The Garden Restaurant — Restaurant in Queensland

Have been hearing about this place for quite a while and finally decided to drag everyone along. When we got there it wasn't much to look at, pretty standard Chinese shop vibes and definitely could do with a bit of TLC but I never judge a book by its cover. We got directed to our table pretty quickly and the waiter was decently pleasant. We sat down and we decided what to get on the menu, so many options that we ordered way too much and then realized that we might not eat it all. As an entree we just got the mixed entree and it came with a spring roll, dim sim, prawn toast and satay puff. They were all good but the stand out was the prawn toast, we considered just ordering a heap of them to take home. Soon our mains came out and first was the Thai fried rice, and let me tell you that this is the most flavorsome rice I've had for a long time. Soon after the sweet and sour pork and honey chicken came out and they blew me away. The honey chicken is usually a go to for me and this didn't disappoint but it was overshadowed by the pork. This pork was the perfect amount of sweet with just a twang of tang, a perfect crunch and a fresh aftertaste. Next we had even more come out, the Pad Thai and double BBQ beef. Both great and I'd say the pad Thai isn't usually my go too but everything was exceptional, spice was nice and had decent chunks of chicken through it. The BBQ beef was sort of one we just ordered because we wanted a beef one but it turned out to be one of my favorites. (trust me it was hard to pick a favorite) the crunch was on point and the taste was like nothing I'd had before, a bit like hoisin but sweeter and just better all up. Lastly we got the Mongolian lamb, this was one that I picked and was a bit worried about because I've had bad experiences with this meal in the past. But they nailed it, it came out on a sizzling plate and the meat was so tender that it felt like eating velvet. My girlfriend is the biggest anti lamb person I know and this was her favorite meal of the night, so that should tell you everything you need to know. The only things I'd improve on is the decor/care of the restaurant. I know that's probably not going to happen as it's not really that important so I can't fault them. But one thing that would be nice is if the staff/waiters would just come and check on you as we needed some drinks refills and didn't really get a chance to ask. We will definitely be returning and hopefully bring a bigger party next time so we can share this amazing place with others, thanks for having us.

TLDR: Incredible food, recommend the Mongolian lamb and Sweet and sour pork plus the prawn toast as an entree. Staff needs to just ask a bit more...

Today I came to eat and see the flexibility that this restaurant has when it comes to handling people who are not accompanied and traveling alone since I am in search of restaurants that are potentially suitable for the criteria of our travelers and I wanted to include it in our list of recommendations for travelers due to location, quality and price, but unfortunately they have not passed the test since I felt quite excluded from the benefits that other people receive by being accompanied at mealtime. The menu is not inclusive of all people and marginalizes people who go alone since the benefits start from two people, so if you go alone to eat you will not be lucky enough to try several types of food and make it more varied. since a single person cannot eat two plates full of food and if you wanted to combine two dishes the price skyrockets. In my case I paid $21 just for a plate of sweet and sour pork when I really wanted to try the sweet and sour pork and rice to make the lunch more enjoyable. I asked the waitress if I could opt for the $23 menu that included the sweet and sour pork, rice and spring roll and she told me that if I paid for the two-person menu for a total price of $46 then yes...then The options that she left me were nothing more than paying for a two-person menu that I was not going to be able to eat, ordering a plate of rice with the pork and paying a minimum of $33 and not being able to eat both things, or ordering only the sweet and sour pork dish and ending up stuffed with so much sweet sauce.... In the end I chose to order only the pork and not waste food or money so I ended up tired of eating so much sweet and sour sauce seeing how it was on the next table Two other people enjoyed more benefits than me by eating 3 different types of food for only $2 more than me. The food I have to say was exquisite but too heavy for just one person. I didn't even have the desire to order dessert, a very sad experience. The decoration of the place leaves a lot to be desired for a restaurant of...

Dined in here last night and left very disappointed. We ordered one of the buffet for two options, of which there were two to select from. We were told we’d have to wait min 25 minutes for meals. Seemed fine, as so many other restaurants locally were booked out, which is why we settled on this one. Decor was so dated and the restaurant wasn’t clean or appealing to sit in.. wait staff were friendly enough. The food was barely edible. Honey chicken was ok. Fried rice tasted old and dry, which I believe could only happen if it were day old and reheated. The friend egg was so old in it, it was chewy, as were the small prawns.. beef and vegetables were swimming in a gross clear grey sauce, with chunks of vegetables cut to large. The beef was rubbery and fatty, rendering g it inedible. The prawn dish we had was just foul… the prawns were soft and mushy and clearly not fresh. I was so angry to have to fork out any money at all for our meals. Who tables near us, who dined with children, allowed them to run back and forth screaming last diners tables… what a joy that was… it was clear they were of the “their kids just being kids” ilk… so no one confronted them. I read the reviews before dining there and the overall rating was good. Either people leaving these reviews have been incentivised to do so, or have no taste. We won’t...