Golden Duck Kahala

I know I am getting old as I remember when this was both Tony Romas and another Chinese REsturant before it was Golden Duck. I ate here a few times when it was each of these places as I lived close enough and enjoyed going to Kahala more than Ala Moana before mostly because I thought it had less tourists usally.
Now it is closed and on to bigger and better things– Is it that the rent is too high? I don’t know…

It’s just meh and not really very delicious, I wouldn’t choose to come here but my aunty wanted to for her birthday, which is why I came. It’s not the kind of food I enjoy.

Flavorful food, but a little too much MSG for my liking. I really enjoy the cold ginger chicken at whatever Golden Duck location I try, it’s pretty much my standard. It’s good for cheap «local» Chinese food. Don’t be expecting something super authentic, it is more of a comfort food type feel. Lots of seating area and not a lot of patrons makes for a good spur of the moment dining decision.
The parking area in the back also has a lot of stalls. Good place to go if you meant to go to CPK or Chili’s (don’t know why you would go there), but the wait was too long.

This place has thee worst service I’d seen and experienced. Let me break it down for you.
— Got seated and the waitress tells us she will be back
— 20 minutes later I got up, got my gf and I our own waters
–15 min later I asked the cashier where our waitress was but we ordered from her instead.
— 30 minutes later our food came out
— I had to grab my own water again
— 20 min after eating I decided to ask the cashier for the check
— Finally the waitress comes back and asks us if we needed anything else.
I can’t remember what the food tastes like, I can assume it was average but the service was a moment to never forget. Everyone has their moments when they get bad service and this restaurant got my vote for the worst service id experienced.

We’ve driven by this place so many times… we thought we’d give Golden Duck a chance…
We called in a to-​go order for:
— salt & pepper shrimp
— chinese broccoli with oyster sauce
— cold ginger chicken
— za ja mien.
What we got:
— somewhat salty and not crispy shrimp. some with heads. some without
— chinese broccoli with garlic sauce. what happened to the oyster sauce?
— cold chicken bones with hardly any meat on them, including a chicken neck. no legs, no breast, basically just the boney parts to a chicken.
— spicy noodles with baby shrimp (like the shrimp from a can). za ja mien is NOT spicy and does NOT have shrimp!
— random miscellaneous, brown dipping sauce
— a large container of soup similar to chicken broth with cilantro and green onions.
Why did we get random dipping sauce and a large container of soup? Golden Duck didn’t even give us rice!
NEVER. AGAIN.
HUGE FAIL.
Horrible food. Eat at your own risk!
If you’re going to eat anywhere with Golden in the name, it should be GOLDEN EAGLE!

Damn, I don’t really go to the Kahala area very often so I just can’t keep up to date on what restaurant is here. I always remember this spot as Tony Roma’s and actually wish it still was. I had a friend that worked at this Tony Roma back in high school and he always used to bring leftover ribs afer work. Nothing can beat good pork ribs when they’re free! haha. Anyway, back to Golden Duck.
I ended up eating here a few weeks ago and I’d say the food was barely in the Mehhh range. It was crowded so we had to wait a few minutes for a table. That seemed like a good sign that the food would be good. I guess we were wrong about that. Once seated, we did feel a bit ignored but I think it was because it was so busy. Service was generally slow.
We ordered the salt and pepper pork (on the menu it’s called salted pepper pork), honey walnut chicken, beef broccoli, and sweet sour fish. I’d say out of all the dishes, the pork was the best, I’d give it maybe 3 stars. The rest was not very good. The fish and the beef broccoli were on the bland side. The honey walnut chicken was like jekyl and hyde. On one hand, the chicken had a weird taste, sorta like old oil. The walnuts it came with, on the other hand, were really good. They were really crispy like they were fried and had a nice sweetness. I guess I’ll make a correction and say the of the entire meal, the walnuts were the best. Would be awesome if they had a dish made up only of honey walnuts, I’d come back for that.
So to sum it up…
Food = 2 ½ stars
Service = 2 stars
Walnuts = 5 stars

Not bad lunch price, and probably most bang for buck.
But quality is in 3 star area. But if you’re hungry and want to just eat somewhere for decent price then I suggest them. You’ll be full for sure

Ambiance is a little granny-​like and tired looking, but the food was good! We had salt and pepper shrimp, kau yuk, Singapore noodles, string beans with pork, ong choy, and sweet and sour pork with sin choy.
I’m originally from Chicago, where I grew up eating Cantonese food in Chinatown, and have been looking for some legit Canto food here in Hawaii. I was really happy with this place! It reminds me of home :)
The kau yuk! DELICIOUS! I really liked the salt and pepper shrimp and the string beans with pork too. Personally not a fan of the ong choy and sweet and sour pork with sin choy, a little too much ginger for me, and the Singapore noodles were a little meh.
The highlights though – those three dishes, are enough to keep me coming back for more!

