Golden Sands Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Calgary

For discretion: I haven't written a public restaurant review in quite a while and have restarted given the amount of lower standards in eating out which sincerely angered me given we're spending more and getting less.

I have created a new rating criteria based on four (4) main criterions; ambience, value, quality, and service with a scale of 1-5. 5 being the best, and 1 being the worse similar to what Google reviews did.

And now the review. Short context first; came with a group of 4 at noon for dim sum.

Ambience - 4 Super clean and modern interior. Employees are proactively cleaning and maintaining the place despite the brunch rush. We came for dim sum at noon and we're surprised with the order and cleanliness. Seats and tables are too crammed like other places in Calgary. Truly a step ahead than the other places.

Value - 3 As much as I don't want to say this, they're definitely better places for better value in Calgary. Not that this place is bad but the proportions and prices are pretty average at best. Dim sum varies from $7.25-10 and dishes come with 3-4 pieces (Shu Mai 4 pieces, Sticky Rice, 5 pieces). Sizes of such proportions tend to be on the smaller side which is disappointing especially the cheung fun portions. These were 1/3 of the size of to many restaurants. Although I will say they don't skimp on meat portions on many dishes at least. Some dishes are not well seasoned either which is disappointing such as the sticky rice, chicken feet, and cuttlefish. Not to be hypercritical but they were missing something and were on the blander side.

Quality - 4 As mentioned before they don't cheap out when it comes to the meat. Shumai for example uses a mix with tendon and non-fillers. Actually quality which was surprising. Same with the seafood and other dishes which seems to be on the fresher end (cuttlefish, tripe, etc). Definitely a great place for smaller portions that of higher quality.

Service - 3 We knew it was a long wait given we came at noon on a Saturday. However it was clear there's wasn't enough staff at the front desk and as such lead to confusion amongst other patrons and even longer waiting times. Their English is not the best but totally understandable, they're doing their best and serving as many people they can.

Once inside though, staff are attentive and proactive. Wasn't hard to ask for certain things or questions. Average responses as well.

Overall pretty average place to dine at. My overall score is 14/20. I wouldn't say it's special but a place for the community it resides at which you can see. If you in the area, definitely drop by and taste for yourself.. Take-out is another ordeal but that's depends on who picks...

I have always loved going there for their foods. We had awesome food last time for grandma's birthday in July and thought we would do the same for mom. Mom also loved their dim sum and thought we can try dinner as well. We had high hopes for this place.

Knowing that weekend can be busy for restaurants, we made reservations as we had a large group. We made one for 7pm and was told to come just after 7pm. Ok, no problem. We got there at 7:15, and waited at the door with other large parties, also with reservations. No one cared to update or let the people know how long the wait was going to be. We had to go up front and flag someone down. By then, it was closer to 7:45-8pm. One of the lady said they did not know we were coming as I did not confirm on the reservation with them by calling back, which makes no sense. Why would I make a reservation and have to call back to confirm again. Regardless, they did not hold up there reservation times with their customers. They took on more reservations than they can clearly handle.

We had hungry kids that was getting to hangry point, not to mention all the adults were irritated. I had to go feed my one year old in the car, my 4 year old waited by the bathroom as there was room to stand over there. We did not get seated until 8:30pm, we had to argue with another table who was eyeing that table down. Why we stayed? By then it was too late to get to other restaurants. All other restaurants nearby was just as busy.

Got to our table, we had one less seat for an adult. So my 4 year old had to sit on her dad's lap and my 1 year old on mine. Had to say this made the dinner less enjoyable. Less to say, I had to go get a menu myself and had to flag another person down to get water and tea for the table.

When we got to the ordering, we made it simple and just picked out their dinner combos. They came back several times informing us they were out of whole chicken, so we changed to a different type of chicken and then to be informed they were out of all chicken. Then they informed us they were out of steamed fish.

The only good thing was the male server who was nice despite hearing us ramble at the table about the restaurant's accomodations.

The restaurant should be more transparent about their situation. If they accidentally overbooked, that is fine. Let people know. I wouldn't be as mad and upset if they did tell us. The worse is we can drive back home, which by the way is an hour and half drive, to eat. Or pick up fast food or find other options.

I had high hopes for this place. it was one of my...

Should check the take out portion before leaving -which is significantly SMALL then dine in !!

I recently visited this seafood restaurant in Calgary based on recommendations and had high hopes for a delightful dining experience. While there were certainly positive aspects to my visit, the overall experience left me quite disappointed.

The restaurant itself is clean and well-maintained, and the servers were attentive and polite throughout our meal. We ordered a variety of dishes, including stirred fried cod, cod soup, fried oysters in a pot, and scallops and deep fried pigeon, which was recommended as a seasonal specialty dish. Intrigued, we ordered two portions for dine-in and an additional portion for take-out. When we opened the take-out box later at home, we were shocked to find that the deep fried pigeon was significantly smaller than what we had been served in the restaurant. It seemed as if the portion size was inconsistent, especially considering the price was per each, not per weight.

To address this concern, I reached out to the restaurant the following day, expressing my disappointment and questioning if there had been a mistake. The owner assured me that she would look into the matter and promised to call me back after speaking with the manager. However, despite my follow-up call and the passage of time, I have yet to receive any feedback or resolution on the issue.

I am disappointed by the lack of communication and follow-through from the restaurant's end. As a customer, I expected a more responsible and prompt response to my concerns.

While the restaurant showed potential with its flavors and service, the unresolved issue with portion size and the lack of customer service follow-up have left a sour taste in my mouth.

Add on: my friend having dinner with me that evening question after reading my comments if the restaurant was intentionally give a baby size pigeon as if they aware that we came from Edmonton (2.5 hours drive and wouldn't border to return the dish), (I didn't know my friend chat to the server we are from Edmonton when I went to the washroom).

I am extremely disappointed and I don't think I will come...