Washington Avenue Comes to the Main Line

With the opening of The Golden Bowl a little bit of Washington Avenue has come to the Main Line. Golden Bowl’s chef has expanded his ostensibly Chinese kitchen creations into the realm of Korean and Vietnamese soups and entrees. While Golden Bowl’s menu gives a nod to traditional Chinese American dishes the majority of offerings encompass a far greater taste experience. Take the time to savor the exceptional list of “Big Bowl Noodle Broths” (Vietnamese Pho) and the inventive list of “Golden Bowl Favorites.” Then too, Golden Bowl’s kitchen offers enticing lists of “Small Dishes” and “Starters” to say nothing of the extensive selection of noodle preparations.  If there is a problem with this menu it’s that it would take many visits to try all the enticing offerings. Before I mention our selections for the evening I must comment on the décor.

The Golden Bowl is dressed in simple quiet elegance. There are three dining areas. One is set with tables and chairs. The other, the larger of the two, has one wall whose continuous bank curves gracefully on the perimeter. The third room is somewhat secluded smaller area that is ideal for groups. Simple rose wood chairs stud the other side of dark enameled tables. The rooms are calm and quite. Tables are set with cloth napkins and small vases of fresh flowers. The atmosphere is calm and conducive to dinner conversation. The service is most affable and the staff is well informed. They happily explain any of the menu details.

With our menus in hand, it didn’t take us long to make our decision. We would share three ways. For our starter we selected the Xe-Lua combination noodle bowl. For the entrées we selected two, one from the “Favorites,” the XO Shrimp, and one from the “Traditional,” the Mango Chicken. When the noodle bowl arrived it was, as expected, easily enough for more than three. The bowl was heaped high with a rich white noodle that our waiter described as something between Thai and Korean. The meat selection offered sizeable slices of beef, several meat balls, slices of tripe and other tender bits whose identity I do not know. The broth, rich and flavorful, could be seasoned with sides of hot sauce, Hoisin sauce, fresh lime and mint. The noodle’s silky ribbons played well against the meats’ textural variety. The server then brought our entrées.

The entrées arrived in artistic arrangements. Here again, the portions were more than adequate.  I started with the shrimp in XO sauce. Now, I had read about XO sauce in David Chang’s “Momofuko” and was anxious to give it a try. While the red pepper on the menu suggested this was to be a spicy dish, we did not find it so. The shrimp were full and sweet. The accompanying variety of mushrooms, asparagus and snow peas rounded out the dish in flavor and texture. Our traditional entrée, the Mango Chicken offered broad slices of chicken and full slices of mango.  While this choice was quite good in its own right, it was a bit on the sweet side. Of course, we knew that when we ordered it. But it was good to see how The Golden Bowl would treat old time standards.

I have dined at Golden Bowl more than six times since it opened.  Raymond, the manager and his staff are affable and accommodating.  With an Asian restaurant not venturing into selections once only found in the city I hope the Main Line will find their way beyond the traditional dishes to those far better Asian recipes found on Washington Avenue and now at The Golden Bowl.