Golden Buddha Restaurant — Restaurant in Decatur

We were/are so impressed by the food here! I can’t believe we only just found this place.

This is also what I love about the diversity of Atlanta - you can find Korean Chinese food. I thought that was only a thing in Korea, but thankfully it transcends continents!

I knew my husband really missed good jjampong and jajangmyeon, and I heard how famous they are for their Empress Chicken, so we decided to make this our Saturday post hike lunch stop.

Everything we ordered was great, even the side of complimentary kimchi reminded us very much of “restaurant style” kimchi in Seoul. We will definitely make this a regular lunch stop.

The highlights:

Sizzling Rice Soup - this is the flavor of your grandmother or mother’s homemade chicken broth. It is light, flavorful, and reminds me of the soups in Korea that are known as “medicine” more so than food. The simple but memorable flavor definitely nourishes the soul.

Gan jjampong - I will start by saying I wasn’t a big fan of jjampong (soup version) when we lived in Korea, but this was next level. It is a saucy noodle and seafood dish, rather than a soup. The spice level is mild, but noticeable, and the flavor is slightly smoky like a good wok seared lo mein. Only minor complaint, it could’ve benefited from a little more seafood and the beards weren’t removed from the mussels.

Empress Chicken (6pcs) - holy mama!!! This was soooooooo good. It would have been epic with that sweet, spicy, garlicky sauce drizzled over a side of white rice, but is also excellent on its own. And it is a really fair amount for the price.

I was initially worried about the bone-in aspect, as it gets messy to eat, but they came up with a genius way to basically butterfly/filet the meat so it not only soaked up the heavenly sauce but was super easy to cut off the bone.

The Samsun (seafood) Fried Rice - this is only on the smaller Korean menu (same with the Gan jjampong). Packed with shrimp, scallops, and squid, this is also a must try. Super simple, with a little soy or chili sauce added, but very clean and delicious.

Clean is actually a great word to describe not only the food, but the environment.

Well done, Golden Buddha, even my super skeptical and picky Korean...

This is in no way to slander this restaurant, but to add constructive criticism in hope of change. I’ll start by saying I am from NJ, was raised til 17 in GA, and spent my 20s and 30s in the tristate area. So when it comes to Chinese food, anyone from up north can completely understand where I’m coming from when I say, we don’t eat a lot of Chinese food here.

I ordered the Mongolian beef lunch special which from pics and my actual order looked delicious. I’m ordinarily a beef and broccoli type of gal, but I said why not. I ordered take out and this was the second day in a row I would’ve missed lunch, so blowing my budget on take out was high on my priority list, and I have been craving Chinese food.

The good: I was greeted as soon as I walked in, environment felt good, food was ready and hot. It took everything in me to wait until I got back to my office to not open my food.

The bad: the pork egg roll was greasy, no biggie. But it had zero flavor. Ok, let’s get in to the main. Asian food has a way of making even white rice taste delicious, but this tasted like water. Thought maybe I just haven’t had it in a while. Now I’m not sure what type of sauce Mongolian beef is supposed to have, but this also taste like water. Like someone rinsed it off after cooking. It came with the red sauce that you usually get with Crab Rangoon, so I dumped that on top. Believe me when I say, I’m one of those ppl that likes to eat my food the way it comes, so adding sauce hurt my feelings….and also did nothing. So I added a pack of duck sauce while being super conscious of how many additional calories on top of that blown budget I just added. Alas, still nothing, and the reason I had to write this review.

I paid $14 for this meal knowing I was taking a risk, so I’m not upset, just disappointed. Again I’d like to reiterate, as someone used to northern Chinese Food, this could very well be just me. Other reviews were great which is why I chose it. This is just my 2 cents from someone that would love to love the food. I think I will try the beef and broccoli next time to be able to accurately have a view of...

Jun 2025 In town again and a must visit... Ordered my two comfort food - 짬뽕 and 야끼만두. Both were perfect. Their spicy seafood noodle is the epitome of what it supposed to be - balanced and just the right "fire-burned" taste, freshness of the seafood, portion, ... The deep fried dumpling was crispy on the outside and soft tender and tasty mixture of fresh ingredients! Lament the fact such food is not available in Silicon Valley...

2018 During my graduate student years at Georgia Tech, this was our family's favorite Chinese restaurant in Atlanta. 2018, a few decades later, I happened to visit Georgia Tech again in 2018 and googled for this place, thinking it wouldn't exist by now. To my surprise, it popped up. I'm curious to see if this is really the same place, I went to have dinner there. To my utter surprise again, the restaurant was the same from outside, entrance, corridor to the front counter and the inside. I recalled having my PhD graduation dinner with family in the rear right corner table... I took a seat and asked, before deciding what to order, how long the owner has been running this business... To my total surprise again, it was before I was a graduate student. Excited to try our favorite dishes, I ordered the spicy seafood noodle soup and dumplings... Yes, I was a poor married graduate student with one child... Again, to my totally utter surprise, the food tasted the same, as I recall, with that musty slightly burned flavor from their (presumably a few decade old) wok... I thoroughly enjoyed the food, recollecting our time there and how our family has grown from those days...

Talked to the manager as I was paying and found out that the same owner still comes to work in the mornings, for quality control, I presume. His children didn't want to run the restaurant as they became doctors (like my two children). The owner did great with his restaurant and children!!!

I am giving 5 stars for its longevity and consistency over several decades. I shall return some day with my...