Golden Port — Restaurant in Efate

The only thing that got this place any stars was the cold beer and the tasty food. The rest barely rates a mention. We were a party of 6 who arrived to an empty restaurant and were seated quickly. The men ordered beer and the ladies a bottle of sparkling wine to share. The beer arrived quickly and was obviously cold - condensation on the sides and the men all agreed that it was actually cold. After 10 minutes of waiting one of our party approached the staff gathered at the counter and asked if we could get the sparkling wine served, please? It was warm. Like out of a box, hasn’t even been passed inside an open fridge, warm. We asked for an ice bucket. Which was provided. With no ice. We asked for ice for the ice bucket and got about 10 cubes of ice. It was getting a bit crazy so we just drank the warm wine and agreed to drink beer going forward. The food arrived quickly and was as described and as expected. Tasty. Nothing spectacular. Just typical “Australian Chinese restaurant” style food. Missing was any kind of customer service, any smiles, any description as to what we were about to eat, anything that was “above” or even what we had grown to expect from the peoples of Vanuatu thus far in our trip. We ate our meal, declined dessert, paid the bill and got the heck out of there so we could go back to our resort and have an actual cold bottle of sparkling wine. Needless to say we recommended that other guests in our resort didn’t bother with the hassle of getting a taxi or bus up the hill to this restaurant. Oh and no, we didn’t...

We recently stayed in Vanuatu for a short holiday and found my favorite meal on the entire planet at Golden Port’s Chinese restaurant.

The “Szechuan Beef in Chilli Oil” is BAE and large enough to feed 2. The Szechuan peppers give a great tingle that goes well with the chillies and garlic.

We ended up going back two more times and bringing leftovers home in takeaway containers.

Upon returning home I asked our local Chinese restaurant to make the same meal but there was little similarity in appearance or flavor. Guess we’ll have to fly back to Vanuatu sooner rather...

At first glance, we expected to eat much better, as what we should neither rely on the facade, nor rely on an old memory! 7 years ago, we enjoyed ourselves and this year it was the debacle. On the menu, do not believe the photos of dishes displayed on the full page! They have nothing to do with reality! If earning quick money is the only motivation for some restaurateurs, then go your way poor gullible customers: therefore: overcooked meat, absence of vegetables, reduced dose, tablecloths full of oil stains, inefficient service, salty addition ....