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twenty-first century envisioning of the Golden Deli experience. Gone are the backlit bucolic scenes of Vietnam: they have been replaced by abstracted graphics of house specialties like egg rolls and cari ga (chicken curry). Spiffy looking booths and tables made of modern materials, a high ceiling, and even a self serve soda fountain complete the look. Customers order at the front counter equipped with the latest POS terminals. (At the original Golden Deli, waitstaff take your order at the table.) For better or worse, Golden Deli has gone generic. If not for a few distinguishing touches, I'd swear I was at any other corporate-run fast food establishment in America. The menu at Golden Deli Express pretty much mirrors its parent restaurant in San Gabriel, but with fewer items available. There are the noodle soups, bun (rice vermicelli dishes), banh mi, com tam (rice plates), and side orders, including everyone's favorite, the egg rolls. What I ate: I visited Golden Deli Express twice for this review. The first time was on Tuesday and to avoid the lunch rush, I arrived early - around eleven in the morning. Today, I dropped by the restaurant around 12:30 PM.  1. Soda Chanh - Fresh Lemonade Soda (2.25 USD). On the plus side, this soda struck the right chord in its brightness, freshness, and tartness. On the minus side, they used granulated sugar to sweeten the drink, which was gritty in the mouth. Simple syrup would have been more appropriate.  2. 89C. Com Tam - Rice Plate - with Shrimp Paste & Pork Chop & Egg Rolls (7.25 USD): Fried pork chop, fried egg rolls, and fried shrimp forcemeat on a bed of broken rice and sliced cucumber garnished with chopped scallion and fried shallots - fish sauce on the side. The pork chop was a thin cut and probably dusted with starch or flour before frying, which resulted in a crispy crust - pleasant and tasty. The egg rolls were good as well but I wondered whether they shrunk in size from the ones I've eaten in the past (granted, it's been a long time and my memory's fuzzy). The shrimp forcemeat left a bit to be desired: I waited for a punch of umami that never showed up. In conclusion, you really can't go wrong with a rice plate: it usually makes for a solid meal. I should have ordered a plate of herbs and vegetables along with my rice plate. The meal would've been much more satisfying. (The egg rolls are definitely better with herbs and veggies.) Today, I had the ...  3. #1 Pho Dac Biet (6.50 USD): Vietnamese rice noodle soup with rare beef, beef brisket, tendon, and tripe. Boy, did this bowl of pho arrive FAST and steaming hot from the kitchen! This was a decent meal as well. For some reason, I really relished every piece of tendon today. Parking: Free parking (two hour limit, I think) is located behind the restaurant with entrances on Camellia Avenue and Kauffman Avenue, one block further east. You can park on the streets around the restaurant too. If you don't mind walking a block or so to the restaurant, the parking lot behind city hall is quite tranquil and sans time limits. The Bill: 10.33 USD for the first meal and 7.07 USD for the second meal (just a bowl of pho). My Rating:  out of four
stars (good). Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 9 PM.
Closed on Monday. Credit cards
accepted. www.goldendelirestaurant.com Last Word: Golden Deli Express is a most welcome addition to my area. Saves me from having to drive all the way to the original.  blog comments powered by Disqus |
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