[REVIEW] Good Fortune Chinese Restaurant, Flushing, NY

There’s nothing more fam than sibling squabbling.  In the end, we agreed to disagree.  And that’s OK!  Our opinion of Good Fortune, a Chinese restaurant, located at 46-45 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, NY 11355, shall be presented, and the evidence painstakingly laid out, for the jury of our peers (readers) to come to their own conclusions.   Please post your conclusion in the comments below.

Background

Good Fortune offers banquet-style dining in the main dining room and the catering hall (that adjoins the restaurant, through the double doors to your left when you enter.  This evening a wedding reception was taking place in the catering hall.  All the rolling carts of the most delicious looking food, including a whole pig, desserts, spareribs, appetizers, soups, serving vessels piled high with mounds and mounds of food, which we feel was purposely rolled past on the way to the hall as an appetizer and tease to get us hungrier than when we were.  Everything we presented beautifully.  It gave me pause to think.  Perhaps I shouldn’t rule out a third marriage after all.  But, I digress.

Full view of the restaurant.  The catering hall is to the left of the entrance, and extends all the way to the end of the street:

Shortly after we were seated, Mee V. Stoogas made a surprise appearance.  Despite our pleas, he left his S.O. in the car, instead of accepting our invitation to bring her in to join us.  There was plenty of room at our circular table set for 10 for her.

Here is a view of the interior of the main dining area (the catering side is much larger – which, I am sure is definitely in use for Dim Sum.  I passed by Good Fortune on weekends during Dim Sum (10:00 AM to 3:00 PM), and the line was literally out the door.  I like the open-style kitchen, though I didn’t get a chance to take a look through the looking glass.

We dined at 6:30 pm before the regular crowd shuffled in on this Monday evening.  The wedding was certainly packed.  We never did get in, and we didn’t see the bride nor were we offered any wedding cake.

On that disappointing note, we settled comfortably into our chairs and prepared to be feted with the best Cantonese cuisine.  At least that was our hope.

The Offering

Much to our dismay, though it was written in multiple places on the menu, BBQ Spare Ribs were not available.  I think they all went to the wedding reception.  We really needed to score an invite somehow.  So, instead, we settled on BBQ Spare Ribs.  Yeah, they had a different name, but BBQ Spare Ribs is what they were.  And they were delicious!!  A huge order was brought and we had multiple ribs each.  I couldn’t get enough.  This will be a consistent theme throughout this review.

They had the slighted hint of a smoked aroma, but a hearty bite of meat, and these were BBQ Spare Ribs at the core. Except the fatty gnarly part at the top was missing.  So these were even better than their own namesake.

Once I saw that there were Pork Chops Peking Style, I knew I had to order them for the table.  Our waiter agreed with our choice, and it was quickly written on the bill.  These may have been the best Peking Style Pork Chops I have ever had.  I couldn’t get enough.  I didn’t hesitate to keep taking another.  Then another.  To the point that I didn’t even ask politely.  I grabbed.  There was something going on here, that had a profound effect on me.  But, did it affect the others?

Mee Young Joo wanted a soup, and the choice was Chicken Corn Soup.  Served in a large tureen (this was the “small” size), enough was ladled out for everyone but me.  This was the only dish I didn’t partake of.  I wanted more MEAT!!  After some second dipping, there was a little leftover that Mee Young Joo took home.

…

The Star (twin stars) of the Show

Was this our lucky day?  The lobster was on Special this evening!  For $24.95 you would think you’re just four claws or something.  But, you would be wrong.  It was $24.05 for TWO whole Lobsters, which was suggested we order with the Ginger and Scallion.  Yessir!  Bring ’em on!  I don’t think have ever eaten this much when we were all together, but something came over me.  I LOVED the food!  The lobster was cut up nicely, and for the most part, it was very easy to pull the lobster meat from the shell.  So, we did.  Again it was me, scavenging the platter for more lobster while everyone else had had their fill.

By this time, my ears started to pick up on some chatter.  The talk was about the taste of the dishes.  Specifically that it was lacking, kind of hollow.  It was there, but only tentatively.  Almost like the seasoning was shy, and was afraid to come out.  I didn’t feel that way about the dishes we already had. 

But, then came the Singapore Style Mei Fun Noodles.  Yeah.  This dish fell flat.  Singapore Style Mei Fun Noodles should pack a punch.  The flavor and spice should burst though.  But, it was limp and lacked boldness, like it was shy and afraid to come out.  It was just there.  It hinted at something. But, it stopped way short of proclaiming its presence. We unenthusiastically chowed it down.  There were leftovers, but we didn’t care.  That is rare! 

Lack of Perseverance

Normally at this point, we would have ordered a vegetable dish.  But we had had our fill and decided to call it a night.

Along with the check came a plate of sliced oranges.  They looked so yummy.  But alas, they lacked any real flavor.  Call me disappointed.

The Bottom Line

All that remained was to tally up our rating to present to you:

As you can see, there was a wide divergence in the rating.  It was the three of them, and then there was me.  But, I stand by my rating.  And I, for one, will stand in line one day on a coming weekend, to try their Dim Sum.  Who wants to join me?

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

—Mee Magnum  (“Chop!  Chop!”)

Please share (scroll down) this article if you enjoyed it!