Golden Luck trumps authenticity with affordability

Published 4:56 am Thursday, August 20, 2009

Jia Rong brings out a hot combo plate stacked with General Tso's chicken, sweet and sour chicken, an egg roll, shrimp and pork fried rice.

As a young child, I was always thrilled when we went out to eat Chinese food. Everything about the experience – the decor, the service, and of course the food – was so exotic.

I discovered in time that Chinese food, as I’d known it, isn’t really the cuisine of China, but rather a calculated and “safe” genre that caters to the Western palate. 

Going back to the building where my first experiences with Chinese food took place, I was curious to see how things had evolved. The name and ownership have changed. What I found at Golden Luck Restaurant and Lounge was typical Americanized Chinese food, and that my personal tastes have evolved faster than the food.

The Golden Luck boasts a large menu, and all the usual dishes are well represented and reasonably priced. Many of the dishes involving chunks of meat and vegetables are pretty similar, if not interchangeable, and after doing a little research, I learned why that is. There are two mother sauces from which all small sauces are derived, similar to the French five. Kung Bao sauce and Garlic sauce originated from Sichuan cooking, but were robbed of their heat, thickened with cornstarch, and sweetened for American tastes. Add sugar and chiles to Kung Bao, and you have General Tso’s. Sugar and vinegar added to garlic sauce makes sweet and sour. 

Much of the food at Golden Luck is either very salty or very sweet. The egg foo young dishes  – choice of vegetable, pork, chicken or shrimp, bound with egg in three patties and covered with gravy – are a good example of too salty. General Tso’s chicken, not at all spicy, is more like sweet and sour chicken minus the sour. The General Tso’s, almond and sesame varieties of chicken suffer from overbattering, as do deep-fried pork and shrimp. Egg rolls are the same as you’ll find anywhere, but certainly satisfactory. 

As for other appetizers, I especially recommend the shrimp spring rolls and the pot stickers. Fried wontons are merely twisted wraps with nothing within, so skip those. Barbecued pork has been a bit dried out in my experience, but contemporaries of mine have convinced me to give it another chance.

The Chef’s Specialties section of the menu contains the most interesting selections. After trying almost everything else labeled “spicy”, the Triple Spicy Hot Pot finally came through with some heat, and the serving pot makes for an attention-grabbing presentation. I normally wouldn’t eat anything from the meager “American Menu” in this type of establishment, but too many people had told me to order the ribeye steak. This 16 oz. cut is served on a sizzling platter either with French fries or with Chinese gravy and steamed rice.  It is superb, and at $13.95, the most modestly priced ribeye in town.

I found it a little strange that chopsticks never appeared on the table. I realize that I’m in the minority there, and the owners probably aren’t underestimating their clientele in that respect, but I do wish that there were some dishes for the adventurous eater. 

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a special late night dinner in the Golden Luck lounge. Our group of about a dozen was presented with platters of things I’ve never seen on the menu. Chopped duck backs, chicken feet, tempura oysters and fried prawns served shell-on were just a few of the exotic treats that I can remember. After that night, it’s been a little disappointing to look up at the specials board only to see some combo meals on sale. 

Astoria is a prime location for seafood, and it would greatly behoove Golden Luck to offer more than just small scallops and prawns. Whenever I’m in Portland for the weekend, I seek out restaurants serving Dim Sum. I refer not to the fried dough with the cloying, powdered sugar sauce offered at Golden Luck as an appetizer, but the tapas-like, brunchtime meal where you order many small plates at about $2 to $3 each. I’m surprised that none of the local Chinese restaurants have latched on to this growing trend and attempted to be the first on the coast to offer it. If the chef is willing to take a chance on some more traditional Chinese food, I would certainly help him find his audience. 

– The Mouth

Note to anyone still concerned about MSG-related allergic reactions: Golden Luck does not add MSG to any of its food.

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