LunchGold Mills Filipino Cuisine
!Since the original posting of this article, Gold Mills has since closed and Mexican restaurant, Sal y Limon has opened in its place.
Gold Mills Filipino Cuisine sits in a tiny strip mall complex just off Kingsway and Fraser serving up home cooked meals in a mom and pop fashion. They keep good company with Les Faux Bourgeouis, just kitty corner across the street and share the same complex as Ba Le.
(Above: All day breakfast: Fried Fish, Garlic Rice and Fried Eggs — Breakfast of Champions)
Gold Mills is tucked away pretty good on the Fraser side of the complex, keeping it out of view from most people. Despite the golden awning emblazoned with the restaurant name, you’d be hard pressed to notice it was there at all. Inside, the modest-sized restaurant felt like someone’s home kitchen with boxes of random objects stacked about. A home-printed sign on the front counter declares the best deals for flights to the Phillippines, while another declares a special price on buffet style warming trays.
(Top to bottom: 1. Shanghai Lumpiang. 2. Take away Coffee.)
We were here for breakfast, but the restaurant had just opened when we arrived after noon. A Filipino variety show played in the background as would-be stars belted out renditions of Katie Perry songs. Gold Mills appears to be run by a couple. She — decked out in full cafeteria lady gear: hairnet and smock — informed us that not all the items on the menu were ready yet, as the kitchen had just been fired up.
The all day breakfast was calling us, but the usual selection of Filipino sausage and Tocino were not yet available. Instead, pan fried Bangus (milkfish) was the protein of choice to go with the combination of garlic rice and fried eggs. Sounded good to us. We ordered that and half a dozen Shanghai Lumpiang (spring rolls) before settling down at the bar with a front row view of the strip mall parking lot.
(Top to bottom: 1. Mango Ice Cream topping the Halo Halo. 2. Chunks of Taro and Corn in the Halo Halo.)
Our meal came with a coffee, which arrived first with a bowl of brown sugar and a thing of what appeared to be evaporated milk. Our breakfast arrived after a delayed intermission, fresh from the kitchen. The Bangus was tasty — a bit dry and bony — but the flavour paired perfectly with the wonderfully fragrant fried garlic rice. The fried eggs were dope: greasy and slightly runny, just the way we like it. The Shanghai Lumpiang, however, were slightly disappointing. Although the flavour was nice, the skin was too chewy for our liking.
Case also ordered the Halo Halo (Filipino version of iced dessert) after eyeing a home-printed sign advertising its availability was tacked to the front window. At $6 a pop, though — we were pretty disappointed. I suppose this version of Halo Halo is likely an acquired taste — something we haven’t yet acquired. The mango ice cream on top was nice enough — but we weren’t huge fans of the taro chunks and corn niblets combination.
Overall, our meal came to just over $21 including taxes and tips. It was a pretty hearty meal — minus the perfectly forgettable Halo Halo.
Perfect for: a hearty, post-hangover breakfast.
The Details
#5 – 701 Kingsway, Vancouver
604.677.4247
— ♠ —