I love finding new restaurants, especially ones that are close to home. Recently my good friend Winnie took a few of us out for dinner at a restaurant that was deemed ‘her favourite Cantonese restaurant’ and she said it was in Mount Waverley. My head immediately started to dig through all the Cantonese restaurants I know and I admit, there wasn’t many that I could come up with in the area. I eliminated essentially all of them because I didn’t think they were good enough to be her favourite and so I was baffled. Where could it be that’s virtually on my doorstep that I didn’t know about? It was convenient that she couldn’t remember what the name of the restaurant was until a few hours before the meal.
It turned out that it was a small place called Golden Ocean, literally a stones throw away from Mount Waverley Station. It has apparently been in business for a long time so I was very surprised at how little online presence it had. If this restaurant was in the city, people would be all over it by now. WIth no reviews and hardly any votes, I wasn’t expecting too much when I walked in. Boy was I surprised.
When all the guests arrived, we were served with the usual free soup. Golden Ocean’s version was very clean on the palate and came with big pieces of chunky meat which is often not the case at other Cantonese restaurants. The bowl had a lot more soup mind you, I just only managed to take the photo after al the soups were served.
When I think of Cantonese, or most Chinese food actually, I usually think of oily and salty dishes that were chucked together clumsily. Golden Dragon gave me a completely different feel. The dishes were light, fresh and really not oily at all. Even the roasts! Winnie ordered a roast duck mixed with roast pork as a starter and the dish disappeared instantly. The crackling on the roast pork was fantastic, the skin on the roast duck was crunchy and not oily and both meats were well seasoned. What more can I say? Of course you can get better roast duck at specialty stores, but for a Cantonese restaurant standard, this was quite good.
The duck came with a sweet plum sauce like usual, but this sauce I felt was not too sweet like the others and went perfectly with the duck. The chilly sauce was also fantastic and I added this to some of the other dishes to give it extra flavour and punch.
I’m quite used to having crabs with noodles as part of Cantonese restaurant meals, so much so that frankly I’m quite sick of it. So when Winnie ordered prawns with noodles instead, I was happy. The dish was individually plated and brought out which was very nice and the prawn was so big! I’m a notoriously slow eater (for those of you who have dined with me I’m sorry) and no surprise everyone at the table had to wait for me to finish my dish. It was so delicious, I was just savouring the taste, not because I’m slow of course!
Next on the table was a whole deep fried sweet and sour fish cooked completely differently to what I was used to. Usually the sauce is poured straight on top, making the fish sticky and soggy. Golden Ocean had made their fish with salt and pepper taste with the sweet and sour sauce on the side. So essentially you can enjoy this fish with 2 different flavours. This also kept the fish from being soggy. Why doesn’t more restaurants do this?
The sauce itself wasn’t overly sweet which is perfect for me, since I don’t usually like sweet and sour sauces that much.
The beef stir fry was well seasoned and the beef was quite tender. It’s a typical dish to order at Cantonese restaurants and this was probably one of the better versions I’ve had.
The meal wouldn’t have been complete without veggies and Winnie had ordered spinach with pork mince and egg. It was a very clean and refreshing dish, although I did think it needed a tiny bit more salt. It was very good when I added a bit of the chilli sauce to it.
To finish off a fantastic night, we were given fresh fruit and a soupy dessert. These usually come free at most Cantonese restaurants. This soup was creamy and sweet with water chestnuts and egg. I thought it was a lot nicer than the red bean ones that are so common at other restaurants.
Winnie’s family has been patrons at Golden Ocean for a long time so got to know the chef and owner quite well. I’m not sure if this was the reason for the unbelievable service and warmth we received but I was sure set on visiting this restaurant again. For a Friday evening, I was surprised the restaurant only had 2 tables of patrons and a few takeaways, so foodies out there, we need to give this place some love!
As I didn’t pay for the meal, I didn’t get a chance to grab the prices for these dishes, but I’m quite sure the prices are reasonable.
Golden Ocean BBQ Chinese Restaurant
Phone: (03) 9807 0555
7 Hamilton Place, Mount Waverley VIC 3149
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
sounds like you were pleasantly surprised by this meal, which is always a good thing!
Yeah I was definitely surprised, but I should have expected it since my friend did say it was her favourite.
Wow what a pleasant surprise! It’s so hard to find a Canto restaurant that does not fall victim to the typical stereotype of clumsily slapped together goop!
I totally agree! There’s one or two that I can think of where we always go for dinner, but this place is small and cosy, the service is so good I can hardly fault it.
I always love when I’m not expecting to love a restaurant and it blows me away!
Yes it’s always the biggest and nicest surprise, it’s just a tiny take away shop and I would never have waltzed in there if it wasn’t for my friend!
It’s always great to find these hidden gems, especially since you’re in on the secret!
Now I’m trying to spread the secret.
It’s always a dilemma whether a secret should be spread, because too many patrons at a restaurant means less service and less quality. But I’m all for sharing so it’s ok. 
Sounds like a definite cut above many Chinese restaurants! I love hidden gems too
Yes I thought so, I actually brought my boyfriend there after I made the post and he agreed it was good, especially the duck!
That spinach egg dish looks like just the ticket with a big bowl of rice. So comforting. My kind of eating.
I chowed down my bowl of rice with that dish…always good to end the night with some delicious veggies.
Such delicious food. I especially like the look of the fish.
Yeah the fish was gorgeous, it looks like a total work of art doesn’t it.
Congrats my friend, I have awarded you the much deserved Versatile Blogger Award
Check it out here: http://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/i-love-thee-microwaves/
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Awww thanks again CCU! You are too kind.
Ohhh i didn’t know that this restaurant was nice
I know friends who live in Glen Waverley and because the restaurants change a lot and the popular one stay that popular it’s really easy to overlook these hidden gems 
great find though! Will take my parents next time they’re back in town hehe
Yeah Kingsway changes so much! New restaurants open up all the time where old ones close…I’ve lived in GW for half my life and I didn’t know this restaurant existed!
Just FYI – It is better that you ask the chef what he recommends or what he’s got in the kitchen for the day, rather than ordering from the menu (which is more for his customers who likes lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork, chicken corn soup, etc, you get the drift). Actually I’ve never seen the menu all that time we’ve been there ^^;
Yeah I actually visited again with Yuye a few days later and we just ordered from the menu.
Should have asked the chef/owner what’s good for the day! What we ordered were still pretty nice though. 