Golden Chopsticks

I have visited this restaurant many times over the years. I have never had a bad food experience here. In fact, I believe it is some of the best Chinese food on the Eastside. As other reviewers however, there were times where the service was slow or the kitchen very backed up. Pros: Good food, much improved service more

Rated a 1 because 0 and negative numbers are not an option. I visited this restaurant in November of 2009 and I have to suspect that the positive reviews are planted by friends and family. My wife and I spent $100+ for our anniversary dinner here because we love chinese food (one of our most commonly purchased foot categories in the last 30 years) and expected by location and appearance we could get some spectacular food here. We got the food to go so we could enjoy our meal peacefully in a park. We had half of the General Tsao's chicken first and mostly enjoyed it though it was lacking in the 'trinity' of chinese food, ginger/garlic/scallion (which plays the same role that mirepoix, onion/celery/carrot, does in french and other cuisines) before we moved on to the other dishes. We immediately found that the lack of those classic chinese flavors were even more pronounced in the other dishes - no detectable ginger/garlic/scallion at all. The sauce was bland and ""goopy"", reminiscent of the sauce that comes in grocery store canned chinese food mixes. There was a second spicy, breaded dish - prawns - and the sauce there fell short even of the General Tsao's, plus the breading was doughy and seemed as if far too much baking soda had been used. In desperation we went back to the General Tsao's and found that the remainder also had the nasty, doughy batter that we'd found on the prawns. After talking to the manager/owner we ultimately threw most of the food away as even the desire to not throw our money away was not enough to make it worth choking down. The experience of expressing our extreme disappointment to the owner/manager was what truly cinched our disgust and disappointment. I described the elements that had been lacking - lack of classic ginger/garlic/scallion flavor, doughy, badly flavored batter - and I was told I didn't know what chinese food was supposed to taste like and that the other reason I hadn't liked it must have been because I asked for them to put no MSG on the dishes. I described my long experience eating chinese food and familiarity with the almost mandatory elements of the foundation of chinese food and finally asked her ""what happened to the customer is always right? Shouldn't you refund a disappointed customer or are you doing so poorly you can't afford to make this right?"" Her final position was that I was just wrong, I didn't know what the food was supposed to taste like and that it was unreasonable for me to expect any sort of refund, remake (I still had the remainder of the food at this point), anything to make it right. In my opinion this ""soup nazi"" of chinese food doesn't deserve to have a business until she learns how to cook, perform customer service and accept that her business is based on customers, not her ego. Pros: Decent location Cons: Weak food, terrible service from owner/manager more

Looking at the dates of the low-star reviews below, I encourage everyone to give Golden Chopsticks a chance... things must have changed since then! Golden Chopsticks is hands-down the best Chinese restaurant in town. A lot of the complaints below talk about terrible service, however the servers here are GREAT! There always seem to be two women who talk and joke around with us all the time... very very nice. The FOOD is why we keep coming back! The first time I went there I tried Princess Prawns... and I must admit that I haven't ordered anything else since. It has a powerful & unique sweet/savory taste and is battered so light & crisp - wonderful! My boyfriend always orders the lemon chicken. Unlike with most Chinese places, their chicken is always white meat (no mystery meat here!)... so I can feel comfortable stealing some of his dish. This is also breaded light & crisp with a wonderful subtle lemon flavor. It could be considered a little pricey (but, then again, all Chinese in Redmond is). However, the food keeps me coming back again & again regardless of price. I urge you to try this restaurant... it's wonderful! Pros: Wonderful food & wonderful service. Cons: Can be pricey more

try to avoid going there especially if you are starving! we had to wait for at least 45 minutes to be served!!!! they should definitely hire more staff more

I was a bit reluctant to try this place. I should have trusted my instincts. We had immediate seating but there were only three other tables with customers. The water came quickly and the order was eventually taken. After reading the other reviews, I feel lucky, the food only took 35 minutes to come instead of the average 45-minute usual time. During the wait, the server never came to check on us. We ordered three dishes and were disappointed with two. We had the Honey Walnut Prawns, they were on par with other Chinese places, but not spectacular. The other two dishes were Curry Chicken and Assorted Vegetables. The curry chicken barely had any curry flavor or smell. The chicken itself tasted like it was blanched three days before and left in the fridge to absorb the fridge?s odors. The assorted veggies were bland and did not have the wok smell/taste I would expect from a stir-fry. The steamed rice was also a disappointment for a Chinese restaurant, seemed like a cheap grade of rice and cooked with too much water. This is the first and last time for this place, plus it prompted me to sign up and add a review. Pros: mall parking Cons: service, food, expensive for the quality more

My husband and I went to see a movie. Afterwards, we were hungry so we decided to go try the Golden Chopsticks which was just across from the theater. Pros: convenient to the theater Cons: nonexistent service, unfriendly staff, loooooog wait time more

