Giving the Panda Garden a good review feels a little like cheating since my first love is the Jade Garden across town. Â I'll just hope Jade never reads these reviews and I'll deny, deny, deny....
Went in here for a change of pace. Â Had a nice Honey Chicken with fried rice and tea. Â The kids liked the tiny tea cups and the dipping crisps. Â I've never had a bad meal here.
I'll be back...on the down low of course
Service was good but food was not.
The MSG free wonton soup tasted strange (the wonton specifically) and served in bowls that were too small. Â The brown rice also tasted bad so I switched to white rice. Â I ordered shrimp and snow pea which was acceptable, with fresh tasting vegetables. The shrimp was ok but not great.
Pricing was very reasonable.
I ate here on Christmas Day while driving from St. Louis to eastern Ohio. I hate stopping for sit-down meals and normally eat Subway in the car, but that and most everything else was closed for the holiday. Chinese it was, then.
There was only one family dining when I entered. I waited at the front for a full five minutes before being seated, despite an elderly woman sitting at a back table, slowly working at a laptop, occasionally looking at me (It was clear she had some relation to the people running the restaurant).
After finally being seated, it was another five minutes before receiving water and a pot of hot tea. I reviewed the menu for a while and waited again before my waitress returned. I asked if the sezchuan wonton appetizers contained meat and was told yes. I then requested the vegetable dumplings and asked for some spicy sauce on the side. The only response the waitress had was "20 minutes." I wasn't entirely clear on what she meant but assumed the apps would come out in that timeframe, so I said ok. I also ordered garlic broccoli and asked that they increase the spiciness. The waitress again only said "20 minutes." I didn't know what to say other than ok.
The waitress came out a few minutes later and wordlessly set down a large pot of brown watery sauce with scallions floating in it. I had no idea what it was for.
About ten minutes later, she brought out the garlic broccoli and steamed rice. I waited to see if my vegetable dumplings would follow, but they didn't. I assumed she or the chef forgot to include them, so I began eating. The broccoli was delicious. The florets were large and very green, and there were plenty on the dish. They weren't extra spicy as I requested, though, and that was disappointing. In fact, they were quite mild. Also disappointing was the amount of rice given. The rice was presented in the tiniest bowl I've seen at a restaurant - barely enough to eat with three broccoli florets. And it was a long time between waitress visits, so it was difficult to ask for more.
That pot if sauce continued to stare at me, but I still wasn't sure of its use. I tried a bit on the broccoli, but that wasn't good. I then tried a bit on a bite of rice, but that was unsatisfactory too. I gave up.
As I finished the last of my broccoli, the vegetable dumpling appetizers came out. Whaaaaaa? I was stuffed, but I felt obligated to eat at least one. I cut into one and was disappointed. While there was plenty of filling, the dumplings were bitter. I made it through one and wrapped the rest up, not knowing what else to do.
The whole lunch was about $12 and was one of the strangest meals I've ever had. I'd probably only return if pressed.
We ate here many years ago. Or maybe somewhere else. The point of this review is to give five stars to a perfectly anonymous Chinese restaurant in a place like Terre Haute, Indiana.
After all, Chinese food is the one cuisine that only gets better with mediocrity. Was there something sweet? Yes. And salty? Indeed. Savory? Of course. Were there disposable chopsticks and small cups of high-tannin tea? You know the answer to that one too.
All I recall is that once, a few years ago, we stopped in Terre Haute for Chinese food. This vague dumplinged haze is what restaurant memories are all about.
I have nothing but good things to say about this restaurant. The food is wonderful, the ambience is good, and the service is truly outstanding.
Walking in to Panda Garden, the impression is definitely of an inexpensive Chinese restaurant. Inside, however, the restaurant is gently lit, spotlessly clean, and possessed of a certain earnestness that is endearing. It's not high-rent by any means, but it's clear they take great pride in their establishment.
The service is quick and friendly - in most cases outstandingly so. I eat there frequently and I've never once completely drained my drink before having it refilled, sometimes before I've completely set it down.
The menu would indicate that the food is fairly standard American Chinese - the usual mixture of chicken, beef, and pork prepared with a wide variety of sauces. However, the cooks go above and beyond to make the dishes really stand out.
The plates arrive garnished with sculpted vegetables, with spacious white-plate presentation. The vegetables are typically sculpted into flowers or other simple shapes, but on a slow night one might find a carrot carved into a lantern, lettuce arranged into a many-petaled rose, or my personal favorite, a tiny frog carved from a carrot, complete with eyes.
The food itself is superb. My preferred way to eat there is with enough people to get a few different dishes and share, thus easing the pain of having to choose. There's so much good food to try, it's hard to make a decision.
For the price, there's no better Chinese experience in the area. This restaurant remains one of my favorite places to eat in Terre Haute.
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