China Garden

We used to enjoy China Garden, often weekly, but that has changed with our inedible dinner last night. Not mediocre or unsatisfying: actually inedible and perhaps risky to our safety.

We usually order off the menu but have enjoyed the buffet in the past, which is what we ordered. I should have known better. Looking at the food, the trays were only half full and the much of the food looked old. It was. My steamed rice had crunchy sections, which only happens after it has been allowed to age or become cold. The broccoli was brown and dry. The chicken was inedible: too tough to bite through and impossible to chew once cut through with a knife. The pot stickers were actually cold inside. Not cold enough for the meat to be safe to eat: just barely room temperature. It was then that I realized that much of the food was not hot enough to be safe, and only one dish tasted and looked like it had been cooked recently.

After only a bite of each dish, we told the server our concerns and explained we could not eat the food. She apologized and charged us full price for our uneaten, horrible, inedible food. I cannot believe a restaurant would charge full price and make no efforts to rectify an obvious problem. In short, we will never return, nor will my friends. There was only one other couple in the restaurant, so I assume many others have discovered what I learned last night: China Garden is no longer a viable restaurant option.