Lotus Garden

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  I imagine Lotus Garden was built in the 70's and not much has changed since.  The cracker/roll basket idea, some of the menu items, the amber water glasses and probably even those metal dishes that the food comes in.  I( mean, when you print your menus stating that you're going to serve dinner rolls and never change the menu, you're locked into the dinner roll!)
  
  ... but the food is really good.  I'd say it's a step or two up from your run-of-the-mill strip mall Chinese joint.
  
  We started with LOTS of appetizers.  Egg rolls, fried wonton, ribs, rumaki (a delicious 70's creation!) and potstickers.  The fried wonton was fresh and crispy.  The ribs were flavorful and charred, the rumaki was YUMMY and, well, the egg rolls are probably the best I've ever had.  It's not your standard frozen egg roll where they are all the same size and shape.  I'd say these are house made.
  
  At the server's recommendation, I had the Szchewan Triple.  What I noticed right off the bat was that the chicken looked and tasted like chicken!  The beef looked and tasted like beef!  Let's face it, chicken and beef at most places is spongy and questionable.  The veggies were fresh and the sauce was delicious.
  
  Our table also had the Sweet & Sour Chicken, which I loved because it was served with the veggies - like pickles, cauliflower and carrot.  I LOVE THIS!  We also had a Curry Shrimp. which had a deep curry flavor and was way better than any other Chinese curry I've had.  Lastly, we had a Lotus Fried Rice.  The report that the pork in the fried rice was top notch.  
  
  The fried rice they serve is very dark and soy heavy.  It's okay, but I'd probably go for steamed rice next time.  
  
  We had to ask for drink refills, which is always kind of irritating.  The meals stated that they were served with hot tea or coffee, but none was offered.
  
  I'll be back!  Probably gonna order two egg rolls, too!

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  Posted on 10.28.12 Jen F.

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  Delicious food!  Portions are large enough to share and to have seconds or thirds.  Wait staff was excellent. We have patronized this restaurant for over 50 years and love it every time!

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  Posted on 08.19.12 Debra S.

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  My family has always dragged me here.  I have never had a good meal here.  Edible, yes but not good.  It is a cool old building, but I'm not impressed. The only thing I've ever enjoyed is the pot-stickers. Everyone else seems to like it, but I'm reviewing it, not them.

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  Posted on 12.03.11 Randy B.

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  I could sum up this review in one sentence...they served rolls, cracker packet, and butter at the start of our meal.  Come on has anyone ever been to a Chinese restaurant where they were given bread and butter?  
  
  I just had the most delicious family style meal from Chinatown Chicago.  They made a great beef chow mein dish compose of crispy thin egg noodle stir fried in soy sauce.  It was so delicious!  Ever since then all I could think about is Chinese food.  My room mate suggested we try Lotus Garden because be our usual Chinese spot is in the process of expansion.  Well before I check out any restaurant anymore, I searched Lotus Garden on Yelp.  Not that many reviews but luckily they have a website.  The place looked really pretty on the website and the menu was gigantic(usually not a good thing in my book).  
  
  The place looks a lot older in person but that's not a big deal, I don't mind places with history.  We decided to order three dish to share; Mongolian beef, sesame chicken, and Cantonese pan-fried noodles.  They brought out two pot of hot tea which came with our meal, that was a nice plus!  The wait staff are really nice but you might have some problems with language barrier.
  
  Finally our food arrived with a bowl of fried rice for each of us.  As they were taking the lids off the plates I was very disappointed with the portion.  The Mongolian beef laid on top of a lot of noodles and just simply not a lot of beef. We looked over at the Sesame chicken and thought...where are the sesame?  I was hoping it tasted better than it looked.  Mongolian dish is a pretty common Chinese dish and has a very distinct taste, it just didn't cut it here.  It tasted like beef fajitas with green peppers, onions, and mushroom.  When I bit into the sesame chicken, I did not the get the crispiness from the fried breading.  The sesame chicken was soggy and has a very overwhelming orange flavor.  The pan-fried noodles was the most decent of the three but the vegetables were still overcooked.
  
  Honestly I didn't expect much from the very beginning.  The food here is very Americanize and no where close to authentic.  But I wasn't really expecting authentic Chinese food in Greenwood.  The service and complimentary tea was great, but there's nothing else that would make me want to go back.

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  Posted on 08.22.11 Thuy T.

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  This is my favorite Chinese restaurant in the city! It's delicious! They have the best Crab Rangoon and General Tso's Chicken. The staff are friendly and funny. The decor makes the place even better. It's old fashioned and awesome. The atmosphere is perfect. I definitely recommend this place!

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  Posted on 02.12.11 Joe S.

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  This is a great place for chinese food! The place does need a little work, the decor just seems a little out dated, but the food keeps this place great! I love the sweet and sour chicken, I've ordered that pretty much every time I've been here! The service is great! For the most part, this place seems clean, just time to spice up the decor!

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  Posted on 09.13.10 Matt H.

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  Love this place! Great food and you always have enough to take home for the next day. They even have a really good bar and make awesome drinks! The staff is all friendly and the service is great.

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  Posted on 04.14.09 Elisa C.

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