China Garden

I’ve had much better food. If you can travel to Roselawn they have a much better Chinese place.

I am a local. A few months ago, China Garden was sold. The vibe is gone and while the food is technically ok, it is a bit off from how it used to be.
Not to be too picky but nobody in the kitchen is wearing a hat or hair net or gloves while handling cooked food.
They have gone from 5 stars to 2 until they hey their act together.

I grew up in Rensselaer and my memories of China Garden are very fond. I know it’s just a Chinese place but when you’re in a town as small as Rensselaer a place becomes a memory. I remember when they were new when I was little. So I grew up eating at this place got to know the owners. Jim and Jun are incredibly nice people. I remember telling my mom when I graduated from high school all I wanted for food was China Garden. My mother jokingly told them I said that and they drove all the way out to my house in the country during my open house and brought me a ton of Chinese food. C’mon, how sweet is that? I moved to Florida and Jun would randomly give my mother presents to send to me. I got married and she gave me the cutest candle.
I have yet to find another Chinese restaurant as dedicated to their guest as them. Not only with service but with food. I always order chicken with broccoli with garlic sauce. Sometimes switching it up with tofu. It’s not a glamours place but I still have yet to find any to compare to it!
I always make sure I go here when I visit my parents!

There seems to be one option for Asian food in Rensselaer, Indiana. That fact must be the only thing that keeps them open. I was warned in advance that the kids from the college next door don’t think highly of the place and we know college kids will eat almost anything. I should have taken that warning and stayed away.
We were there at dinner time. Just one small table of college kids when we arrived. No other dine-​in patrons arrived while we were eating and one woman came in for a to-​go order. Not a big flow of customers. I’m accustomed to Chinese restaurants in Chicago where there seems to be one on every block and they are still super busy. Another warning sign I should have stayed away.
We ordered an appetizer of Crab Rangoon, and two combination plates, one Sweet & Sour Pork, one General Tso’s Chicken. Both combo plates came with an Egg Roll and choice of steamed or fried rice.
The Crab Rangoon was so saturated with oil that it poured on to the table as I bit in to it. The flavor of the filling wasn’t very good either. Bland and no seasoning.
The Sweet & Sour Pork was better than I expected. The pork wasn’t too tough and the breading wasn’t too thick. There wasn’t a lot of flavor but the sweet and sour sauce helped a bit there. The fried rice had been fried at some point much earlier in the day. The rice was bright yellow, had small chucks of fried onion and pork, and was fairly dry and tasteless. The egg roll was saturated in oil, the wrapper way too thick, and cabbage inside soggy and bland.
The General Tso’s Chicken was fairly good with an almost crunchy breading and flavorful sauce. But the same egg roll here as with the other order was an useless addition.
The seating and ordering area seemed fairly clean with just some minor issues. The dark hallway to the bathroom was strange and the half powered light inside the bathroom seemed to be trying to hide some extreme filth. Seriously dirty and not kept up. If this one important area of cleanliness is this bad what does the food prep and storage area look like?!?
About five hours after eating here we got sick. Real sick. It was the only meal of the day we had eaten together and we hadn’t eaten after that. So the source of illness had to be China Garden. When I called to let them know all the guy would say to me was «Exchange, no refund!»
I suggest you stay away. Go eat pizza or McDonalds… anything else but here.

I am from NYC, and honestly I do not expect great Chinese food in this town, however, it took me by surprise.
Great portion and very tender meats with lots fresh veggies… and they actually use different sauce for each dish (not those One sauce for all deal).
The price is awesome too. Highly recommend– Tofu with black bean sauce (slightly fried tofu with lots of sweet onions, snow peas and carrots real black bean sauce!
General Tso’s chicken is also great, with thin fried dough and tender meat glazed with perfect tangy sweet/​savory sauce.
All comes with fluffy white rice.
Another thing i liked is that when you eat in, they serve the food on PLATES and give you metal utensils… not those Styrofoam plates and plastic knife in most of Chinese take out place.

Great Service and food