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Golden Palace 金钱宝
VOTES:9

Name:Golden Palace 金钱宝
Add:415 Ocean St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Web:http://www.goldenpalacesantacruz.com/

 

Introduction:
Golden Palace offers delicious dining, takeout and delivery to Santa Cruz, CA.

Golden Palace is a cornerstone in the Santa Cruz community and has been recognized for its outstanding Chinese cuisine, excellent service and friendly staff.

Our Chinese restaurant is known for its modern interpretation of classic dishes and its insistence on only using high quality fresh ingredients.


Reviews:

*** Vegetarian Review ***

We're Santa Cruz people. My wife went to UCSC. My brother is a Slug Alum. We love the Boardwalk. Let's just say we've spent a lot of time cruising the streets of Santa Cruz over the past 30 years. And finally! Finally! We stopped at Golden Palace out of convenience and desperation for a late night snack other than boardwalk food.

It's all about one item and one item alone here ... the vegetarian potstickers.

Five-stars isn't something I throw out lightly. In fact, the service was good not great. Definitely not rude or abrupt -- just solemnly professional. Why is that a bad thing? In a span of 2 days/2 nights, we went here 4 times, ordered the same thing, saw the same people, but never a "back so soon" or a "the usual?" It's more of an expectation on my end, but yet, here we are with a 5-star review for just a single menu item.

Would I come back test? Yes and I cannot wait! Our first visit was 45 minutes before they closed for the night. We came back the next day for lunch. We returned for dinner and made one more stop before we left for home the next day.

Tips for first-timers:

1) Parking. They have their own lot that we never had a problem finding a spot to park. This is a big thing for tourist towns.

2) Staying the weekend? Recommend booking a hotel at the newest hotel in town, Hyatt House. It's a 5 minute walk to Golden Dragon so you can bypass hotel room service prices in the late evening.

3) Hours. Friday and Saturday, they close at 11pm.

4) Walking distance to the Boardwalk. If you happen to stay at the Hyatt House or nearby, it's about a 20 minute walk to the Boardwalk. Just follow the sound of the screams from The Giant Dipper. May sound like a far walk, but if you decide to drive, you'll be stuck in traffic for 30-45 minutes, still have to find parking, and then have to pay for said parking. Walk it!

5) Easy to find in the evening. Look for the bright red sign.

6) Be patient. The potstickers take about 20 minutes.

7) They have lunch specials with a limited selection for vegetarians. Vegetable deluxe, Eggplant, Crispy tofu, and broccoli with garlic sauce. Comes with hot and sour soup that they said is not made from any meat broth. After the smell and taste test, it does taste like a vegetarian hot and sour.

Comparisons: For those who remember Shin Shins on Solano Avenue in Berkeley, you went there for one thing. The vegetarian pot stickers. Well, Shin Shins closed about 15 years ago and we finally found it's amazing replacement at Golden Palace. The Dumpling House in Davis offers a close pot sticker experience, but nothing like Shin Shins and now Golden Palace.

Vegetable Pot Stickers ($7.99 - Grade A+):
When I go to a Chinese restaurant and under appetizers, I see "vegetable pot stickers," I'm skeptical. The last 25 years have shown me that the menu may say vegetable, but the preparation may include a "small amount of ground pork." So when we confirmed these were vegetarian, we were excited. My wife and I share a common quest, find a replacement for Shin Shins vegetarian pot stickers and on this unassuming late night, our pursuit was realized.

We eagerly counted down the 20 minutes until these were delivered. Six total, but they aren't your Ling Lings Costco frozen size. These are a mouthful. What do you look for in a quality potsticker?
- Gooey and sticky top - check! My best guess, these definitely have the texture only achieved by making these in house.
- Pan-fried bottom - check! Because the homemade quality of the wrap, it holds up extremely well to a 20-minute pan fry. It's so good, just eating the bottom of the potsticker alone would be an experience.
- Substantial fillings - check! I've had Ling Lings. I like Ling Lings because I love potstickers. Both have cabbage, garlic, onions and other ingredients I can't identify. The difference is the freshness of a housemade potsticker and their secret ingredient, scrambled eggs. This is Shin Shins-worthy because they did the same thing.

