Bill Lee vs. Great Castle

After 3 months in Drilling Fluid School in Houston, I came to Bakersfield as a Mud Engineer in 1981. It was the first Monday in January, cold and foggy.  I was assigned to a deep well being drilled just north of Taft Highway in the North Coles Levee field for ARCO.  I remember trying to find the rig in the dark fog, not being able to see the lights of the rig and I had to stop my car, rool down the windows and listen for the diesel engines roaring, the draw works whining and the pipe and tongs clanging, so I could figure out which dirt road to turn on.  Bakersfield was a lonely town to a single young man of 25 in a strange town back then.  Since my life is about finding comfort in food, I found a few restaurants where I felt comfortable, friendly people and good food.  La Cabana had a restaurant on Oak Street and Truxton.  They had great menudo on weekends and chorizo con juevos like at home.  And Mossmans had a comfortable restaurant on Brundage that was kind of homey.  I also found Bill Lee’s for a hot Chinese meal.   I recall the waitress, Helen.  She was middle-age in 1981 and I used to ask for her table.  Maybe she reminded me of my Mom.  Bakersfield was not so lonely after Betty joined me in Bakersfield in April. 

My favorite meal at Bill Lee’s was the Wo Won Ton Soup.  A beautiful clear broth loaded with shrimp, chicken, pork, vegetables and won tons; it is great on a cold winter night in Bakersfield.  Eventually, I discovered the Hong Shew oysters and it became my new destination dish.  I ordered it every time we visited on New Year’s Eve when we took the girls out on our anniversary.  The dish is an exotic mix of fried oysters, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green onions and ginger root in tasty oyster sauce.  The dining room has been remodeled over the years and they have kept the hand carved wood panels.  The carpeting in the dining room makes for a nice quiet dining room and the staff is always friendly and inviting.

 

Overall Bill Lee’s is a Bakersfield classic and a nice dining experience.  Most of the dishes I have tried are like old school Americian/Chinese food made for a mid-west palette that is kind of plain and bland with lots of noodles and rice.   For more authentic Chinese food in Bakersfield, if there is such a thing, I now prefer the Great Castle on Union Avenue.  The dishes are more robust in flavor with some really spicy dishes that I love, like the crispy garlic beef and hot and spicy eggplant.  And the walnut shrimp is as good as advertized.  Everyone should have a favorite Chinese Restaurant.  And in Bakersfield, the options are limited, especially now that Grand China on Ming and Real has been closed for a few years.  The family reopened in Hong Kong in Chester Ave, but it’s not quit the same since the owner/chef that passed away is not there.

Try the Hong Shew oysters at Bill Lee’s and try the walnut shrimp at Great Castle and find your favorite.