Golden Horse Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Portland

Unfortunately, what used to be one of, if not, the largest Chinatowns (outside of China itself) has become even less than a shadow of its former glory. Portland Oregon's Chinatown (per documentation and writings from the Oregon Historical society, and Chinese community descendants) was HUGE the entire downtown area of the city north and south of West Burnside Rd, from the Willamette river to the foothills of what is known as Knob Hill (yes, named and modeled after San Francisco's infamous neighborhood, by Captain Couch, pronounced "cooch", for non locals, who loved San Francisco and essentially laid out our basic road grid and many other important things in our fair city). Even what is now known as the "Pearl District" was part of the huge Chinatown. Few remnants remain, a tourist often can stand right in the middle of what is left of China town and ask me where it is, bewildered. I simply state, "You are in it." As the odd look crosses their face, and they look around at all the LGBTQ night clubs/bars and other bars/clubs that are open only from 4pm to 2 am, with little else resembling what one would expect a Chinatown to appear as. The infamous "Shanghai Underground tunnels" still exist in all old downtown buildings, and are a part of their basement areas, but were sealed under the city's regulations to reduce criminal activity and etc. The Merchant Hotel building has sealed their tunnels to other areas, but have maintained the ones under their bldg., and offer a popular tourist attraction of the tunnel with artifacts. Unfortunately, the staircase, accessible by the sidewalk steel doors is not accessible to people with various disabilities. There is a small museum located in the same building that allows visitors to view artifacts from the period, and is accessible. When tourists are confused, I point out that opportunity, as well as Pioneer square, as it has a list of most tours and Etc. I also point out the street lights, as those painted bright red, are considered Chinatown, the dark black painted ones are considered "Old Town " and/or what they "market" as "The Entertainment District." The reality is, it's just a bunch of bars at street level, with a few businesses on upper floors. MOST of the upper floors above the bars are actually occupied by studio apartments, many of which are considered "affordable housing," though "affordable housing" as it is labeled by the city and developers, isn't exactly what most residents would consider "affordable," especially given the often 90 decibels of noise INSIDE some of these resident apartments from 7am to 4am! Additionally, there are ONLY two (2) Chinese restaurants left in what is called Chinatown. The rest are in SE Portland, around SE 82nd. None deliver, either... which is weird; since many small towns' Chinese restaurants deliver, LOL. Many choose delivery services or even Uber/Lyft (which I would not recommend as many complaints arise from such services on the restaurant sites, when once the food leaves the restaurant establishment, the delivery person has no financial or culinary stake in the quality of the products at the time of delivery and NO guarantee that one would expect the same delivery personnel the next time. If you desire Chinese food in Portland, sadly, it's not in Chinatown and one would be best to personally get it themselves, if they desire take out. There's a rumor that they want to make Chinatown a destination again, I...

I didn't even want to give one star but you have to in order to write a review. absolutely the worst Chinese food I have ever had. and the service...... don't even get me started. I have went in there a handful of times (I drive bus to Portland and there are limited places close by to eat). the first time I went in there I ordered the house fried rice and it had squid in it which I didn't like so the next time I went there I had them omit the squid. I always order the house fried rice when I go in there. after a couple times of going in I asked if they would please replace the hot and sour soup with egg flower soup. they said I would have to pay $4 plus dollars for a bowl of egg flower soup. i told them i just want to replace the one I'm getting because i don't like it and i will pay $1.00 or so more for substituting but not full price for another bowl because I don't want the hot and sour soup. found out I was talking to the owner and she firmly would not do it (so much for customer service). well today I went ahead and went back in there again. different waited then I usually get. I told her I wanted the HOUSE FRIED RICE and she didn't understand me so I explained to her that it was rice with everything in it.... beef, pork, chicken, shrimp and I don't want the squid. she was still confused and pointed at the menu at house rice and asked me if I wanted steamed rice. I said NO......the house fried rice with everything in it. she said they didn't put beef in it and I said fine, just no squid either. I told her to put extra shrimp or something in place of the squid but no squid. she brings me a plate with steamed rice and shone green leaf stuff, chicken shrimp and pork. I told her that's not what I wanted. she's very loud and kept saying what do you mean..... what do you mean.... this is house rice. I told her to forget it and I would try it. no flavor. meat appeared undercooked and no vegetable other than the green leaf. I took 3 bites and told her I couldn't do it. I absolutely didn't like it. she got loud again and kept asking me what I meant and telling me that's what I ordered. I told her to just out it in a to go box. I paid and I left and I will...

Being new to Portland, we're not exactly privy to where this week's "it" restaurant is. But then we like to eat our food, not frame it. Our college-age kid was home for the holidays, and all she wanted to do was load-up on seafood...expensive seafood. After researching our options in the Downtown area, I called my banker to inquire on a line of credit. That's when he mentioned Golden Horse. Fortunately, one of the first places we tried after arriving in Portland was Ocean City out on SE 82nd. Ocean City, like Golden Horse, specializes in seafood, and we were blown-away by Ocean City. So after checking-out a few of Golden Horse's reviews, I felt reasonably confident of what we would find: a ten-page menu and entree prices that wouldn't be confused with mortgage payments. We were right on both counts; if it comes out of the sea, Golden Horse probably has it. We ordered: Hot and Sour soup (competent, tart, on the light side). Steamer Clams (fresh, and nicely sized with a ginger root-flavored broth). Seafood Hot Pot (plenty of squid, octopus, scallops - all extremely fresh with perfect texture - and enough shrimp, tofu, bok choy, and ginger to keep it interesting). Rice with Beef and Egg (not the fried rice dish we were expecting at all. This was steamed rice topped with a rich, light gravy of minced beef, egg, and scallion...very entertaining). #2 Combo: Sweet and Sour Chicken, Fried Rice, Subgum Chow Mein with pan fried noodles, and egg roll. All three of us left satisfied...toting doggie bags. And that simply does not happen: once food is on my plate, it rarely escapes my mouth! In fact, it didn't escape for long; I'm eating the leftovers as I write this! We have no hesitation in recommending Golden Horse. Don't go expecting great decor, a great view, or a great wine list; but instead expect to simply enjoy great seafood that just happens to be offered at a great price. With everything listed above, plus a fried shrimp appetizer and hot tea, we were out the door for $50...including tip! And it could have easily been $40 had we not ordered enough to feed a family of five, not three. But seriously, quit reading and go. When you get to the door, ignore what you see, go in, and get ready to loosen your belt a...