It will be easier to start out by listing the things that were done right. The rice and the hot & sour soup were acceptable. The water was good. No, I said the WATER, the WAITER was terrible. We did not have to wait long for service as we were the only two in the restaurant and were outnumbered by staff more than two to one (this at 9 on a Saturday evening...) The tea service consisted of the cutest china I've ever seen. Now the rest. I heard no complaints from my friend about the egg-flower soup, possibly because she wasn't permitted to finish much of it before it was whisked away. The tea was just plain bad. It was supposed to be a loose-leaf oolong, but didn't resemble oolong in any recognizable way. Possibly because it was old. Maybe it was just cheap. My money is on cheap and old. And not an oolong. Because the tea was loose-leaf and placed in the teapot without any means of straining it and because of the size of the proffered teacups it was impossible to drain the tea fast enough to prevent it's becoming dangerously over-steeped. My friend ordered the almond chicken. It was luke warm, breaded breast filets swimming in an unidentified gravy with no flavor with some chopped nuts (possibly almonds) tossed on top. It would have been sub-par for a microwave meal. My pork dish was acceptable, but nothing to write home about. I was not asked how hot I wanted it and it could certainly have had more than a single pepper in it for being listed on the menu as hot. It was also luke warm. The janitor spent most of the time we were dining mopping the dining room. Fortunately, he let us finish most of our 'meal' before attempting to mop under our table. I believe this is the first time in my life that I have not left a tip. It felt kind of weird doing so but try as I might, I had not wittnessed a single deed worthy of tipping from the time I walked though the door of this palace of sub-mediocre fare and callous service. Oh, and the chopsticks were terrible, too. Pros: Water had a lemon slice in it Cons: Everything else more

I've eaten at Golden Chopsticks twice before - both times the service very slow and inattentive - 15 minutes to even get water. During the third (and last ever) visit, we got rice and soup within 15 minutes, but 45 minutes later, the main course hadn't arrived. I hunted down a waitress (no one had even bothered stopping by during those 45 minutes), but 15 minutes later, still no food. We finally decided to leave, and instead of showing us any sort of courtesy, the proprietor angrily demanded payment for the soup and rice. It took them nearly 10 additional minutes to return our change. I can't remember ever being treated worse at any restaurant, much less an upscale chinese establishment. We saw at least 2 other tables leave before ordering, and many others that showed frustration with the terrible service. Needless to say, we will never return. Cons: Bad Service, Rude Waitstaff more

I wish I would have read the other reviews before going to this restaurant. It took quite several minutes to get seated, but when we were, we were brought water and menus, and our order was taken promptly. It was then almost an hour before our food came. Like others have mentioned, we asked what was taking so long and where our food was only to be shrugged off and not given any information. The restaurant was not busy at the time but they were still short staffed. I have since then heard similar stories from coworkers, and it sounds like they have tried to hire help but apparently they can't retain them. I strongly urge you to avoid this restaurant if you're looking to have lunch in less than 1.5 hours. Pros: Easy to find parking, Shopping nearby Cons: Slow service, Unfriendly staff more

I went to Golden Chopsticks with a group of friends to celebrate a co-workers birthday over lunch. We arrived early to beat the lunch rush. We were seated promptly, but waited and waited to place our order and then we waited a much longer period of time before our food arrived - approximately 45 minutes (just like another reviewer commented)! It was clear they were understaffed...there were only two waittresses and two chefs. I, too, was irritated by the fact that was no apology for the poor service. The final straw was when my group went to pay and two people's transactions remained to be completed when the person behind the cash register left to serve other tables. Five minutes later a different employee came up to finish the transactions. Again, no apology was made and no explanation was offered even though me and my group were clearly agitated. Pros: Delicious Food, Pleasant Ambiance Cons: Very Poor Service more

Unfortunately, I had a similar experience as the reviewers ""prototype"" and jmwenger. My co-workers and I tried this restaurant for lunch on Friday because Thai Ginger was packed. Golden Chopsticks was moderately busy but not overly so. After we ordered, it took over 45 minutes to get our food. There was no explanation, no regular update from the wait staff, and when we nicely asked what was happening, there was no apology or attempt to make it right. When we asked not so nicely what was happening, we were brushed aside (an older employee came up to our waiter and told him, in Chinese, not to worry about it, then they both walked away). The food was good and the restaurant is beautiful. If it wasn't for the service, I'd definitely go there again. But fter this experience, we'll never go to Golden Chopsticks again. Pros: Great location, Great decor, Ample parking Cons: Horrible service, Long wait time more

Golden Chopsticks is an excellent chinese restaurant. They have a great selection of appetizers and entrees. Their potstickers are some of the best around here, and their lemon chicken and rainbow chicken dishes are outstanding. Try the sizzling rice soup, too! Pros: Food, Parking, Ambiance more

Because I want this place all to myself! The food here is incredible. I have never experienced poor service, and they have recently staffed up to handle increased demand during the lunch/dinner rush. I recommend the General Tsong's Chicken and the Mongolian Beef, but I have never had anyone complain about the dish that they ordered. Pros: Parking, Food, Ambiance more

We were seated and forgotten about during each of our trips. When they do take their order there is a high probablity it will not come out properly. Good food though... recommend takeout. Pros: Good Food, Good Parking Cons: , Noisy Environment, High Price more

After a long day of shopping, my mother and I were very excited to try a new restaurant but ended up severely dissatisfied. We were seated right away but at an obnoxiously large table for 26 (despite asking for the table that was open in the back). This made it difficult to converse with one another. We waited over 15 minutes for our drink order and weren't even offered a wine list to look at while we waited. The food took quite a long time, my wine glass sat empty for several minutes, and no one checked on us again after the food was delivered. As for the food, fairly expensive for your not so unique Chinese cuisine, bland, small portions, and worst of all.....not even served with chopsticks! I would never recommend nor ever return to this establishment. Head to Thai Ginger just 7 doors down - much better. Pros: Good Location Cons: Loud, Poor service, Overpriced more