Gold Dragon City – No, this ain’t another Epic Drama from the East …
January 27, 2011 | 9,612 views
The very basic/standard/generic/traditional Yee Sang – But we were not complaining though. After all, this Chinese version of a prosperity-laden salad is supposed to be tossed for the notion of it, rather than for its gastronomic value. Unless of course, you’re taking into consideration the many varieties of modern Yee Sang with abalone and such.
After two gastronomic feasts at Shanghai @ JW Marriott and Zing @ Grand Millennium, it’s probably time to set the mood back into place; and toss some Yee Sang the traditional way. This Chinese restaurant situated in Paramount Garden holds probably decades of legacy, judging from the outlook and the fact that the moment we entered and were seated at our reserved table; a warm, deja vu sensation washed over me. A kick back to the old school type of eateries; laid back, no fuss, no frills Chinese diner which was possibly once THE place to organize a banquet dinner, but has since relented to the fad (or maybe not?) of lavish celebrations at 5 star hotels instead.
Comparing Gold Dragon City to Mun Choong, Oversea or even Tuck Kee (yeah, a post to come after our Reunion dinner next week!) would be more fitting, and definitely in the same league since those Ipoh restaurants mentioned above are nothing but serial old players STILL attracting a constant stream of customers.
Initially, this lunch with colleagues was planned for dinner; but given the time constraints and logistic matters, we rescheduled to lunch hour instead. Saves time actually, since our office is located merely minutes away from this restaurant at Paramount Garden; opposite of Giant hypermarket.
Conventional starters or tidbits provided at Chinese diners include – peanuts, peanuts and more peanuts. Occasionally you do get pickles (papaya, especially) or even ‘kacang putih’ (read Buntong’s post to see what the snack is), but at Gold Dragon City, they gave soft braised/boiled peanuts. Not a bad choice, since I prefer softer peanuts to crunchy ones myself.
As the year draws close to a curtain call (Lunar calendar, of course), almost every Chinese restaurant in Klang Valley has been cashing in on this festivity. Menus with lots of 8’s (price-wise, of course) peppered all over the media; with hotels aggressively pushing various packages to the discerning diners. I guess cooking at home ain’t very fashionable these days, given the last minute rush to seal the deals, shopping for clothes and of course… caught up in jams.
Tender, flavourful yet fell short of the fell off the bones texture; the Pork Trotters came with ample amount of gelatinous fat for complete collagen supplements for the dire days. Not memorable enough in my books, but good enough to go with white rice.
Healthy, Hearty and Delicious; the brocollis, enoki mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms combination was a delight to be savoured. Can’t go wrong with mushrooms during CNY, and was I glad that they decided to leave sea cucumber out of the mix.
Hands down THE dish of the day, the roasted suckling pig came with razor sharp fangs and all. Crispy skin with a melt-in-mouth layer of fat underneath, and quite a hefty amount of meat beneath. Not bad, just barely enough to go around the table of 10’s.
Snowy white, fleshy and sweet cod steamed to perfection. Generous portions, and my personal favourite dish of the day. Fish is good for health, especially the oily ones, so take heed. 🙂
Signature Homemade Beancurd with Minced Meat – Very homely, and very basic. A little oily, no thanks to generous addition of shallot oil, but the velvety smooth beancurd was delicious.
Dessert of milky soya bean with canned longan and honey sea coconut. Something more substantial than the usual clearer syrup, the combination actually worked wonders. That is, if you have a sweet tooth for desserts.
The meal came to about RM450/USD150 for the 10 of us. We have decided to omit the shark’s fins for it’s environmentally WRONG to consume the fins, and a serving of the soup can easily add another RM100 or so to the bill. You DO NOT need to consume shark’s fins these days; no longer a status quo since almost every Tom, Dick and Harry can afford a bowl of shark’s fins nowadays … it only depends on the thickness and quality of the fins. So do good and help to conserve the circle of life. 🙂
GOLD DRAGON CITY RESTAURANT
No.14-17, Jalan 20/16A, Paramount Garden,
46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
03-7876-4633
Google Map to Gold Dragon City Restaurant
* Read more about Gold Dragon City from Teckiee, Kuan Food Fetish
Haha, I never see people order tofu dish for CNY celebration ler 😛
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Yeah, the dishes were all ordered ala carte, based on what the colleagues preferred from the many meals they have had there.
It’s my first time there, so I kept quiet and let them work their magic.
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the roasted suckling pig looks scary ler…but the skin sure looks crispy.
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Yeah, forget about the fangs, just dig in into the body.
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that suckling pig must be a imported one-if it is a local one, the teeth are clipped at day one.
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Oh ….. really? Do people import suckling pig here in Malaysia?
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Wow!! So many lou sang already???
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
In hopes of prosperity. And more.
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But why don’t you like sea cucumber?? They’re good for your.. knees! 😛
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Erm, I have GOOD knees! Hahaha … nolah, just that not a fan of those slimy creatures.
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LiLian Reply:
January 29th, 2011 at 1:06 am
when you hold the live sea cucumber it will grow longer and longer in ur hands. it’s so geli. they have a lot of tiny ‘legs’ that will stick to the base of whatever they can grab so that people won’t pull them easily. and pls do not press it, they will spurt sticky stuff out. ewww….
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yikes, only one more week to CNY, and i still haven’t had my first yee sang yet this year! this place looks like it’d be a good one to take my family to next week, since they’ll be visiting from malacca and they often complain about kl restaurant prices…
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Oh this is cheap, classic and no frills.
Though you might wanna consider say … Gu Yue Tien to impress them? Hehehe… though price wise, that will give them
some excuses to lament about!
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damn. being so far away, i really crave for yee sang now. i have not had any yet. “how awful!”
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 28th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Not awful lah… just not in luck to grab some. Yet.
Not too worry ….. can ganti back next time. 🙂
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Went to this restaurant last year for a friend wedding dinner. Food was good so i decided to return some other day. It happened that last night my whole family went back Gold Dragon City Seapark. Food is terrible now, Roast suckling pig over burnt, Fried lemon chicken stinks.
And guess what the manager said when we complain. He said food is like that, if change dish scare chef scold. Stupid fella don’t know do business. Damn expensive somemore cost near to RM500. For me its the 2nd and the last time i be eating in this restaurant.
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 7th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Good move, Andy. No manager should act unprofessionally like that.
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Please don’t go to this restaurant as the staff are really rude & bad service.
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