New Winter Specials at Golden Palace

Located in the heart of Chinatown, Golden Palace Seafood Restaurant serves traditional, authentic Hong Kong-style cuisine.

Manager Gary Lam credits his father Howard Lam, owner and founder of Golden Palace, as the one who is behind much of the culinary direction at the restaurant. His father, he says, has a broad expertise in Chinese cuisine. That knowledge is evident in the impressive amount of dishes the restaurant offers — everything from noodles to sizzling platters to seafood entrees and dim sum.

“There are certain dishes where there are Southern Chinese influences, because that is where (Howard) was born and grew up,” Gary adds.

“We are a very well-rounded restaurant, so a lot of our dishes are really popular,” he says.

Gary says that his father often likes to experiment in the kitchen and is constantly concocting new dishes. Recently, Golden Palace rolled out a number of new items, including Sizzling Black Bean Sauce Pompano ($12.95), a tasty fish served up on a sizzling platter.

Howard created another dish — Golden Pumpkin Braised with Spare Ribs ($9.95)— recently after talking with a few customers.

“We have a lot of customers who are regulars who have become almost like family, and they wanted to try something special,” Gary explains. So Howard came up with this dish — much to the customers’ delight. The dish now joins the menu as a special that will be available through the end of the month.

Another popular dish is Garlic Crispy Skin Chicken ($20 for whole chicken, as pictured, or $11 for half), a flavorful chicken with a baked-to-perfection shell. This dish is typically only offered as a full order for larger parties, but for the holidays, the dish also will be offered as a half order.

For another sizzling delight, try Beef Tenderloin with Black Pepper Sauce ($8.95)

“Since it’s Christmas, we have some red bell peppers and some green bell peppers,” Gary says.

For those looking for a place to host holiday parties, Golden Palace holds up to 500 people in its banquet hall. Gary warns that December dates are starting to fill up quickly, so make reservations as soon as possible. Golden Palace offers party menus, one of which, for example, starts at $179 for 10 people.

On the Side

Walk into Golden Palace in Chinatown, and it might feel like you just stepped into a family dining room. Manager Gary Lam is at the front, greeting customers with a smile, while other members of this family-run establishment are busy working, including his dad Howard, the owner and founder of the restaurant.

“My dad has a pretty extensive history with cooking,” Gary says. “He started off in Hong Kong when he was about 17. He started off as a dim sum chef, and then he slowly moved into other Chinese cuisine. He is a pretty well-rounded Chinese chef.”

When Howard was in his 20s, he was hired as a chef at a restaurant in Hawaii.

“He has been in the restaurant industry ever since,” Gary says. In 2001, Howard founded Golden Palace, where Gary helped out frequently while growing up. As Gary got older, he realized that he had a passion for the restaurant industry and returned to Golden Palace.

These days, Gary says, Howard still does a lot of the cooking. “He still experiments also,” he adds. “A lot of times he comes up with new dishes himself.”

Golden Palace Seafood Restaurant

111 N. King St., Honolulu
521.8268
Open daily, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.