Went here on Sunday 10÷21÷12, sorry for the late review. I could have sworn I reviewed this place, but was reminded when I read Reid A.‘s review.
They have a private parking lot, which was empty Not sure if it’s normal, Sunday lunch wasn’t very crowded. there were only 4 cars parked in the maybe 15-​stall lot. I didn’t notice it at first, but there are diagonal stalls in the center. You can enter through either front or back entrances.
This was for a 1-​year birthday party at lunch time. The family that hosted us was able to BYOB and supply pupus. I doubt the beer and garlic edamame came from Golden Duck.
I was expecting good food since my work place commonly orders from Golden Duck, which I usually enjoy. However, I was very disappointed. The scallop soup, peking duck, chicken, Chinese chick salad, etc were all ordinary.
The service was awful. They kept serving our tables in random order, and we had to ask for rice. Also, no particular server was very friendly, but I actually expected that.
3-​stars. Typically Chinese restaurant. I wish I could visit a Chinese restaurant that was above expectations.

Kung Hee Fat Choy!!! Went there for Chinese New Year and really enjoyed myself.
BYOB, all these Chinese wine you like bring!
Let’s make this a chronological journey. Our reservation was for 7:45pm, we were seated close to 8:30 perhaps. No good. But it was Chinese New Year, but still I was not a happy camper. Luckily we did have a menu so we could plan what to order and be ready as soon as we were seated.
Our party was large, about 12 people and they made sure they got a table that fit us all. Took our order quickly and made some suggestions to make sure we were all fed. Once seated there was good quick service.
I enjoyed the variety I could choose from in entrees. The food was good and my belly was happy, but not spectacular. I was happy with the prices.
They were okay with a rowdy bunch of people and were patient with us being the last people in the restaurant. The least they could do for the wait.
Enjoyed my time there, probably won’t go there again unless someone plans it, but wouldn’t scoff at the idea if someone did plan it.

Another Chinese restaurant has popped up in Kaimuki /​Kahala area, this time it took the space of what was Tony Roma’s. I noticed this place when running to Hawaii Kai on one Sunday morning when it changed management and name (i think) from Chin’s Kahala to now Golden Duck.Kahala. Maybe a nicer name than Chin’s was warranted.
When I came here when it was Chin’s, the place was just aweful. The décor could have used some major revampage and the service just not up to par. They had those self service buffet lunch back then, and the food was not ok at all. Thank goodness for the switch in management and the name. When I got back there recently, I was surprised of the sweeping changes and the hordes of people already eating. Granted that it was Chinese New Years time, but still, they can pack it in.
I would agree that this place is nice and the service was very much improved from the last time I came here. In contrast to the other Chinese restaurants in the area, this place is somewhat more authentic what the others would do. The portions are generous and you get what you pay for. We ordered 3 items from every category, which the bill came out to be well over $ 125.00. Not too shabby for a party of over 10 people. This was for Chinese New Year celebrations. I guess you could say that we ate well. Although I don’t prefer Chinese food, since it makes me sick and bloated after eating it — not to mention me gain a temporary 0.5 lbs due to whatever they put in it. Not my favorite at all, as I love Vietnamese and Thai.
The food itself was consistent and good. There is parking in the back of the restaurant. I would come back, if I was dragged here.

I went to the Kahala Golden Duck (the old Tony Romas) with the bf and a friend for the first time this past weekend.
Our order:
Dried Scallop Soup
Kung Pao Chicken
Spicy Eggplant & Pork
Black Bean Beef Chow Fun
Crispy Gaugee (½ order)
Crispy Shrimp
Rice (2)
We ordered a lot of food for just three people. So much so, three more people could have come to eat with us and we would have still had leftovers.
Our meal totaled to about $ 54, which is great considering the generous portions and the amount of dishes we ordered.
I don’t consider myself to be a Chinese Cuisine connoisseur; so on that note, I thought the food was pretty good.
Good food, prompt service, great prices, generous portions… I’ll be back.
Unilocal 365 — #018/​365

I went here 3 days in a row. Fri/​Sat/​Sun.
Friday was with friend and my wife. Ordered beef oyster sauce hong kong noodle, chrispy chicken, walnut shrimp, salt pepper lobster. Everything was awesome except the shrimp was just ok.
Saturday late dinner after watching planet of the ape (5stars BTW, must see best movie of the year). This time we ordered salt pepper lobster and oyster sauce hong kong noodle (in my opinion, their best dish).
Sunday for brunch, I ate beef oyster sauce hong kong noodle. The wifey ordered about 5 dim sum. She like the spring rolls but didnt like the rest.
She is convinced that the constant headache she had from Friday night til sunday night was from all the MSG in the food. I played it off and «neva happen to me» and yes we are going tomorrow too! She said FU go by yourself, go for the next week for all I care. I already made sure your life insurance is in good standing!
Bottom line: Very tasty beef oyster sauce hong kong noodle. Best on the east side.

