Golden Century: the later, the better!

The night I went to the iconic, late night, (amazing) Chinese food resto Golden Century was a long one.  After having arrived in Sydney just over a week before, I had one day off work to find an apartment; I was ecstatic at the thought of my own bed as oppose to slumming it in a hostel for another week. This actually ended up being a day that I'll never forget; it was my first encounter with my new housemate who will, without a doubt, be a lifelong friend.  The other exciting part of the experience? As I was viewing the apartment, we heard a loud thud on the roof.  I looked questioningly at the landlord who simply shrugged and said: "avocado".  To which I replied: "Say what now?  An avocado tree in my backyard?  Where do I sign?"  

I was thrilled to have checked the 'find an apartment' off of my to-do list and move on.  Sadly, avocado season is long gone, but I'm still snug as a bug in my little home in Glebe.  So, how did I arrive at Golden Century at 1 am?  Well it started like this: a portfolio tasting for some new wine additions - most of which were drained before we left the office at 11pm for a little jaunt over to Ryan's Bar for gin & tonics. One of the things that I like about Sydney is the selection of beer gardens, patios and outdoor seating areas/bars that are open year round.  Ryan's Bar is a pretty popular place - especially for the CBD crowd on a Friday night.

After a few drinks we headed over to Golden Century and pretty much stuffed our faces on overpriced seafood.  Thankfully, I wasn't footing the bill, as I'm sure it was a scary sight at the end of the night.  We ordered all the dishes to come together and then fell silent for about a whole...oh...12 minutes or so as we devoured every scrap.  

The feast consisted of steamed scallops, stir-fired prawns and the butter-poached lobster.  The cool thing about this dining experience was that one full wall of Golden Century is lined with a huge lobster/seafood tank and your meal is literally caught as you watch!  A little inhumane you might think...but it sure leads to a tasty dinner!

The steamed scallops were cooked perfectly and presented on the shell in a beautiful sauce of soy, ginger, lemongrass and scallions.  I loved the stir-fried shrimp; plump and juicy, they were served on a bed of crispy noodles and sweetly sauced scallions and vegetables. But the lobster!  The lobster was incredible; everything you'd expect a butter-poached lobster to be: sweet, succulent, tender and oh-so-buttery!  

Steamed Scallops ( $36.60)

                                       

Stir-fried prawns w/ vegetables ($33)

Butter Poached Lobster (Market price)

Surprisingly, after a considerable amount of food and drink, we still managed to pull ourselves together to venture out in search of some more fun.  And when I moved into my house the next day, my new housemate and I bonded over our respective hangovers in the backyard sunshine of our new 'home'.