[REVIEW] Golden Temple II, Syosset

Tao, Dao, Ao, Hao, what’s next?  No, it’s not that name of a Law Firm, nor is it a math sequence problem, though it could be.  Here’s a hint:  What came before Tao was Empire Szechuan Gourmet, part of the Empire Szechuan Group.  Lastly it was Hao.  So what now?  It’s Golden Temple II!  The latest incarnation that is trying it’s luck at this seemingly jinxed location (being 6600 Jericho Tpke., Syosset, NY 11791).  Either they couldn’t find any more words that rhymed with Tao and Dao, or they wanted to leverage the success they have with Golden Temple I, which is located just 1.5 miles east of Golden Temple II also on Jericho Turnpike.  

[UPDATE:  CLOSED May 2017]

The two main differences that we could ascertain between Golden Temple I and Golden Temple II is that the former serves sushi and Japanese food  And secondly, Golden Temple I is usually packed.  Not so much at Golden Temple II (at least not this particular evening).  BTW, Golden Temple I also has the decided advantage of there being a Carvel Ice Cream shop not more than 100 feet away from it!

Be that as it may, we found ourselves this evening situated in the elegantly decorated Golden Temple II, with a decidedly Americanized Chinese menu.  We of course, made the best of it.

On the table there was Chow Mein Noodles.  Mee thinks that they were made from whole wheat!  If not, could someone please correct us.  The noodles were quickly joined by a large order of Spareribs.  These were quite good, and being that a large order consisted oddly enough (no pun intended) of NINE ribs, one of us was left without a second rib (which is much better than Adam ended up with, I must say!).

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Next came our main dishes:

Seafood in Bird’s Nest – I usually love this dish.  However I was deeply disappointed that both the crab meat and the lobster were both imitation.  And if the lobster was not imitation, then it really wasn’t very fresh or good.  

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Beef with Garlic Sauce – LOVED this one!  If they served me just this dish, the Moo Shu Chicken, and the spareribs, I would have been just fine.  In fact I would have been totally elated.  But…

Baby Bok Choy with Fresh Garlic – This didn’t have any presence.  It was there.  But, it lacked any flavor.

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Which leads me to my favorite dish of the night, Moo Shu Chicken.  I don’t often order Moo Shu Chicken, but when I do, I will order it from Golden Temple II.  It’s served with four pancakes, which could be filled with so much chicken and veggies, and there was plenty left over if they had included another pancake.  I don’t know how one person could possibly finish this dish.  But, for a party of five, this was perfect.  

Check out how it’s served:

Mee V. Stoogas was feeling under the weather (I will spare you the other symptoms some of the other Mee’s shared, but hey!  We ARE Jews!  He order the House Special Wonton Soup (which could have fed General Tso’s Army!).  I, on the other hand, having to drown some sorrow, opted for a Mai Tai.  Mee Tsu Yan ordered a bottle of cold Sake.  And like a good Jew he choose the one that was the largest AND least expensive!

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At this point we were done.  Americanized Chinese food.  Our palates have become spoiled(?) by authentic Chinese food.  Our ratings reflect such:

The bill arrived with Oranges, that looked really juicy and sweet.  But like the crab meat and lobster, left us a little disappointed, and the following fortune cookies:

We have too many sounding words and too few actions that correspond with them.

Travel is in your future.  (#TRUTH!  We traveled back to Carvel for Ice Cream after dinner!)

When weaving nets , all threads count.

Most spend lives reading the menu instead of enjoying the banquet.  (Not us!)

This is a great day to handle those real estate matters!

Have you ever dined at this location?  Whether it was Empire Szechuan Group, or Tao, Dao, Ao, or Hao, please tell us about it in the comments below.

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

—Mee Magnum  (“Chop!  Chop!”)

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