Gom Hong
My sister, Original Michael, New Michael "Holmes", and I just came back from China Town and the newly opened Gom Hong Restaurant.
I found out about this place after reading msg150's twitter page and I have been dying to try this place out. Why? I can't really say but I know I wanted to try it out.
This used to be China Gate. A part of me wishes that I had given China Gate out now if only to see the dichotomy between the two businesses.
The most unique thing about this place is the fact that it is split straight down the middle. On the left hand side is a restaurant and on the right hand side is a market called Golden Hong Market.
For our newcomer "Holmes" this was the first time going to Chinatown... ever! Apparently Florida doesn't have a nice diverse population of Asians let along Chinese people.
The dishes he ordered were General Tso Chicken, and Chicken Chow Mein. I like the dishes he ordered even though the General Tso Chicken was supposed to be spicy; it wasn't spicy if I took it in small bites.
My sister Christina ordered some Dim Sum Dishes from a menu that was in a nice plastic holder from Office Depot. She got the usual Shu Mai, Har Gau, and Chicken Feet. I didn't try the Chicken Feet but everything else was par for the course. My sister thought the Chicken Feet was a little below average though.
The original Michael ordered Honey Glazed Short Ribs. To be honest we've both had better somewhere else, namely, for me, Sea Garden. They weren't bad by any means but you can most definitely get better somewhere else.
The dish I ordered was the old stand by of Honey Walnut Prawns. It was good. I think it's kind of hard to mess up Honey Walnut Prawns but then again there is always a first time. For $13.00 it is a little pricy but I think everyone got their fair share of this dish though.
Overall I think this place is a hit or miss though. It's not bad but nothing about it makes it stand out from the rest of the Chinese Restaurants around the area. The only advice I can give is that you need to try this place yourself once and make your own judgment call; something I don't really say often for restaurants.
For me I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon. Gotta try the other, what, fifty restaurants that I've yet to try out? Oi!
-Peace
Edit 06/26/12: MSG150's review of Gom Hong is up... which actually might not be Gom Hong any more.
This past Wednesday, the 20th, my co-worker, Tonya, and I ate out late at Seagarden Restaurant. Since she never has been to Chinatown here before I showed her around a little bit and decided to show her Gom Hong for a bit.
We saw a sign hanging that said "Coming Soon..." some kind of Thai Restaurant and a smaller sign in the window that said "Closed for Construction."
This leads me to believe that a) Gom Hong has been closed for sometime now and b) it will be replace by this new Thai restaurant.
Kind of sad to see it go but maybe trying to compete with the shit tons of other Chinese restaurant was probably a bad idea to begin with.
Here's to hoping that the new focus on Thai food helps them out a bit more.
Edit 08/12/12: Vina Thai Gourmet's yelp page. Been open since July at least.
Edit 11/16/14: Just surfing the 'net and found this interesting report about China Gate. It's just interesting to see what China Gate meant for some people. It's also interesting to see that when the restaurant finally closed in 2010 it still had a grand opening sign up for 2008!
I found out about this place after reading msg150's twitter page and I have been dying to try this place out. Why? I can't really say but I know I wanted to try it out.
This used to be China Gate. A part of me wishes that I had given China Gate out now if only to see the dichotomy between the two businesses.
The most unique thing about this place is the fact that it is split straight down the middle. On the left hand side is a restaurant and on the right hand side is a market called Golden Hong Market.
For our newcomer "Holmes" this was the first time going to Chinatown... ever! Apparently Florida doesn't have a nice diverse population of Asians let along Chinese people.
The dishes he ordered were General Tso Chicken, and Chicken Chow Mein. I like the dishes he ordered even though the General Tso Chicken was supposed to be spicy; it wasn't spicy if I took it in small bites.
My sister Christina ordered some Dim Sum Dishes from a menu that was in a nice plastic holder from Office Depot. She got the usual Shu Mai, Har Gau, and Chicken Feet. I didn't try the Chicken Feet but everything else was par for the course. My sister thought the Chicken Feet was a little below average though.
The original Michael ordered Honey Glazed Short Ribs. To be honest we've both had better somewhere else, namely, for me, Sea Garden. They weren't bad by any means but you can most definitely get better somewhere else.
The dish I ordered was the old stand by of Honey Walnut Prawns. It was good. I think it's kind of hard to mess up Honey Walnut Prawns but then again there is always a first time. For $13.00 it is a little pricy but I think everyone got their fair share of this dish though.
Overall I think this place is a hit or miss though. It's not bad but nothing about it makes it stand out from the rest of the Chinese Restaurants around the area. The only advice I can give is that you need to try this place yourself once and make your own judgment call; something I don't really say often for restaurants.
For me I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon. Gotta try the other, what, fifty restaurants that I've yet to try out? Oi!
-Peace
Edit 06/26/12: MSG150's review of Gom Hong is up... which actually might not be Gom Hong any more.
This past Wednesday, the 20th, my co-worker, Tonya, and I ate out late at Seagarden Restaurant. Since she never has been to Chinatown here before I showed her around a little bit and decided to show her Gom Hong for a bit.
We saw a sign hanging that said "Coming Soon..." some kind of Thai Restaurant and a smaller sign in the window that said "Closed for Construction."
This leads me to believe that a) Gom Hong has been closed for sometime now and b) it will be replace by this new Thai restaurant.
Kind of sad to see it go but maybe trying to compete with the shit tons of other Chinese restaurant was probably a bad idea to begin with.
Here's to hoping that the new focus on Thai food helps them out a bit more.
Edit 08/12/12: Vina Thai Gourmet's yelp page. Been open since July at least.
Edit 11/16/14: Just surfing the 'net and found this interesting report about China Gate. It's just interesting to see what China Gate meant for some people. It's also interesting to see that when the restaurant finally closed in 2010 it still had a grand opening sign up for 2008!