Indo China Gardens Restaurant

I haven't been here since I was a kid. Since I wanted to take my daughter out for something that wasn't fast food or the typical American burger and fries meal, this place popped up in my head. I remembered how delicious the egg drop soup was, that always stuck out for me.

We arrived and I was pleased to see they were opened at the awkward time of 1pm. Anyone with kids can attest to the fact that all the timing and planning you do never really works out. I had planned to get there at noon, but my daughter is usually in her own fantasy land and gets distracted while getting ready for her day. She's 15 trapped in the body of a five-year-old.

So, I got the hot tea, she got a lemonade, we had a wonton appetizer, and I ordered the same meal for both of us, which was crispy shrimp with Chinese vegetables. Both came with their egg drop soup, and was happy to find that it still tastes as good as I remembered. The shrimp meal was really good, as well.

Overall, it was a great meal and it's quality is right up there with all the other Chinese places I've been to in MI and Cali.

While temporarily in the area (recovering from backpacking the Pictured Rocks in the U.P.), my girlfriend and I stumbled across this place. I love Asian cuisine, and we were craving it hardcore - naturally, we were excited about the brilliant twist of fate in our favor.

Or so we thought.

We ordered takeout, specifying very carefully that I was vegan and her vegetarian, that we didn't want any meat whatsoever, that we wanted tofu. Good and well, deed done and we waited for the food to finish. We took it and drove to where we were staying (about 20 min away). We open our food to find that they have given her chicken. Lovely, aye? So we call up there and explain what happened. Our appetite for it spoiled, I ask if they will refund our money if we bring back the food, to which they agree. We get there and they tell us that they won't refund our money, but they'll remake it. Reluctantly, and a bit upset that they lied to me over the phone, we agree and wait. They produce it promptly, insisting that there is no meat this time. We drive back; the dishes were made EXACTLY the same way. We drove back up there and demanded our money back, which the manager agreed to only because the dining room was filling up with other customers.

The workers were nice enough, but after a blatant mess-up like that more than once, we were not biting. I ended up making portabella burgers for dinner instead, which was a good decision.

Long story short, I wouldn't recommend the place.

Really? 5 stars, people?  Have you ever eaten Chinese food before?  The only reason I give this place even two stars is because we didn't get food poisoning.  I ordered the Mongolian Beef.  It was swimming in a sauce that tasted like Lipton's onion soup mix.  My partner ordered Pad Se Ew and was equally disappointed.  Our first hint should have been the disclaimer printed on the menu that says any dish ordered will be paid for--no exceptions.  Skip this spot if you enjoy Asian food.