Chinese Garden Restaurant

CLOSED AS OF MARCH 31, 2012.
See pic:

I like this place, but I always know what I’m expecting. I always have their buffet, so I don’t know about their menus. It’s a very typical place and has a lot of really old white people who eat there. They love it. The service is really good but don’t expect something spectacular from the food. The price is great though!

Chinese (Taiwan) family style restaurant, I have 20 plus years dining here and they manage to be consistently good. Order from the Red Menu if you do not care for the buffet its better and the dishes are different than what is served on the buffet. Broccoli Beef is tops, Kung Pao Chicken and Mandarin Specialty are favs. If you like spicy tell the waitresses, the cooks will add the heat! I prefer noodles to rice (I think I have discovered the secret to perfect rice that eludes most restaurants)
BTW Lunch is an absolute bargain in East Clairmont

I ordered take out for the second time tonight, just in case they had an off night. Not. Thoroughly below average food. I think my comment was «I’ve had better food under a heat lamp»… Had the sesame chicken. It didn’t taste like much. It said it was in a «spicy sauce with vegetables» No spicy and only a few green peppers and sliced carrots. That’s not vegetables! The rice tasted like water and had the consistency of mashed potatoes. The one saving grace? The BBQ Pork Spareribs. My lord those things are good! Flavorful but a little greasy but still super yum. The first time I ate I had some sort of combo all I could remember was over-​salty wonton soup and greasy fried things. Blech. But I probably WILL order the ribs again. They’re Asian-​style sweet salty glazed… mmmm… 6 ribs for $ 5.95 that’s a tasty deal!

I love this place. but I want to stress it’s because I know exactly what I want when I come in here… and that is, a $ 6 lunch all you can eat lunch buffet. I have taken many friends and clients here for lunch, and everyone leaves here satisfied and full.
The quality far surpasses the price. And if you come here for the lunch special. you will not be disappointed.

wheres the –5 button… the place had like 6 items. and a cookie for dessert. F U Chinese Garden. With like 2 people working.

Bad choice. Most of their selections were empty. The egg foo yung was tough and cold. The egg drop soup was like water. The lo mein and fried rice were orange. There was a funny taste to some of the food, like maybe too much pepper. A big disappointment for a birthday dinner.

This place is YUMMY! I can honestly say its the best I’ve ever had. Its great for family dinning.

I really like this place! I’ve been there to eat from the buffet quite a few times spanning back to 2002 and I’ve never been disappointed. The food was always warm and tasty. The service was right on, the servers refilling drinks and checking in on us often. It’s nice and clean inside. Just ordered food to-​go and had no problem communicating with the person on the other end.
I like this place!

My 100^th review just had to be a bad one. Womp Womp Woooomp… I ordered the salt and pepper chicken and shrimp fried rice. Eating about 4 pieces of chicken I thought the chicken wasn’t bad but it didn’t taste great either. something is truly up with this chicken. Nibbling on my 5^th one I suspected it was seasoned with MSG. Not sure, but the «not so good taste» crept up on me and I couldn’t eat it anymore. Same goes with the shrimp fried rice, after a few bites I couldn’t get myself to anymore of it. I had a ton of food left over sitting in my fridge and I still can’t get myself to eat the left overs. I love left overs too so I know I’m not a fan of this place. I won’t be returning and will shortly throw away the food that’s in my fridge. Yuck!

My bf and I came here for lunch buffet and while the selection was mediocre & small, their prices were pretty decent. The food is either greasy or dry. Regarding Chinese buffets, this one is pretty meh.
It’s also at the back of a shopping plaza so it’s pretty hard to get to.

Meh. It was alright, but I’m not really impressed and it’s not convenient enough for me to get more often.
The mandarin fried rice was ok, the chicken in it was just dry and bland. The sweet & sour chicken had the same issue, dry, overcooked. The crispy beef was alright but it totally didn’t save well. one definite pro is their BBQ pork ribs, succulent, well flavored, tender. A lil fatty but they were delicimous.

The best part of this place is the sign on the window that says «Millions of Happy Customers.» Beyond that what is there to say about a neighbourhood Chinese place that won’t deliver. You could stop off at Keil’s, get a quart of canola oil and rub it on some 3 day old Stix and get the same effect. I hate food squeeking on my teeth. Only reason I don’t give 1 star is because its clean enough and is about average for San Diego, non-​Convoy, Chinese places.

Had take out the night before Thanksgiving because I had enough going on without having to worry about dinner. They said it would be ready in 10 minutes, much better than an hour wait for a pizza delivery.
The twice cooked pork which was good and spicy.
Lo mein not so good, wouldn’t get it again.
Egg rolls were exceptional.
Crab Rangoon mediocre.
Fried rice, not really worthy of a mention.
I felt it was a bit on the expensive side for the quality which was akin to Panda express. Location is convenient for me though and in a pinch I may revisit this place.

MSG loaded mystery food. I demanded a refund and they screamed at us in chinese.

Chinese Garden takes average to new heights.
I have only been for the lunch buffet, but it is as average as it gets, and in a lunch buffet, that is about all you want sometimes.

I did my laundry right around the corner from this place, and always meant to check it out.
After an hour or so of trying to find a chinese that delivered in my area, I gave up and drove here.
I had the mongolian tofu and garlic stir-​fry. It’s not the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had, but it was pretty greasy. All the flavors were in the right place, and it was plenty filling.
$ 10 for my to-​go meal, a bit pricey for the area.
The place is family owned; they have a thick accent, but if you don’t understand you can always point and chose from the menu.
I would go back and give them another chance.

I realize Chinese food is supposed to be greasy. but come on! I could heat my house in the winter with one take-​out order. nothing special here, has a business because convoy street is so far away but much much *much* more authentic and cheaper if you know where to go. it does have nice, friendly service, however

–vl

Fairly decent Chinese restaurant. Nothing too out of the ordinary, didn’t really impress me with their food, yet didn’t leave me with any complaints. Typical «chinese food» items on their menu didn’t set them apart from any other restaurant in my mind.