A Good World in the Lunar New Year
Last Sunday was the start of the Lunar New Year, and you might be wondering what’s a Lunar New Year? It’s another way of saying the Chinese New Year. It normally falls on the second new moon, just after the winter solstice and celebrations typically last 15 days. This means that the date changes from year to year, but it will always be in January or February.
This year’s Lunar New Year is the Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese Zodiac. Every year a different animal is assigned over a 12-year cycle. The Rabbit is the 4th year in the 12-year cycle. The years of the Rabbit are 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035. Anyone born in the year of the Rabbit has the following traits, they are vigilant, witty, quick-minded and ingenious. They can also be vain and superficial.
This week’s restaurant is?
So, you might be thinking what has the Lunar New Year got to do with this week’s restaurant review? Well, it actually has a lot to do with this week’s restaurant and the video below will reveal all.
The Good World Chinese restaurant is one of Dublin’s top Chinese restaurants and first opened in 1991. Offering Cantonese Chinese Cuisine, their dim sum is highly rated in Dublin. In fact a few years ago, they were recipients of an award from UNESCO, the Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage title. Which they got for having one of the most traditionally prepared dim sums. It’s also worth noting that their fresh dumplings are made-on-site.
My usual dining companion William had been given €100 voucher for the Good World Chinese restaurant for Christmas. Another college friend of ours, who was a member of the old gang who used to meet up for lunch also joined us. We were all looking forward to eating some authentic Chinese cuisine.
Walking into the restaurant, I noticed how spacious it was as you can see below.
Inside the restaurant the circular tables easily sits four people. It was also worth noting that nobody was right on top of you. This is a bugbear of mine, as I hate people listening in to my conversations. The music playing in the background was Chinese and was not too loud. The décor looks like a typical Chinese Restaurant but I did not spot any waving cats.
What did I order?
The voucher allowed us to choose from the main menu as the lunch menu offered less choice. Especially if you are a fussy eater like me. For my starter I had Barbecue Spare Ribs, followed by Sizzling Beef in Black Pepper Sauce accompanied by boiled rice and chips. Finishing with Vanilla Ice Cream for desert.
My two friends had Wan Ton Soup, Hot & Sour Soup for starters alongside a portion of Prawn Crackers. Their main courses were King Do Beef and Crispy Duck in Crab Meat Sauce accompanied by boiled rice and chips. They also Finished with Vanilla Ice Cream for desert and then had two coffees.
For drinks I had 2 bottles of Heineken, and my friends had a bottle of still water, a bottle of Coke and a bottle of Diet Coke.
How was my meal?
Chinese pork ribs, also known as char siu ribs. Their portions are smaller and they are not cooked like the BBQ ribs we all know. As they are not smoked over an open fire but instead hung in slabs in special ovens where they are oven-roasted. You will only find char siu ribs in Cantonese restaurants as non-Cantonese Chinese restaurants only cook using simple stoves.
Good World like all Cantonese restaurants have their own secret recipe for making char siu ribs. I could sense the aroma of the five-spice powder, and soy sauce used to coat the ribs. The finest char siu ribs like the ones I had always use the best pork, because the quality of the pork used determines how good the ribs will be.
My ribs, pictured above, were also full of flavour because they were succulent and not lean. This is due to their fat, and that made my ribs so tasty. They were sticky but not as messy as ribs you get in a BBQ restaurant.
My Sizzling Beef in Black Pepper Sauce was spectacular. . It consisted of slices of fillet steak served in black pepper sauce with cooked strands of onion.
The beef was tender and perfectly cooked and the sauce was spicy with a nice kick. The boiled rice and chips that I had with beef was a nice accompaniment, with the rice being fluffy and the chips being crispy and thick.
My ice cream was nice, creamy, delicious and the flavour was vanilla.
We all commented on how good it tasted and wondered how the restaurant made it so good. My two dining companions enjoyed their food too and had no complaints.
What did my meal cost?
Well, this is a first for this blog, I don’t know the exact cost of my meal. This was because William’s voucher covered our bill. However, he did say that the final bill did come in under €100, and this is exceptional value. Considering, we all had a 3 course meal from the main menu with 2 soft drinks, a bottle of water and 2 coffees.
Good World is a wonderful Chinese restaurant offering Cantonese cuisine. If you like Dim Sum then this restaurant if for you. I also noticed most of the cliental where Chinese people eating Dim Sum and that is always a good sign.
Good World, 18 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2, D02 AE10
See more reviews here.