There are around 70-plus covers and while we sat down for a post-rugby five course meal costing £16.95 – and a fiver less for children aged four to 10 with no charge for children under four – at least a dozen who had not booked a table had to go elsewhere.
With soups, appetisers, intermediates, main courses and puddings to get through, 17 quid seems like a very good deal indeed.
The China Garden hot platter is the best for a starter, with sesame prawn toast, crispy seaweed, chicken satay skewers, spare ribs in Peking sauce, crispy won ton and vegetable spring rolls. The only downside was that our ribs were a little tough, but not inedible.
One of our junior diners got no further than the intermediates, which included crispy aromatic duck pancakes. In plentiful supply, like the platter starters they are perfect for sharing. Crispy aromatic lamb, served with lettuce is another option along with yuk sung dishes, with either chicken, pork or vegetables, served in lettuce wraps.
My hot kung po chicken was served in good time and had clearly been cooked from fresh – no sign of wilting vegetables here too. Several of our party opted for what must soon be a national dish – sweet and sour chicken, which was reassuringly just like any other sweet and sour chicken to be found in any other good Oriental restaurant. That’s not to say dishes are served without flair. The kung po and Szechuan chicken were a good dish.
Lunch is also available at £12.95 for adults, £9.95 for children aged four to 10 and free-of-charge for under fours. I would not hesitate to call back for that, or an evening meal again.
China Garden appears to have struck the right balance on price and quality. It’s not a bargain basement all-you-can eat joint, but a satisfactory to good quality restaurant where you know what you are going to get for what you pay.