Dipping Sauce (Grade A+):
The 6 potstickers come with a savory, borderline sweet, dipping sauce. Probably soy sauce, garlic, white vinegar, and a hint of spice. Feel free to use this liberally -- you won't run out. I added a spoonful on each bite and still had some leftover.

Lunch Special (Grade C):
We ordered the crispy tofu lunch plate. Even though it wasn't anything to write home about, the potsticker experience was so great, it overrode any other rating.

Lunch plates come with hot and sour soup, a few pieces of fried wonton and sweet and sour sauce, a small side salad. Tofu was fresh (not sour and beyond its use date) -- it's prepared as a savory stir fry and topped with green onions. Ok, but the potstickers raise the bar so high, I expected more.

Overall restaurant observations:
1) Very clean. After customers leave, they immediately clear and wipe the table.

2) There is a large banquet hall in the back.

Bottom line:
It's in my top 10 item that I've eaten.

 

I love this place because I'm always on the hunt for delicious POTSTICKERS and the ones here are perfect!!!!!!! They are huge with a thick shell and stuffed with pork! Feels like an entree item they actually fill me up. I always get the pork potstickers and vegetable chow fun. I love this place and am so happy to eat their food :)


I found a Chinese Food Restaurant. It's a real gem! in Santa Cruz on Ocean Street.
Was starving, so decided to try Chinese food for lunch,... yes I didn't pack lunch...I know it's bad. anyways...
This was my first time there, so when i walked in I did not know what to expect. As I walked in I was pleasantly surprised to see how clean it was. The interior was nicely decorated except for the booths....lol...they did not have many tables. There was plenty of staff taking orders and serving tables. The outside of the restaurant was decorated w/red Chinese style lanterns, and has it's own private parking lot which is rare for most businesses here in Santa Cruz, o that was a bonus.

I ordered a lunch special combination plate for pickup. I got a lot of things that came along with my lunch combination plate; sweet and sour sauce, hot oil, 1-eggroll, 2-fried wontons, hot and sour soup and a fortune cookie. I ordered the  Almond Chicken Combo Plate. Their combination lunch plates come with one choice of entree, pork fried rice and pork chowmein, They will change the meat choice on the rice and chowmein if requested. Price was $15.98 for my meal.

I think this place is one of the best Chinese in the area here. I will go again when ever I am craving greasy Chinese cuisine.

P.S. The food was good. flavors were tasty. not too salty, greasy - like your typical for Chinese food. Portions pretty generous.

WORTH THE TRY!
**They do not deliver, only dine-in or carry-out.**


Came here after a solid day at the boardwalk and decided to go without looking at reviews.  So glad I did.  The food was delicious - awesome garlic chow mein and jalapeno pork.  Also the crab Rangoon was easily the best I've ever had.  Service was also excellent.  Highly recommend.


Great food great service! Better than all Chinese food nearby! Try this place and it'll be your new go to place for Chinese

 

This is my go to place in Santa Cruz, and please believe, I don't throw out 5 stars just because..... Food is awesome, service is legit, and for being hella clean, 5 stars all day... Not 2 many asian options in this area, and from what I've seen, this is the go too....

 

We came here on Christmas Eve and this place was a total surprise. The menu was impressive and it actually had a section of "Americanized Chinese food". We ordered pickled string beans with ground pork, hand ripped griddle cabbage, hot spicy chicken and vegetable pot stickers. We asked for extra spicy for all the food and our dinner was amazing. If you are looking for generic Americanized Chinese food, this may not be the best place. For us, it's a hidden gem of good Sichuan spicy Chinese food. P.S. I'm from China.

The service was decent, the waiter answered all my question about the food and gave good recommendations. You probably wouldn't get frequent check back and timely water refill but when we needed anything, the waiters were quite attentive.

 

Best Chinese food I've had, hands down! We ordered the Kung Pao chicken and Golden Palace beef which were both amazing. Food wasn't too heavy at all and didn't cause us to go into a food coma. Our meal came out fast and service was good. Definitely my new favorite Chinese restaurant

 

Went here with a foreign exchange student from China and he said this is best Chinese food you can get in Santa Cruz, I totally agree! Also the decor feels like a Golden Palace too! Overall great experience, would highly recommend!

