Golden Pagoda

15 Gerrard St
Soho,
London,
W1D 6

(020) 7434 2888

I had an enjoyable meal at the Golden Pagoda in Chinatown. I went for half of a set meal for 2, which came to £13.50 per person.

The menu for 2 was:

Won Ton soup
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Crispy duck and pancakes with Hoi-Sin sauce
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Chicken and black bean sauce
Hot and sour king prawns with peppers and onions
Mixed stir-fried vegetables
Egg fried rice

The meal got off to a bad start for me with the won ton soup- the won tons that were an unpleasant combination of pork and prawn (why anyone would want to eat slightly fishy tasting pork is beyond me). There was nothing wrong with the soup itself or the vegetable that were in the soup along with the wontons, but neither was either of them particularly pleasant. I finished the soup as I was pretty hungry, but couldn’t bring myself to finish the wontons.

I was glad that I had not eaten all of the wontons when the next course came out however, as the duck was very enjoyable- not too crisp, not too moist, and a fair amount of skin left on for those who enjoy it. I was very happy with the hoi sin sauce too- not too aniseedy as I often find it is, and not too sweet either. We were served 6 pancakes between the two of us, and we happily managed 3 each.

We both decided to share each of the main dishes, but I ended up eating most of the prawn dish in the end as it was wonderful. The prawns were tasty, tender, fat and succulent, and the sauce was just the right combination of sweet and sour (and not too thick and gloopy), with a spicy kick towards the end of each mouthful. It was particularly good mixed with the vegetables, as the sauce with the prawns was fairy rich, and the vegetables were quite plain. The vegetables were a mix of bean sprouts, water chestnuts, pak choi, baby sweetcorn and bamboo shoots, and came with a small amount of a very light sauce. Simple but enjoyable- either on their own or mixed with one of the more flavoursome dishes.

The egg-fired rice was pretty bog standard: fairly pleasant rice, and pieces of fried egg. Nothing to complain amount, but nothing to be particularly pleased about. The chicken in black bean sauce came with onions and red and green peppers which were slightly underdone for me personally, but no doubt perfect for some. The chicken was tender and tasty, but I wasn’t terribly keen on the sauce.

We had a pot of jasmine tea between us, which was topped up numerous times as I was chain drinking cups of it throughout the meal.
Service was prompt and efficient, but slightly abrupt and not terribly friendly. The total came to just over £30 for us both, including service.

All in all it was a bit of a hit and miss meal for me- the crispy duck pancakes, hot and sour prawns, and the stir fry vegetables were the hits; the won ton soup and the chicken in black bean sauce were the misses. Fortunately, the quantities were generous for me to focus on the hits rather than the misses, and still be full, so I had an enjoyable and filling meal for £15.