Golden Dragon offers good local Chinese food

The Golden Dragon is the new Chinese kitchen at the Beach House on Park Ave in Island Park, and after getting grand opening fliers in the Sakonnet Times, we tried it out tonight, and were not disappointed. While it's not really a sit-down kind of place — it is, after all, a rocking local bar — the take-out option and online menu make it easy to swing by and pick up an order.

The standout, by far, was a General Tso's chicken that was the best I've had locally. Not the typical fried mystery bits breaded beyond recognition, the dish offered sizable chunks of white meat in a tangy sauce. Seriously, if you're partial to General Tso's, there isn't a takeout place within driving distance that's better.

We had a shrimp lo mein which offered a nice balance of vegetables and full-bodied soba noodles, and a chicken with cashew where the fresh carrot and celery added a great crunch, though perhaps a bit heavy on the hoisin sauce. YMMV, as I've said before, I'm no food critic.

Of course the rest of the Beach House menu is also available for takeout, so we got a plate of peel-and-eat shrimp to go for our 9-year-old, although he tried and liked the Chinese options as well.

Prices are reasonable, with appetizers from $3-7 and entrees $6-10.

A word in your ear: Don't be put off by the exterior. Yeah, it looks like a bar. Yeah, there's usually a couple of bikes out front. Trust me on this one. Portsmouth hasn't had a local Chinese option this good since Tak Pao City closed. (Sigh. They had the best wontons in hot sesame...)

Resources:
Golden Dragon at the Beach House, 506 Park Ave, Portsmouth. (401) 293-5700
Sun-Thurs 11:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30-11. Visa, MC, Discover
Take out menu
Beach House web site (MySpace)
Google map