Golden Duck in Kahala is the sister restaurant of the Golden Duck on South King Street, which has been there ever since I can remember. The Kahala restaurant opened some time in 2010, I do believe. It’s where Tony Roma’s used to be, across the street from Kahala Mall.
I took notice of the change only a few months ago, which goes to show you how unobservant I can be sometimes (and this is me, former reporter who noticed everything, and current blogger who tries to notice everything so I can have something to write about every day).
Anyway, be that as it may, I’m digressing here.
Reading the restaurant’s reviews on Unilocal,I was a little apprehensive. They weren’t very complimentary, but I hadn’t been there so I took my brother-​in-​law there for lunch the other day.
The parking lot is small, but there were ample spaces available for my car as we arrived around 12:30 p.m. The place was pretty full. Of course, the restaurant now has two sections.
The street-​side section, where we sat (where everybody else was sitting, by the way), has eight tables of four, three round tables for six or more, and five booths. So I figure (adding in my head) that it can accommodate 70 patrons at a time. (Did you come up with the same total?)
The back room has larger round tables that seat 8 to 10 diners each. I figure 70 to 80 people can squeeze into that «party room.»
Although there were only two waitresses working the street-​side room, they were pretty efficient and were working hard, while at the same time carrying on friendly patter with the patrons. I like that, it was a friendly atmosphere. Looking around, everybody looked local.
My brother-​in-​law, being the non-​adventurous type, ordered their lunch plate (sweet sour spare ribs, pot roast pork, pork chop suey, crispy won ton and steamed rice).
I on the other hand had a hankering for a plate of tomato with beef, quickly found it on their extensive menu (typical of nearly all Chinese restaurants), along with a bowl of steamed rice, and two dim sum appetizers just in case I needed something to fall back on if I didn’t like the beef tomato.
The dim sum arrived around the same time as the main plates — pretty quickly, I might add. What were they? Three look fun rolls apiece — scallops and char siu. Hey, not bad. The look fun was very tasty, almost sweet,. There were big chunks of scallops, and a whole bunch of diced char siu hiding in the noodle.
My tomato with beef was very, very good. The tomatoes were not all gooshy and runny, but nicely firm and sweet. Nestled within the yummy sauce were wedges of sweet onions and green peppers that delivered a satisfying and juicy crunch.
Oh my, the sauce was delicious. The best tomato with beef I ever had was at Joy Luck Palace in Cupertino, California. Golden Duck Kahala’s was right up there with it. Almost as good, and the best I’ve tasted at a Chinese restaurant in Hawaii. Granted, I haven’t had tomato with beef in a Hawaii Chinese restaurant in decades, but that’s beside the point.
I talked to a frequent patron, a nice lady in the booth next to our table, who loves it there, especially when she can’t get to the Golden Duck in town. She said she was going to try the tomato with beef next time. I took that as a compliment. Why wouldn’t I?

Hm… what can I say? While I’m not blown away by the food here, I am glad it is here, literally a hop scotch away from home. It’s like knowing where a clean bathroom in the mall is. Just nice to be have it nearby to feed my sudden Chinese food attack!
My first venture with the roast duck noodle was whoa! enough to feed a small family! Not an avid duck eater (ever wonder why there’s no kimchee duck dish??) but I appreciated its crispy tasty meat with no funny bones sticking out. Noodles and gravy themselves were kinda bland, missing something… sriracha maybe? Or kimchee?
Following visit, friends were in town and guess what, they wanted Chinese?! Don’t feel like packing the kids and dealing with parking and tantrum throwing? No problem!
Our takeout that night consisted of: beef with black bean sauce chow fun, ong choy, pork fried rice and ma po tofu. Run-​of-​the-​mill dishes they could not possibly screw up and I’m happy to report, Golden Duck, you got the basics down!

