Stopped here for lunch the other day. I ordered shrimp and BBQ pork fried rice, a favourite staple for Chinese restaurants. It tasted exactly as it should. It came with the soup of the day, which that day was lotus root and pork. It was fairly bland, but the pork(on the bone) was nice. And I’d never tried lotus root before. My boyfriend got a noodle soup dish, and he reported it was pleasantly spicy, more than he would expect from someplace that wasn’t Szechuan, and achieved without adding any extra spice. For under $ 20 it was a very satisfactory lunch.
Danielle K.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
Came here with my folks for the first time yesterday. They’ve been here a few times before with their friends. The place is rather dated; the interior décor is reminiscent of typical HK-style restaurant cafes, and a definite throwback to the 90’s. From 11am-6pm, they offer their«Tea Time Combo» meals, served with a soup of the day or a hot/cold drink. We ordered the following: Curry Beef Brisket with rice(#79), Pan-fried thick noodles with shrimps & shredded BBQ pork in spicy sauce(#36), and Baked cod filet in cream sauce with spaghetti(#27), 2 hot almond milks and 1 Ovaltine. The Curry Beef Brisket(supposedly what they’re famous for, according to Unilocal) was just alright. The curry was flavourful, but there wasn’t much beef to be found in the bowl. Mostly fat. The Pan-fried thick noodles with shrimps & shredded BBQ pork in spicy sauce was very greasy, but tasted decent overall. My fave was the Baked cod filet in cream sauce — creamy, and with a generous portion of fish slices. The hot drinks were pretty standard. Service was a little brash and mostly non-existent. But this is not entirely unexpected at these kind of Chinese restaurants. Overall, a decent place to grab an affordable lunch or dinner, if you don’t mind the service(or lack thereof).
Chris A.
Place rating: 2 Vancouver, Canada
I was a regular customer since the late 90s but have to say this place is on a decline for the past few years and somehow I gave it chances after chances. First of all, the portion is a lot smaller now even for a full priced dish(yes — I understand inflation comes to play but still way too small). My wife had their fish soup-based noodles and found their veggies are not fresh. Their Chinese soup is also becoming more and more watered down. We might not come back again and go to the Victoria Drive location if we really craved for the curry, even though both locations are old and dirty.
Tommy K.
Place rating: 5 Vancouver, Canada
This place is very dated. When you r in the shop it feels like you traveled back in time to the 90s. But then this place is no joke. This place have the Best curry beef brisket on rice. The curry is more on the sweeter side and the beef brisket melts in your mouth. The hainenese chicken is top not too but its good but not that that good. Their third most popular dish is the beans and meat. Not bad too. But ya if you like beef brisket like me this is the place.
Jessica M.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
If you want some good curry beef brisket rice, then Mui Garden is for you. I usually don’t like curry all that much, but they cook it with coconut milk so its not the traditional curry you get elsewhere. They also have a few other dishes that I like, such as the rotti, skewers and walnut prawns. Yum yum they are so so tasty! This place has been around forever and does look ghetto with little or I would say no renos. Service is normal and their portions are good for the price you pay. Street parking available. I sometimes order take-out from here for house parties as well. There are also other locations available so check out which is closest to you!
Wendy H.
Place rating: 4 Coquitlam, Canada
Good selection. Tom yum gong seafood lai fun had plenty of seafood and flavourful soup. Wide rice noodle soup with 2 meat choices: we chose brisket and beef balls. Soup was a bit overly salty for my taste but brisket and beef balls were done right. Overall, very homey flavours as it’s a Hong Kong café staple.
Ashley Y.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Oh my gosh! I love this place! Since I’ve discovered this joint, it has become my new go-to for chinese comfort food. I always get the curry beef brisket. For under $ 10, you get a super delicious beef brisket curry, steamed rice and a drink. The curry is unlike anything I’ve ever had, and yes, my mom does make a mean curry dish but this might be better! It is perfectly creamy, there’s a good amount of beef, and a few potatoes thrown in. I have yet to finish any entire meal — I always have some to take home. I’ve also ordered the Hainanese chicken to take back home. It was wonderful. Perfectly silky skin and the dipping sauce was great. Service is. typical for the type of restaurant it is. The ladies seem nice enough and I’ve had a couple of attentive waitresses. Once I also waited 20 minutes for someone to take my order. and we did try flagging her down the entire time. But I don’t come here for the service. I come here for a no frills, comfort food meal. Cheap, easy and delicious.