 

This is the best Chinese I have had since moving to California from Michigan. We ordered the Wor won ton soup, the sizzling rice soup  beef chow mein and orange beef. Everything was delicious! I've never had better orange beef in my life.

 

This is a great Chinese place for these reasons: Open late (11pm), lazy Susans all over the place, and pretty much any option you could ever expect at a Chinese hole in the wall restaurant. Ask them for the secret drawer menu with pictures!! Great sake too. But they will basically ask you to pay and leave at 11pm. Which I mean... I totally understand that haha. We ordered 4 dishes plus rice for 5 people and were more than satisfied!

 

Really great place to eat a basic Americanized Chinese food. Service was good! The Interior was beautiful and food presentation was very good! It was pretty good priced me and my boyfriend got a one person dinner (D1 on the menu) combo with an added sizzling rice soup on the side and we both got full from it. it was about $28.57 and that includes the drinks! Will love to come here again


What a great meal! Generous portions and good prices, and really well prepared! The "small" wonton soup was enough for a family, and was easily the best I can remember ever having!!! Another surprise was Bacon Fried Rice! Why has it taken this long to discover Bacon Fried Rice?!? So good, we ate far too much, but couldn't stop!

 

Great Chinese foods. The restaurant is very nicely decorated. Price is reasonable and food is pretty tasty. Will definitely come back.


AMAZING FOOD!
I wish they were in San Diego!
On my bill were: 3 entrees and 2 soups; cam out to $60 w/tip.
The portions are great and we had nothing negative to say about the food.
Next time I am in Santa Cruz I will make a stop there first thing!
very kind staff.
also, the bathroom is actually cool! and the decor is very nice looking!

 

My favorite Chinese spot in Santa Cruz . You can't go wrong coming here. Almond chicken, string beans, fried rice, won ton soup, cream cheese regions and egg roll- this is what you get when you order the dinner for 2.

 

I was stuck in Santa Cruz for the weekend on a cross country motorcycle trip due to the intense heat.  When it cooled down enough to venture outside for dinner, my friends and I made our way across the street to the Golden Palace.  At home in NY I always have gotten Chinese take out, but this is a legitimate Chinese restaurant to sit down at.  I was pleasantly surprised with the decor and service, but the food was fantastic!  There are two menus, the regular one and a fancy one with actual Chinese food and a section of Americanized Chinese food.  I ordered the Chairman Mao's Braised Pork Belly, as well as dumplings for a starter.  They were the freshest dumplings I've ever had and really tasty!  My friends ordered the crab Rangoon, prawn kung pao and chicken/shrimp/pork house special kung pao.  No one complained about anything and we were all stuffed!  Well done Golden Palace!  If I'm ever through here again I'll have to stop in....


One of the best Authentic Chinese food restaurants in Santa Cruz.
Browse their new menu with Chinese and pictures on it, it'd be easier for you to chose.


Definitely recommend this restaurant! The food is pretty good for the low cost. Will definitely come here again! I got the Mongolian beef the first time i came here. It's cooked really well.

 

We stopped here on an overnight in Santa Cruz, we absolutely loved everything we ate here! We ordered a dinner combo that allowed us to try 6 different things from the menu. We were pleasantly surprised with how delicious each thing was especially the "Cherry Chicken" something we would not have tried on our own. The whole staff was friendly and served us efficiently with smiles on their faces. Thank you for a wonderful experience Golden Palace.


The food was the best in town. We ordered Kung Pao Chicken, Chicken Chow Mein, Lemon Chicken and Wonton Soup. Everything was 20/10. The service was so quick too!! I loved this place and would come back if I was a local!


I love Golden Palace, they deliver to my work and the food is always amazing. I always recommend it to my guests and they always come back saying its delicious! And the people who work their and the owner are really nice!


