a meal. :nut:



really? when i was in HK for 2 months i had it every morning.

lol i definitely came home a fat boy

King Banana
02-25-2010, 04:19 PM
Will try for supper tonite,
Never had dimsum before....

For anyone that needs a google map view:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=5016+Centre+Street+NE+calgary&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.57764,114.169922&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=5016+Centre+St+NE,+Calgary,+Division+No.+6,+Alberta,+Canada&ll=51.096151,-114.062419&spn=0.009676,0.027874&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.096578,-114.062426&panoid=9ekMNq3TRAoI8zeFnOPRyA&cbp=12,51.44,,0,14.33

flipstah
02-25-2010, 04:26 PM
Originally posted by King Banana
Will try for supper tonite,
Never had dimsum before....

For anyone that needs a google map view:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=5016+Centre+Street+NE+calgary&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.57764,114.169922&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=5016+Centre+St+NE,+Calgary,+Division+No.+6,+Alberta,+Canada&ll=51.096151,-114.062419&spn=0.009676,0.027874&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.096578,-114.062426&panoid=9ekMNq3TRAoI8zeFnOPRyA&cbp=12,51.44,,0,14.33

Sweet! Let us know! Dinner is probably gonna be a different ballgame but have a great dinner!

Enjoy! :thumbsup:

King Banana
02-26-2010, 12:57 AM
So I ended up getting for myself, chicken fried rice, beef w/ veggies, an order of spring rolls and 6 orders of won ton soup.

haha
I was hungry, I also wanted enough for a good sized lunch tomorrow.

Some may consider that too much food for one person.

I couldn't find shaomai on the menu tho...

Sorath
02-26-2010, 01:01 AM
looks like you ordered from the white menu :rofl: get the chinese menu next time, there is english in it and more/better dishes

King Banana
02-26-2010, 12:24 PM
:confused: me = confused

Sorath
02-26-2010, 12:35 PM
theres 2 seperate menus at the restaurant, im serious lol

KKY
02-26-2010, 01:24 PM
yeah. many Chinese restaurants have a menu of Chinese and one for non-Chinese. non-Chinese one has more (and different) selections.

Did you go for dinner or dimsum, King Banana? By shaomai you mean the pork in yellow wrapper right? That's usually only available during lunch.

EDIT: i meant to say the menu for Chinese has more selections.

jwslam
02-26-2010, 05:38 PM
Originally posted by flipstah
To this day, I still don't know what you call this dish where there's a fried doughnut wrapped in rice flour(?) and then you dip it in this oyster/peanut sauce deal but I always ask my arteries for forgiveness whenever I have a bite.


炸兩
There's a wiki on it lol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhaliang
That's the mandarin name btw. But it's Hoisin (seafood, not oyster) sauce and sesame (yes I know it tastes like peanut) sauce.


Originally posted by flipstah
It was this weird concoction of a steamed bun with an egg yolk filling... When I first tasted it, I immediately made a mess as yolk oozed out of the bun. It was an interesting taste of egg yolk and custard. Weird but it works. This should be a desert rather than a main course order but let's keep it coming.

That's not unpopular here. I think it's called "exploding" or "overflowing" or at some places "lava" egg yolk buns. There's a variation where the whole bun is deep fried. I believe Happy Hill (at the top of the Centre Street Lion's Bridge) has it.

King Banana
02-26-2010, 05:39 PM
Honestly, I'm white as white can be, I don't have a clue what I'm doing when I order chinese food.

I didn't know there was two menus, the guy never mentioned that, not that I would have understood him if he tried to tell me.

So confused, how do you get the other menu, is there like a secret chinese handshake, or do you need to bring in a jar of blood from a chinese daughter?

So confused.

I need like a how-to - order chinese food for white people.

flipstah
02-26-2010, 05:47 PM
Originally posted by jwslam


炸兩
There's a wiki on it lol.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhaliang
That's the mandarin name btw. But it's Hoisin (seafood, not oyster) sauce and sesame (yes I know it tastes like peanut) sauce.

That's not unpopular here. I think it's called "exploding" or "overflowing" or at some places "lava" egg yolk buns. There's a variation where the whole bun is deep fried. I believe Happy Hill (at the top of the Centre Street Lion's Bridge) has it.

Haha thanks jwslam! You learn something new everyday. The dishes are great but that egg yolk bun totally threw me off my game. Unexpected but it was good!


Originally posted by King Banana
Honestly, I'm white as white can be, I don't have a clue what I'm doing when I order chinese food.

I didn't know there was two menus, the guy never mentioned that, not that I would have understood him if he tried to tell me.

So confused, how do you get the other menu, is there like a secret chinese handshake, or do you need to bring in a jar of blood from a chinese daughter?

So confused.

I need like a how-to - order chinese food for white people.

Well there's a lunch and dinner menu and dimsum is mostly a noon thing so I don't think you can get shaomai on the dinner menu unless you request it. But don't quote me on that.

King Banana
02-26-2010, 05:50 PM
Although I feel like I owned myself and feel like a bit of a failure, the food I ended up with tasted very good and the portions were large enough to last me hours and hours of bulging stomach goodness.

DarkDream
04-28-2010, 03:40 PM
The "white" menu probably has everything the "chinese"
menu has... It just on the chinese menu there is specials and what not... Which is written entirely in chinese unfortunately.

eh.// 4 people meal, 6 people meal, seafood meal, etc

These meals usually contain dishes that are more common between chinese patrons. Meaning, it does not include ginger beef.

Yeah Dim sum is only in the morning and till 2PM usually. If you are eating between morning and 2PM then just say your there for dim sum.... They would know, or just go to a restauraunt that still pushes carts around.... eg.// chinese restauraunt on the 2nd floor of new asia supermarket.

DarkDream
04-28-2010, 03:42 PM
oops double post