Jocelyn B.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
My family has been coming to Mui Garden since I was a little kid. Back then, we’d go for dinner and I would order a full set of 6 beef satay skewers and complement that with 3+ bowls of rice. Times have changed, but my choice of entrée hasn’t! I still like getting their beef satay skewers, but now in the tea time combination(3 skewers + peanut sauce + a cold/hot beverage for a low price!). Our other family standards: Hai Nam chicken(with yummy Haianese rice) and curry beef brisket. The portion size for the latter seems to have gotten smaller from 5 years ago, but the curry is still delicious, and they still give you a huge amount of rice. Service is fast. This is the HK equivalent of diner food, so don’t expect the décor(or washrooms) to be amazing, but it’s a good place for yummy Chinese comfort food at a low price. Cash and debit only.
C C.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
It’s been a long time since I’ve had dinner here, but after a long road trip, my boyfriend and I recently grabbed some take out for dinner. We ordered the Laksa, the curry beef brisket and half a Hai Nam Chicken. The curry beef brisket is the best I’ve ever had. The meat was tender and curry had a really good blend of spices with a very good flavour. The Hai Nam chicken was also very good. The laksa tasted great and had lots of different fish and meat in it. It was quite plentiful. Everything was spot on. I’d definitely recommend this restaurant.
Vincci L.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
Looking for quick but satisfying comfort food? Come to Mui Garden. We were hungry on a Sunday night and wanted to grab something to eat, but wanted something casual. A craving for beef brisket curry brought us to Mui Garden. We ordered a beef brisket curry with rice, Hainanese chicken set, and a fishball noodle soup. The beef brisket arrived in a large portion, and it also comes with a side of rice. It’s your typical Hong Kong style curry, which is quite different than the Indian curry. The fishball noodle soup was my favourite. The soup was clear yet flavourful, but not MSG flavour. The fish balls were homemade, and had a distinctive texture to them. Add a sprinkle of chopped green onions, and it’s an ultimate bowl of comfort food. An underrated item is their coconut, taro, and sago dessert soup. You can taste each ingredient distinctively. Try it and you won’t be disappointed. A good place to stop by for a quick and cheap lunch or dinner.
Grace C.
Place rating: 4 Seattle, WA
Drove up from Seattle and ordered their special — Hainanese chicken and beef brisket curry. For the Hainanese chicken, you had the option for dark or white meat and it came with a side of beef lotus soup. Hainanese chicken can be rated on 3 items — the chicken rice, the dipping sauce and the chicken. The chicken is phenomenal: tender and a nice big portion. The beef brisket curry had great flavor with a little kick to the taste buds. We also sampled the Chinese doughnut, which was freshly made to order. The menu is extensive with close to 300 items to order. The only con is parking is hard to find behind the restaurant and on the side of the street. Otherwise, quite worth the trip for Hainanese chicken!
Cris V.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
This is our local for reliable Hong Kong style Chinese food. We’ve tried every type of curry, and while the famous beef brisket is good, our regular order is the veggie, where the curry taste is the spotlight, not the beef. Other favourites– the sweet & sour pork or chicken with pineapple and lychee, the salt & pepper squid, the different chow meins. Service has always been good, as in efficient, accurate, helpful, and not outright rude. If you want chatty and cuddly, you’re in the wrong place and you’re probably making things slower for everyone else.
Bandeets L.
Place rating: 5 Vancouver, Canada
Don’t bother trying anything else here — the curry beef brisket is their best dish and Will make you come back over and over again
Dana C.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
I still love their Hainanese chicken! Back when I used to live in this neighbourhood, my family would order their Hainanese chicken to go. Mui Garden is a place I grew up eating. They also have some pretty good curry!
Ron P.
Place rating: 4 Downtown, Vancouver, Canada
True HK style, it can be a little off puting if your not used to it. I makes me feel like I’m in china town at main and Gore when it was vibrant and cool. The beef curry brisket is Devine, the«Juk Ji congee with liver and sole is one of my kids favorites along with the«Chinese donut» A little ghetto like some others have said, but when in Rome . The tea is a little different, I asked them. They blend their own ! 1 star just for this. Overall a good family style Chinese resto
T Y.
