Goldenlion Szechuan Restaurant

We had takeout and it was very good. Chow mein delicious. Friendly staff. Everything we had was good and the price per item reasonable

Since coming to Langford a few years ago, I admit to having a perverse curiosity with the Golden Lion. After seeing on this site and others that it is apparently the worst overall restaurant in town I was even more intrigued. That curiosity only continued...to grow after my partner gave me a bit of history on the place. She noted that, once upon a time (the 1990s), Golden Lion was THE place to go for Chinese food in the area. On weekends the parking lot would be packed, the phones would be ringing off the hook and, perhaps most important, the food was really good. Getting many a take-out order or dining in was the norm. Then, in the mid-2000s things began to change: There were inspection issues at one point and the quality began to slip. Food started to taste extremely oily; the chicken was all gristle and therefore inedible; anything deep fried was saturated in grease; most folks would just throw their food in the trash. So, I was asked, “why would you want to go there and waste your money? It’s terrible!” And, online I’d see reviews with phrases like “Dripping grease;” “VERY GREASY;” “Terrible, terrible, terrible;” “Feeling gross and sick;” and “Hands down the most disgusting Chinese food I’ve ever had.” Ohhh. . . now this is really starting to catch my interest! I simply MUST check this place out and see for myself! That fateful day came in August 2017 when my partner reluctantly took me to Golden Lion for some food. Admittedly, I was like a kid in a candy store approaching the restaurant! The worn down, chipped up “Golden Lion” site was beckoning! There were a few cars in the parking lot, but we quickly discovered that these were all worker cars. Once inside, what were the first impressions? Well, the staff person was cleaning, which is good. The (rather large and open) space appeared to be clean and it was quiet – we were the only ones in the restaurant (though, as we were finishing up, an older couple did come in). The tables were clean – not sticky like at a different Chinese eatery I’ve been to. We decided to keep the order a little on the lighter side just in case the food was as terrible as most of the earlier reviews seem to suggest: we ordered two eggrolls and the prawns tipan. The eggrolls, when they arrived, looked like your standard Westernized Chinese food; however, I will admit they weren’t good. They were greasy and tasteless; even the plum sauce could hardly save these things. Were they the worst eggrolls I’ve had? No, I’ve had far worst elsewhere (we’re talking eggrolls literally SWIMMING in grease). What about the prawns tipan? While the presentation was a little different than what I’ve seen for other versions of this dish, it was, overall, pretty decent. There was a good ratio of vegetables to prawn; the tepan sauce was plentiful; and it was actually “sizzling.” My one fault with this dish? A couple of the prawns still had their “vein” inside them. While the vein doesn’t make the prawn unsafe to eat, for most of us it’s still unappetizing to see this dark line running down the prawn. Most places tend to remove this for you. So, I have to say, I’m not sure where all of the hate is coming from for this place. Was it the best Chinese food I’ve had? Far from it, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. The servers were friendly and the food we ordered was decent. They also seem to do a pretty booming phone-in and takeout service because, while we were sitting in the restaurant, a lot of people phoned in and picked up orders, so some people obviously really like this place. FOOD: 3/5 SERVICE: 3.5/5 VALUE: 3/5 RECOMMENDATION: Maybe we played it smart in not ordering anything deep-fried, less the eggroll (which did suck). I didn’t order any chow mein because, let’s be honest here, chow mein is pretty bland/tasteless at most Westernized Chinese eateries and I suspect it would be no different here. Perhaps if I’d ordered deep-fried prawns or almond chicken, I’d be writing a different review. Nonetheless, what we ordered was decent. In terms of an actual recommendation, though, I would say try at your own risk just because of the vastly negative reviews this place has received rightly or wrongly.

That was terrible! we had not ordered Chinese in a long time, and our regular place was closed. I was so disappointed. will never be ordered again.

Seriously bad eating. these reclaimed 1950s style dosen fodder should not go into a human. I'd rather eat a kilogram of kfc potato salad.

On the way home in the car I had to open the window as I felt from the smell of eating. the first bites to house were so rough that I put it in the compost. which deserves a loss of hard $45.