Golden Wheel

Good food!New owners. Try them out.Our best Chinese restaurant in Aiea. They will do well!

I thought I'd give the new Golden Wheel (under new ownership) a try. First off, they got my order wrong and gave me cold ginger chicken instead of minute chicken with cake noodle. Hiyah!‍ But the chicken was okay but tough. Beef with onions and ginger was pretty good, lacking in flavor though. Crispy gau gee was good but filling amount was inconsistent. Roast duck was okay but couldn't hold a candle to Roast Duck Kitchen. Fried rice It was like instant rice with a little egg and what seemed to be char siu. No flavor or wok hay to speak of. Felt like going back to give their cook a primer on proper fried rice. 2 stars out of 5.Bottom line: It wasn't horrible but Chinese restaurants thrive on getting orders right and the taste. Aiea needs a decent Chinese restaurant.

11/29/24: New owners and initial reviews weren't the best, however a few more recent reviews were promising so I thought I'd try it out. Service 1: friendly, and not rushed. Order came quickly enough. Service 2: however, the dinner plates we ordered didn't list red kau yuk in the menu, only sweet sour spare ribs and the plate came with both. We always go double on the spare ribs and opt out on the kau yuk when it's listed. We didn't have that option since the kau yuk wasn't listed. We called out this situation to the server who had taken our order, but all she did was try to tell us the menus were from the previous owners and the chef was trying something different. We also explained if we had known we would have switched to double serving of ribs. Same response about an old menu. The server called over a younger lady and we explained again. Same response - that the menu was old and new menus were coming maybe next week. Again no acknowledgement that we got something we didn't order. Tried two more times and finally this lady said she understood and apologized. (There was no apology from the server or this lady initially.) Then she just walked away... she later came back and plunked a rice bowl full of the sweet sour spareribs without saying a word...Ambiance: Restaurant is cleaner than it used to be. Food: Appearance was good. Food looks appetizing. Taste only ok. Taste was a little more bland than it used to be. Not bad, just not as tasty. Fried rice didn't have the wok fried char that makes it special. Chicken chow mein was ok but on the bland side. Again, didn't have the wok fried char. Spareribs and kau yuk were good. But we aren't kau yuk fans so it was only ok to us. Fried shrimp, gaugee, won ton we're ok.Daughter had beef broccoli cake noodle. Beef was soft, cake noodle was good. This was the best dish we ordered. Quantity of all the dishes was pretty good. Giving three stars only because we were given extra spareribs and the cake noodle was good. Otherwise this review would gave only two stars.

Blew my mind today! Stopped in after a pedicure next door and because it's been raining I really wanted some noodle soup. First off there were two waitresses which should have been my first clue because there has never been anyone but the owner previously. A server immediately directed us to an open table and put menus in front of us while another server brought half full glasses of water, followed by a pot of tea then stood there pen in hand to take our order. Can I have a minute to decide please?My friend ordered the dinner plate and I ordered the Bat Jun noodle dish asking for it in soup...she nodded and walked away. Friend's plate arrived first piled high with everything noted for the dinner plate special on the menu. Surprised my Bat Jun Noodle soup arrived sans noodles! Asked her where the noodles were she suddenly couldn't understand a word I said....so trying to make the best of the situation I just ate it."It" being the absolute worst bowl of soup in my entire life! Not only were the ingredients in the soup meager the broth was flavorless. I had a bowl of hot water with mostly cabbage in it. One nickel sized shrimp, one soggy square of white fish, one chewy piece of squid, one chewy carrot, a chunk of mangled bok choy and some remnants of Chinese cabbage. $16 for what I wouldn't feed my garbage disposal.My friend said her plate was awful too. Sweet and sour ribs were nearly all bones. The noodles were tasteless as was the fried rice. The fried shrimp on top was soggy and the breading fell off when she picked it up. The wonton was not crunchy and again flavorless. The table next to us asked where the owner was, apparently by name and were told "they decided to retire and sold the restaurant" New owner and new cook. No signs advising but had I looked at the business on Yelp before walking in and seeing RodI U's updated review I would have gone next door for Pho. I won't be back unless I see some serious improvement here. This was the worst Chinese food I have ever eaten.

November 2024. NEW OWNERS. NEW COOKS.What was one the best places to get gweilo Chinese food (Chop Suey House Americanized Chinese food ie lemon chicken, beef broccoli, general tzo's chicken) is no more.To be fair, perhaps the cooks are not used to the kitchen yet but for now:-- Fried rice - No wok hei. No color. No seasoning. Not even salt. Sparse "stuff" mixed in.-- Crispy gau gee - Fried in cold oil. Extremely crisp on the outside, oily on the inside. Odd spice seasoning. Ginseng?-- Salt and pepper pork chop - Odd velveting. Floury as if cooked at too low a temp so the coating is not set. Lack of seasoning. No spice heat.-- Stuffed tofu - Interesting. Finally a dish that is seasoned albeit in a very goopy, cornstarch thickened sauce.-- Mixed veg with beef - Beef is not marinated in Chinese wine and is tough but a nice mixture of veg including mustard cabbage for more depth.Sigh, another Joni Mitchell "Big Yellow Taxi" moment.

After 35 plus years the original owners retired. Very deserved. Did not hear good things about the transition, but it appears a new set of owners has taken over. Service was good, food came quickly, and portions are good. We had the Minute Chicken with Cake Noodle, Stir Fry, Vegetables, and Honey Walnut shrimp. Our standard go to before retirement. Honey Walnut Shrimp was spot on with plump shrimp and a lot of walnuts. The minute chicken was okay could use a bit more coating and seasoning. Cake noodle was a bit dense, and could use a little prebrowning in the wok before forming the cake to lighten it up but it okay. Stir Fry were done well with a chicken broth sauce. All in all not the same as before, but not bad. We will be coming back.