My boyfriend and I regularly ate at Golden Duck when it was just the one on King Street and we finally had a chance to try out the Kahala location today with our kids. It’s very pretty inside, definitely looks cleaner and much more upscale than the King Street restaurant.
We were seated immediately; the restaurant was about half full with three waiters looking very busy. Our waitress was nice, outgoing, and I could swear I’ve seen her before — maybe at the King St restaurant?
We ordered seafood cake noodle, lobster with black bean sauce (special price only $ 13.99!), shrimp with honey walnut, char siu fried rice, and stewed duck w bitter melon. The food was brought out pretty quick so we were glad because it’s not easy waiting for food with a baby and a three year old!
Lobster with black bean sauce was really delicious, lots of meat and just enough minced green chilies to make the sauce a little spicy. My boyfriend was actually licking the sauce off the lobster shells so I’d give the lobster five stars alone!
Shrimp with honey walnut was great, just batter fried enough to have a little crunch and not be overcooked. fried rice was standard and good. Seafood cake noodle was good to me but my boyfriend insisted the pieces of white fish were not fresh and he complained that they smelled a little rotten. I didn’t notice so .*shrug* moving right along. the cake noodle was perfectly crispy on the outside, loved it! The stewed duck with bitter melon was definitely not stewed long enough. It arrived in large pieces where usually I’ve enjoyed this dish with the duck pieces stewed so long it’s falling off the bones. It was a little dry but the bittermelon pieces were perfectly cooked and yummy.
I’m giving them four and a half stars although the rating can only show whole stars so I’ll do *five stars* for our visit today. I have to minus a star for the under-​stewed duck and maybe questionable fish but they were very kind to our kids and I liked that they brought colorful plastic compartmentalized food trays and forks for them right away. Thank you, Golden Duck, for a great lunch experience for our family!

Hey, didn’t this used to be Tony Roma’s? And then didn’t it turn into a Chinese restaurant. And did they replace that Chinese restaurant with Golden Duck? Yes, yes and yes!
After many reincarnations Golden Duck has taken over the remains of Tony Roma’s. It is no longer a place for ribs but a place for so-​so Chinese fare. It wasn’t on my «hot list» of restaurants to hit before dying but I ended up here because my daughter’s pre-​school class had a field trip here in celebration of Chinese New Year.
Everything was pre-​ordered so I had the chow mein, beef broccoli and won ton. Nothing stellar and I actually think Patty’s in the Ala Moana Center food court tastes better. It was weird because they served our food on these green cafeteria style plates. It made me wonder if they only do this for pre-​schoolers or if they use these plates for other events.
The pricing for our 50 person affair was $ 5 for kids and $ 7.25 for adults which I thought was very reasonable for a sit down lunch. The interior is actually fairly nice considering it was once a Tony Roma’s. If you’re looking for a place to have a gather for 100+ guests they’ve got space in the back. My Grandma’s seniors club would probably love it! Not joking at all.

The food at Golden Duck was good. We had crispy gau gee with noodles, Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, and stir-​fried eggplant. I might have rated the food higher, but the restaurant was so cold that our food became cold very quickly – and cold Chinese food is not good– and we had to rush to eat so that we didn’t freeze our okoles off. Also, service was quite poor. Anytime we needed anything (including the bill), we had to find someone to help us, and wave them down. If you go, bring your Winter coat to keep warm. I prefer other places where the food is good and you can in comfort, eat at a normal pace and your food doesn’t get cold. We even told the hostess that they need to lay off the a/​c.
It also gets very noisy in the outer room where we ate. Perhaps the inner room that’s carpeted isn’t so bad.

What can I say… it’s Golden Duck… Thought we’d give it a try… it’s about the same as the one on King Street… so-so…they seemed really shorthanded… lots of dirty tables… we had to get our own soy sauce… service was lacking…
Parking lot is poorly designed… décor of restaurant is really funky…
I think Happy Day is waaaay better… so guess that’s the 1^st and last time we go to GDK…

Bottom line: This duck is not golden.
What use to be Tony Roma’s, then Chin’s, now Golden Duck just opened up in the Kahala area. We came here to celebrate my brother’s birthday and left thinking we’ll probably never come back.
We walked in and since we had 7 people, they opened up the back section to seat us at those big round tables. First impression, plates were dirty. My dad’s tea cup was even stuck to the plate. We quickly looked over the menu and knew what we wanted, but it took forever for a waiter to come back and take our order.
Another table sat down after us and ordered probably 10 minutes after we did, yet their food came out first. The waiters even placed food on our table that we didn’t order. Service wasn’t spot on, in fact it seemed non-​existant.
The food itself is quite forgettable. We had salt and pepper pork chops, noodles, dried scallop fried rice, scallop soup, bok choy, peking duck and buns and black bean crab.
The noodles tasted weird, the pork chops were probably the worst cut chops i’ve ever seen and you could tell the oil they cooked it in was old. The dried scallop fried rice was FILLED with MSG. I was gasping for water so frequently i felt like a drank an ocean. Everything else was mediocre.
Overall, my experience here was not very good. I don’t see how this place could operated at full capacity since the restaurant was relatively empty yet they could not properly serve us. A lot of work needs to be done and frankly i rather just drive to better chinese restaurants.
If you are like my friend, and MSG is your religion, this place is for you. For me, I like clean tasting chinese food. Sorry Golden Duck, you just don’t cut it.