Restaurant Review #240: Golden Tiger Chinese Restaurant, Simi Valley

Mongolian beef

Golden Tiger is an unmemorable Chinese restaurant in Simi Valley. We tried two dishes: the Mongolian beef and kung pao chicken. The beef was fatty and unflavorful, and the dish had lots of of green and white onions--filler that goes straight to the trash can, since we don't like to eat onions. The kung pao chicken fared slightly better since it was heavy on the meat and used the green onions very sparingly, but it still was just average at best.


Kung pao chicken

As much as I like the idea of supporting restaurants that are independent and unique, Panda Express and Pickup Stix are both much better than this place. Golden Tiger is one of the few restaurants in the area that offers delivery, but I'd rather get in my car and grab some better food for takeout. If you live in the area and really want some food delivered, a better option is Thai Kitchen.

Golden Tiger Chinese Restaurant

1494 Madera Road
Simi Valley, CA 9306
805.520.9022
Golden Tiger website
Golden Tiger menu

Restaurant Review #213: Cha Chaa Thai, North Hollywood

Cha Chaa Thai is proof that just because a Thai restaurant is located on Sherman Way in North Hollywood doesn't mean it will be good. Though this strip of street is home to gems like Bua Siam and Krua Thai, it's apparently not infallible. Cha Chaa serves what is probably the worst Thai food I've ever had.

I had a bad feeling the moment I walked into the place, and experience has shown me that this feeling is almost always dead on. But with the place so empty and the lone server so friendly and so aware of my presence, it felt wrong to leave, so I decided to order anyway and hope for the best.

The food tasted about as good as I expected given the looks of the place: very few customers (it was a little past lunchtime, though), very outdated decor, and a steam table of impossibly cheap lunch specials ($4.95 for rice, one eggroll, soup, and a small portion of an entree).

One of the problems is probably that Cha Chaa is a Thai-Chinese restaurant, not a Thai restaurant. Swan Thai has a few Chinese dishes on its menu, but is primarily a Thai restaurant (a tasty one, at that), so I was expecting the same from Cha Chaa. In reality, it is a Chinese-Thai restaurant, with very few Thai dishes. For example, none of the nine lunch special entree options are Thai. I probably should have ordered a Chinese dish to get a more accurate picture of the kitchen's capabilities, but I was really craving Thai and my funds are limited. Plus, I wanted to order something that would be cooked fresh, not something that had been sitting out under heat lamps for hours.


Pad Thai

The pad Thai was sort of a cross between the ketchupy version and the peanuty version, but it didn't taste like much. I normally don't squeeze fresh lime on my pad Thai, but I used an entire lime to make this dish actually have some flavor (good thing I had a bag of limes in my fridge, since it only came with one wedge). The dish was edible, but I can name about 15 places off the top of my head that do better. Also, there was no option for tofu (with this or any other dish on the menu), which is how I like my pad Thai. This one came with chicken (and shrimp, which I went without). The chicken was somewhat dry and didn't have any flavor beyond its inherent birdiness. The noodles were properly cooked, though not quite as pleasantly chewy as Krua Thai's or Bua Siam's.


Pad see ew

I also tried the pad see ew with beef. Unfortunately, this dish was overcooked, giving it a slightly burnt smell and taste. The beef was no better than the chicken, and the dish, like the pad Thai, was fairly flavorless overall.

One thing the restaurant does have going for it is that the portion sizes are generous and the food is cheap. Unfortunately, it is not unique in that regard. One thing it does do differently, though, is try to cater to a Spanish-speaking clientele. The entire menu is translated into Spanish, and they even serve aguas frescas. Also, the service is friendly and the food was prepared quickly (but not too quickly--it was obviously made to order).

Cha Chaa Thai
12936 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
(818) 503-8884

Restaurant Review #193: Cafe Orient, Chatsworth

Orange Chicken

When you're in the Northridge/Chatsworth area, there aren't a lot of unique dining options--almost every restaurant is a large, loud chain. Cafe Orient is an oasis in the desert, serving homemade Chinese and Vietnamese food in a hand-decorated, cozy, lavender setting. Despite being small, the restaurant was uncrowded enough that we were able to be seated right away. Fortunately, we made it there before the 9:00 closing time.

(Note: I wrote this last year and just discovered that I had never posted it. Hopefully Cafe Orient has not gone away since then. Drop me a line if you know anything.)


