Golden Unicorn
Marty and I headed over to Golden Unicorn last weekend to try out their Dim Sum. Up to this point, our NYC dim sum cravings have been satisfied at Ping’s Seafood. Ping’s in general, has treated us right, but there are some drawbacks. First, if you get seated downstairs (which we seem to be sat almost every time), there is no cart service. The variety of treats making basement appearances is scaled down from the main floor. You have to send waiters on wild goose chases for your favorites – trying to explain what you want in English can be challenging. So…I figured it was time to try out some of the other dim sum houses that NYC had to offer.
Golden Unicorn is prepared for serving in volume with three floors of seating – we, of course, only saw one. It was far more spacious than Ping’s with sun coming in the wall of east facing windows. All of the carts have pictures of the contents with both English and Chinese labels. The servers wear cute little uniforms that resemble candy stripers with hats to match. The décor is what you’d expect, but feels more comfortable than some given the space between tables.
Overall, we thought the food was pretty comparable to Ping’s. I saw no real difference in the baked and steamed bbq pork buns, shrimp noodle, or spare-ribs with black beans. The food came fast and frequently – we must have seen some items pass by a dozen times during our meal. On the other hand, we had to wait around to see some variety in what went by. I was impressed with how they cooked the turnip and taro cakes on a portable griddle cart – they came to your table hot and silky. The only disappointments were the sesame balls and sticky fried pork dumplings. They were both under-fried and soggy with grease. I’m willing to write this off to a bad batch. I’ll see how they turn out next visit. Plus, I never saw Chinese broccoli – something I count on to counteract all the grease and pork. Again, who knows if this was an isolated omission or typical for the restaurant.
I think we’ll head back to get a better feel for their strength and weaknesses. Plus, I really prefer the ambiance over Ping’s – it just seems less hectic, more relaxing. Depending on my mood, this can be a big plus over Ping's.
Golden Unicorn is prepared for serving in volume with three floors of seating – we, of course, only saw one. It was far more spacious than Ping’s with sun coming in the wall of east facing windows. All of the carts have pictures of the contents with both English and Chinese labels. The servers wear cute little uniforms that resemble candy stripers with hats to match. The décor is what you’d expect, but feels more comfortable than some given the space between tables.
Overall, we thought the food was pretty comparable to Ping’s. I saw no real difference in the baked and steamed bbq pork buns, shrimp noodle, or spare-ribs with black beans. The food came fast and frequently – we must have seen some items pass by a dozen times during our meal. On the other hand, we had to wait around to see some variety in what went by. I was impressed with how they cooked the turnip and taro cakes on a portable griddle cart – they came to your table hot and silky. The only disappointments were the sesame balls and sticky fried pork dumplings. They were both under-fried and soggy with grease. I’m willing to write this off to a bad batch. I’ll see how they turn out next visit. Plus, I never saw Chinese broccoli – something I count on to counteract all the grease and pork. Again, who knows if this was an isolated omission or typical for the restaurant.
I think we’ll head back to get a better feel for their strength and weaknesses. Plus, I really prefer the ambiance over Ping’s – it just seems less hectic, more relaxing. Depending on my mood, this can be a big plus over Ping's.
1 Comments:
I left my Christmas bookings so late a couple years ago that I ended up at the Golden Unicorn. I loved it and now I must have made Christmas bookings for the past 3 years.
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