When Rod U. speaks, you listen. Ummm....what I meant to say is "Pay attention to Rod U."You see, I've known Rod U. for about 10 years now via Yelp. I met him IRL at Yelp events where he also even attended my UYE's when I hosted them many blue moons ago. Rod is a cool Yeep and highly knowledgeable in many types of cuisine and I look up to him and respect him. Rod U. is the Duke of Golden Wheel (GW) with 33 check-in's as of 3/7/2024. When Judy C., our coordinator of a small, exclusive foodie group, suggested we try GW, I had my reservations but when I read Rod U.'s review and saw how many check in's he chalked up, I was game to give them a try. Located in Aiea Town Square with neighbors of Hughley's Southern Cuisine and Palazzo Ristorante Italiano, GW has been serving Cantonese cuisine in Aiea for over 15 years. As a townie and the Unofficial Mayor of Chinatown, I was very skeptical of Cantonese cuisine in Aiea but I have faith in Rod U. Judy C. has been to GW several times now and she made the reservations and suggested we try one of their set menus of 8 items for $93. I read both Rod U. and Kathy A.'s reviews where I really wanted to try the lemon chicken so when I saw the set menu had lemon chicken was included, I agreed. Once everyone arrived and sat at our seats, Judy advised the staff of the green light to start. THE VERDICT:GW seems like a restaurant of my past when I lived on Maunakea Street in Chinatown. They resemble Tin Tin Chinese Restaurant and the interior décor screams the 90's. Indeed the food here at GW is adjusted to suit the local, or Western palate. The food reminds me like I was eating at your typical "Chop Suey restaurant". Food here also revived my childhood days growing up in Chinatown with multiple chop suey restaurants. We ordered a set menu and the dishes were delivered quickly shortly after we started off with the scallop soup, which was surprisingly tasty that needed a splash of white pepper. Our meal started strong. Next, the lemon chicken was amazing. Dish was made fresh as it was delivered temperature hot and executed well. I also enjoyed the sweet and sour cabbage with beef, that was substituted instead of the beef with vegetables. Love the sweet and tart contrast of flavors with a nice crunchy texture from the sour cabbage. The flavor of the Sam See fried noodles was not bad but I'm not a fan of thick, starchy egg noodles. The temperature of the noodles was semi warm. I wasn't a fan of their roast duck, as it was clearly recooked by deep frying with the dark skin color and crispy skin. However, the duck was noticeably dry. I also wasn't a fan of the egg fu young. This dish is too westernized for my palate. The biggest disappointment of the night was the fried rice. Although this also had a generous serving, the fried rice was clearly premade and the temperature of rice was tepid.Lastly, the seafood with vegetables was pretty good. I could smell the wok hei and the Choy sum vegetables still had a great texture and seasoned well. Service was somewhat spotty with highs and lows. The restaurant was consistently busy with many tables occupied and even witnessed a Chinese family dine in where they received attention from the staff. Although fluent in Cantonese myself, the staff spoke a different dialect of Cantonese where I understood for the most part but declined to speak to staff in Cantonese. We only had our water glasses filled at the end of our meal. Overall, a decent first experience at GW where I wouldn't mind returning. The lemon chicken is delicious and next time I'd like to sample their Capital style pork chops. There was a miscommunication with our waitress as she didn't put in our order and we canceled it as we were stuffed with leftovers to take home. I don't think I'll suggest this place to my family as they may not appreciate the "chop suey" style of food here.

We love this place! Food always great and delicious. Sit down or take out the service is friendly and remembers repeat customers!

On a recent Sunday Funday in January, lunch with my Momma. We dined here for the very first time and def. won't be our last. We usually go to our favorite place but this time momma wanted Chinese, last minute saw Golden Wheel from the stairs when we were on our way to another biz. nearby. Yay Momma and Golden Wheel was on my bookmarks after reading a few reviews by Yelp friends. Mom and pop, old school, hole in the wall business had been around for 30 + years, dining here brought back memories of my dating days when I first had Chinese food with my hubby ( Pearl City Chinese Restaurant) The menu, lunch, dinner specials reminds me of it too. The restaurant is small, cozy. I met Stella, waitress and owner. She was very nice, She remembers 2 Yelp friends that are regular here. ( hehe. Kathy & Rod) Glancing at the menu, we decided upon the dinner plate (only $13.) and the saimin with look fun ($11.) Decided on this since the dinner special has all of our favorite choices, and momma wanted soup. The dinner plate is such a deal, can't beat this price! It comes with beef with vegetable, sweet and sour spareribs, chicken chow mein, crispy won ton, crispy gau gee, fried shrimp and fried rice. The portions was more than enough for 2. It tasted so fresh, could taste the food cooking coming out wok fresh. Not only did I enjoy the dinner plate, my momma too. She mentioned, the food so Ono, yah?! YES, Momma, it is! The saimin soup comes with look fun, veggies and char siu. Momma enjoyed this, she said it wasn't oily, the broth is light. It was just perfect to compliment our dinner plate. We shared this and got a nice 2 small rice bowl size soup, each out of this. Next time I plan must try the lemon chicken along with more items on the menu, & dine Chinese style with friends and family!All in all, the main thing my momma is happy dining here, makes it an even more Happy Sunday Funday! We will be back, recommend. Please support this local business, they need us! Happy Eating!

Food was not good and over priced. I am guessing it is new owners. We ordered the Char Siu Fried Rice and it was yellow in color and didn't taste right. Even the crispy gau gee was different and no taste. Won't be eating there again. I will need to find a different Chinese Restaurant.