Charbroiled Beef

The orange chicken had a delicate orange flavor and was sweet without tasting candied. Rather, it tasted like it was actually made with the juice of an orange and wasn't laden with cornstarch, unlike most of the Chinese food I've eaten. The charbroiled beef was flavorful and tender, but unnecessarily greasy and didn't quite taste like Vietnamese food. Though the meat could have used more lemongrass flavor, the nuoc cham and rice made the dish addictively good.


Dining room

Overall, everything about the experience was hassle-free, even parking (there is a large lot in front). This restaurant is probably not your best bet if authenticity is what you're after, but for a comfortable dining experience with decent food, low prices, and uncannily fast service, Cafe Orient is a good choice.

Cafe Orient
20527 Devonshire
Chatsworth, CA 91311
818.486.1221
Map
Cafe Orient Hours:
Lunch 11am-2pm
Dinner 5pm-9pm
Closed Sundays

Restaurant Review #187: Golden Crown Wok Palace, Sherman Oaks

Kung pao chicken

Ignore what I've said in the past--Golden Crown is my new favorite restaurant for Chinese delivery in the Valley. Their sauces are flavorful, their meat is cooked correctly, and the food always arrives quickly and piping hot.

I don't know when I will ever find kung pao chicken that lives up to my memories of the stuff I ate as a child (quality chicken, plenty of sauce that was neither too thick nor too thin, and pleasantly spicy), but Golden Crown's is a close second. The sauce is not very spicy, but it is flavorful, and there aren't a lot of obnoxious veggies standing between me and my chicken and peanuts. Yum.


Sweet and pungent chicken

Sweet and pungent chicken is candied meat at its best, if you're into that sort of thing. Most of the time, Golden Crown's version is cooked to perfection, which is more than I can say of most other Chinese restaurants in the area. If you've ever had overcooked fried meat, you know how tough and chewy it can be. If you've never had pungent chicken, it's similar to orange chicken, but a bit sweeter and a bit more sour (hence the "pungent" part of the name).


Cashew chicken

Overall, what sets Golden Crown apart from the other Chinese restaurants I've tried is that each dish has a generous amount of very flavorful sauce and they use high quality chicken cut into easy-to-eat, bite-sized pieces. Almost all of the chicken dishes are excellent (with the exception of the fatty sesame chicken), though I generally order the same trio you see here over and over. Also, their rice is always soft and fluffy while still maintaining a bit of bite. I can't really comment on the beef dishes--I didn't like the kung pao beef, but I never like the beef dishes at Chinese restaurants because I always think the meat tastes fishy.

Ordering from Golden Crown is always easy and efficient since they store your address in their system, and the food always comes quickly and on time.

Golden Crown Wok Palace
4722 Woodman Ave.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
818.784.8287
Free delivery within three miles
Over three miles add $2.00
$10.00 delivery minimum
Mon - Thur. 10am - 9:30pm
Fri. 11am - 10pm
Sat. & Sun. 11:30am - 10pm
Entrees $8 -$13

Restaurant Review #180: Hong Kong 88, Van Nuys

Kung pao chicken

I initially dismissed Hong Kong 88 since they serve sushi in addition to Chinese food and are willing to deliver sushi. That seemed to me like an glaring sign of a restaurant that didn't case about the quality of its food. Multiple recommendations on Chowhound's boards, however, convinced me to give them a shot.


Orange chicken

It's a good thing I listened, because Hong Kong 88 serves the best Chinese food in the area when compared to others I've tried: Joie Luck Kitchen, Bamboo Village, and Bamboo Cuisine. They use large pieces of high quality chicken, flavorful sauces, and vented plastic containers that keep fried items crispy and allow presentation and delivery to coexist.


Mongolian beef

Minced garlic adds kick to their orange chicken, and fresh bell peppers balance out an otherwise very meaty kung pao chicken. While the kung pao could use more heat, the thick hot and sour soup left me panting happily for a glass of milk. The beef didn't fare as well, since the meat was fatty.

Any place that can deliver steaming hot, mostly delicious food in 20 minutes on a Friday night will be getting a lot more business from me in the future.

Hong Kong 88
5658 Sepulveda Blvd. #101
Van Nuys, CA
818.997.7118
Hong Kong 88 Menu

Free delivery within four miles and with $15 minimum order