Golden Moon Restaurant — Restaurant in Arroyo Grande

Recently found this place a few months ago. The lunch specials are pretty good for their price, and the food is easily the best Chinese cuisine I've tasted in the Central Valley for a good while, but then COVID-19 hit. We started ordering here more frequently to support small, local Asian businesses, but after a few unforeseen changes I don't think I will be coming back.

The lunch specials seemed to be reducing in quality and quantity, and eventually Golden Moon decided to only offer a la carte. However, reduced patronage is no excuse for reduced customer service. Before the outbreak their customer service was always a tier below average, but their food always made up for it. Sadly, they decided to go past the tipping point. Now they never add utensils nor offer to, and in my most recent visit, they informed me over a phone after I placed my order that their lunch specials are gone and that I would be charged the a la carte price. I agreed to it, but they skipped confirming the total and asked for my credit card number. Thankfully it was just a $5 difference, but the damage was done. What if I had a larger order or was tight on money? We should support small businesses, but not those that use current events as an excuse to shirk on financial integrity and...

Arrived at 8:31 not knowing that after 8:30 only online orders are accepted. However, they were very gracious enough to seat us.

The restaurant is spotless and well maintained and nicely decorated with lanterns, figurines, etc.

Importantly, the food is the star attraction. Since it was late for us to eat and it was near closing time, we only ordered two entree’s: the Tofu and Eggplant combo in brown sauce and the Chicken, Shrimp and Pork in a sesame sauce (you could also order Orange or General Tsaos). The Tofu combo was a generous plate of hearty pieces which was also the case in the Trio selection and each provided enough for two persons if not three! The ingredients were very fresh in both and appropriately seasoned and flavorful.

Pricing is reasonable considering the portions!

A pot of very good jasmine tea rounded out the dinner.

Service is very friendly and attentive.

We definitely plan on repeat visits to experience more dishes!

P. S. Don’t confuse this with the Golden Gong restaurant down the street which wasn’t friendly, closed earlier than advertised and didn’t appear to...

It's bad enough that we don't have authentic Chinese food in the area, and not sure what happened to this American Chinese-style restaurant, but it got worst and skimpy with food. If you look at the first four photos below, I took that 3-4 years ago. The last three were a to-go order recently. I've been to this place three other times, and I knew something was different. Food quality is not up to par, service is ok, lunch plates are so expensive, meals are overpriced, and some see overcooked.

Except for San Luis Obispo County, Chinese food is cheap and more authentic. Unfortunately, no one in the county does offer any authentic Chinese food. The amount of salt, msg, and other masking flavors to make it looks and taste like Chinese food is what makes us gain...