One of the best Chinese restaurants I've ever eaten in, being a chef and being in the industry I was amazed at the freshness and the excellent execution of all meals prepared. A spot on performance. If you get a chance try The Mongolian beef or the stir fry lamb on their special meals. Also the peking spare ribs were excellent and the egg flower soup and combo noodle soup  were very fresh. Good ambiance and service

 

The BEST CHINESE FOOD IN SANTA CRUZ AREA HANDS DOWN!! When it comes to Good Chinese I'll drive  wherever to get the real goods :-). SMH, OMGoodness this place is INCREDIBLE!
My family tried Golden Palace for the first time back in Oct 2015 and go back weekly as we are ALWAYS SO HAPPY &  impressed that we will continue to go back no questions asked!!! This place strives for  perfection & it tastes like it. Go ahead and Try Golden Palace...Some of our Favorites; Hot & Sour Soup, Foil Wrapped Chicken, Pot Stickers Mongolian Beef, and House Chow Fun. , I've tried just about the entire menu and have never been disappointed.
LOVE IT & Hope you will too

 

I am vegetarian and had two tasty dishes, Curry Tofu and Vegetable Deluxe. The decor is upscale attractive and has very Chinese feeling. The service was very friendly and they happy to customize a dish.

 

Stumbled upon this place with my boyfriend after watching Santa Cruz's anniversary/birthday fireworks. We appreciated how late it's open and how relatively reasonable the prices and portions are. We ordered beef chow fun, hot/sour soup, and gyoza/potstickers. We had great service from the staff, the restaurant was clean and modern, and we even had left over food to take back to our hotel! I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you're looking for great Chinese food. I will definitely come back when I'm in the area again.

 

I am exaggerating here because people need to understand that despite it's rating this is the best chinese place in santa cruz! not only that, but some of it's dishes like salty fish and kung pao chicken definitely compete or arguably beat the versions i've had in restaurants in Mountain View and San Jose. They used to have way different ownership several years ago, and yes, okay, the service staff can be distractible, but in a good chinese food desert like santa cruz it is way worth it for the food! Great, hilarious decor too.

my favorite dishes:
hot n sour soup
dumplings (fresh daily!)
salty fish (chef''s recommendations)
hong kong noodles (chef's recommendations)
kung pao chicken (avail in fried and stir fried w extra vegetables) *** best!
pork fried rice
combination chow mein

stick to classic chinese dishes and avoid stupid things like sweet n sour chicken and you will have a great meal! $7 lunch specials with tons of food weekdays!

 

During vacation when play on the beach have heard here is most famous chinese restraunt in Santa cruz so just have a try.Beautiful silverwares and well decorationed really like a palace.
Food is really chinese,service is also well,will come next time.

 

Best Chinese food in Santa Cruz.  I feel like it adds up quick but that's typical for Chinese food. Two entrees,  fried rice,  chow mein and potstickers came to $45.

I love their tofu dishes. I always get the Kung pao tofu. If I order it from anywhere else I always end up disappointed. 

The decor in this place is awesome. If you're contemplating Chinese food in Santa Cruz there really is nothing comparable.

 

My hubby took me here the first night into town ~ I can not stop thinking about it ~ so good about to order some food

 

Just enjoyed a great Christmas Day lunch "jewish" style with a friend.   We had the red oil soup, mu shu, and egg foo yung.   The service was great, they were very attentive.  The menu is quite extensive and for us to find a new item was awesome.  All aroubd a great new addition to Santa Cruz's limited asian cuisine choices.  Will definitely return.

 

Excellent Chinese food! Our hotel was right across the street so convenience was important. Hot and ready in 10 min for take out. Very friendly....

 

Had always driven by this place heading home, and had never been to this restaurant until tonight. I had the Mongolian Beef, the Orange Chicken and the Beef Chow Mein. All three were items that I would order again, and they were decently priced for the amount that I received (around $30 for all items not including tax).

I usually don't order Chinese food in Santa Cruz, but now I have a place that is close by that I can call if ever I need to. I hear that the Kung Pao Chicken is pretty good, so I might try that the next time I order. Nevertheless, there is now a staple in Chinese food that I can go to if I need to.

tl;dr: good orange chicken and Mongolian beef, would go again.

 

By Yelp

 

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