Golden House Restaurant — Restaurant in Maryland

I enjoy writing really positive, honest reviews for business that exceed expectations. This one doesn't fall into that category.

Given the lack of competition, Golden House will likely continue on the present path of mediocrity, ignoring customer requests and serving bland, low quality food. Ordered Crispy Beef, hopeful that the 'tangy sauce' would have some flavor but just in case, asked for it 'spicy'. The dish I received, instead of a having a little heat was simply and totally flavorless - not even a hint of any tangy sauce. Additionally, the meat used was possibly old horse as it was stringy and quite tough. I like my dog too much to throw the leftovers in his bowl. Woman who took my order over the phone was very pleasant and competent so that part of the experience was a positive and the food was ready when promised. Oh yay. No more dining in - website still blames COVID: "due to current public health safety and recommendations" however when you're the only choice without driving 20 minutes, people who want one step above a partially cooked, low cost, frozen Chinese TV dinner from La Choy, will continue to spend their money here. As to other dishes, crab wontons were ok. Mu Shu pork was also fairly typical but again, if you have stomach issues or you're the type of person who considers a generic Wal-Mart cheese pizza as best-pizza-ever or typically enjoys hot cereal with no butter, brown sugar, milk, raisins, salt, etc. then you might find this dish to your liking. Plum sauce was average. Wonton soup was very reasonably priced. Rice was cooked perfectly. I have to wonder if they have a regular cook who had a family emergency last night or just doesn't work on Saturdays. Perhaps they've possibly promoted the dishwasher - potentially a 17 year old who probably got fired from McDonalds for repeatedly not understanding/forgetting the need to cook the burgers before assembling quarter pounders. Obviously, I need to start driving a bit when I'm in the mood for tasty Chinese.... Recommend their owners/chef go visit someplace like Kung Fu 12 to see how food should...

Yesterday we ordered dinner from Golden House. We've been eating there for the past four years so when I ate my order of Kung Pao Chicken ( medium spice ) and it was extra bland, no spice, with hardly any chicken and tons of peanuts I was very disappointed but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt....maybe they had a new cook, or were under-staffed, etc. I called them, since there is no other type of contact info on their website, to let them know about the issue with the Kung Pao Chicken and also the stale wonton strips. I also let them know that I wasn't calling to get my money back but just wanted them to be aware of the unsatisfactory food. I never write bad reviews but I just wanted to make people aware that to add insult to injury the person on the phone didn't seem to care, didn't apologize and coldly said she would tell her boss and hung up on me. WOW. This is why I'm giving them a one star review. In these tough times my family and I have been making an extra effort to support our local businesses especially restaurants but after this awful customer service experience we will be taking our business elsewhere. So sad. The attached picture shows the take out box after I threw out most of the peanuts and still couldn't find hardly any chicken...there was a ton of peanuts underneath this layer as well and still hardly any chicken but I did find 4 broccoli. It all literally tasted like...

I opted for the $13.95 Szechuan Chicken, a large Hot and Sour Soup, and two egg rolls. The bag of food must have weighed three pounds. The egg rolls were typical of what I have been served in Chinese restaurants for almost 50 years. Nothing special, not that you can do much with a fried egg roll. The soup was tasty with lots of sour taste which I like, but it was devoid of meat or soy. They were present in narrow slivers lost among the vegetables. Then came the big disappointment, the main dish. Chicken is cheap, especially when served in a dish costing $13.95, but if there was four ounces of chicken in this dish, I will eat my hat. It was a container packed full of carrots and celery, which cost almost nothing. I have been disappointed in most Chinese restaurants these days, but at least the others give you a decent amount of meat to go with the layers of cheap vegetables. This place is giving you nothing for your money but a heavy bag. And, bathrooms closed to customers and no inside seating. It's all take-out. I still have to go to York, PA from near the Susquehanna River in Maryland to get Chinese food that is unmatched by any other place I have tried between here and there, almost 50 miles. They all offer amazingly fast service, but it's all about what comes in the bag for the money you have handed them. I will cross this place...