Place rating: 4 Burnaby, Canada
Aesthetically, this is a hole-in-the-wall typical Chinese restaurant. I can’t really say a ton about the food because there’s only 3 things I get from here: 1. Curry Beef Brisket — 6 stars(out of 5) 2. Satays — 5 stars 3. Congee — 4 stars The curry beef brisket is all the reason you need to come here. Other forms of protein with their curry just aren’t the same. If you are a vegetarian, just believe me when I tell you it’s not really beef but soy made to look like beef. I would not lie to you. Service is always adequate and quick.
Johnny C.
Place rating: 3 Vancouver, Canada
Had an early lunch with my family at Mui Garden Restaurant. Restaurant wasn’t busy when I was there. There was about 4 or 5 tables occupied. Food was OK… nothing fancy nor special about it. Food arrived quickly and free hot tea. There is free Shaw Open from nearby businesses. Your mobile or tablet may catch a strong signal inside the restaurant.
Herman E.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Fried sticky rice here rawks! Better than Lucky Tao’s as it is less salty.
Jody B.
Place rating: 3 Edinburgh, United Kingdom
So I went to Mui Garden today and after snooping the previous Unilocal reviews, must say, I had NO idea what I should try… *EXTREMESARCASMALERT* Obviously, OBVIOUSLY I ordered the Curry Beef Brisket. I mean — have you SEEN the reviews?! I didn’t have a choice — the Unilocaliverse had spoken. Aaannnddd? It was… ok. Ok ok — i’m not jumping up and down about it but this was a tasty dish. I think after glowy eyed Unilocal stalking their page I was expecting something that would completely knock my socks off and that it didn’t. But what it did deliver was a mildly spicy, tasty, well cooked little dish that more then satisfied my comfort food cravings. Am I going to dream about it? Crave it? Need to have it immediately? No, not likely. But I will partake again. Which is my general consensus about the experience as a whole. I’d brand this place as «swanky hole-in-the-wall». Like a hole in the wall that was expecting company — the floors looked like they’ve seen a mop recently and there’s no teetering displays of cooking supplies a la my favourite cheap haunt Hawkers. But it still has that charming, menus taped on the counter, eat quick and bolt sort of atmosphere to it. And lordy — the portion sizes! Word to the wise — your eyes WILL be bigger then your stomach at this joint. I grabbed the Curry Beef Brisket, Fried Tofu & Spicy Salt and a side order of Kale with Oyster Sauce… you know, for green things… and I will be eating said meal for the next 72 hours at least. MASSIVE portion sizes. Hell — I could have fed a family of six and then had breakfast the next morning to share. So don’t fret Unilocal fans — there’s still at least four meals left for the Brisket to win me over. But oddly — the stand out? The kale. Yeah, seriously. It’s kind of hard to muck up kale but this $ 5 side was steamed perfectly, fresh, a huge portion and came with just the right amount of oyster sauce. I happily munched my way through the entire thing. Cheap. Quick. Happy in-the-hood find.
Edward L.
Place rating: 4 Vancouver, Canada
Mui Garden is a staple of every HK expatriate in this town. Yes, the place is ghetto. Yes, it’s been around for a long time. This is the Honger’s equivalent of comfort food. Parking is a bit sparse. If you go a block west of here, there are some free spots if you’re lucky. The interior is quite plain, but not too beaten up. Between 1100 and 1800, you can order these set menu dishes for some $ 7, which includes a drink. This is what 80% of the customers here come for. The signature dish here is their curry beef brisket with rice. The beef brisket is cooked just right(nice tender pieces), and the curry is nice and creamy. My only complaint is that there isn’t enough rice to mop up all of the curry. So you end up drinking curry at the end. Today I also had a chance to try their tom yum soup, and cod and tofu hot pot. The tom yum soup is freaking good. I have no idea how they got all the spices down when I couldn’t find any herb bits in the soup. Maybe they filtered all the pieces out. The only thing that was off about the soup was the noodles they used. There is too much in the soup. It would be much nicer if they used half as much, then left the herbs inside. As for the hot pot, this is not the typical type(pot of bubbling soup sitting on a mini-burner). Instead it’s a sizzling hot stainless steel pot, on a plate. The tofu was a bit shriveled, but everything else is good. The flavour is balanced, and not too salty like most other places. You really can’t go wrong with this place.