Blooming Garden Chinese Cuisine 榮華苑 — Restaurant in Toronto

date visited Thurs Aug 11, 2022

Overall Experience : 2.0/5

Comments : First time dining in at this resto. We came around 8:30pm on a Thursday. As of time of writing, the resto has been open for maybe 3 weeks now. It seems they are still working out some of the kinks. They do not have their up to date menus yet. There are white stickers at the bottom of the dine-in menus when you flip open the cover. Noting that that there is an extra $1.00 added to each menu item on the menu due to inflation. Our table server did not mention this aspect. I learned about this from a negative Yelp and Google review for Blooming Garden. Also Debit/Credit card paying customers be aware!!! There is a 12% mandatory service fee already applied to your bill so DO NOT DOUBLE Tip!!! I also picked up a copy of their take out menu. The item breakdown you receive is not in English. I think there is also some price differences between their dine-in menu and their takeout menu. Example we ordered their T1 Fried tofu, on their dine in menu it was listed as $7.99+$1.00 inflation charge for a total of $8.99. On their takeout menu the same T1 is listed as $9.99, not sure if the $1.00 inflation charge applies on the takeout menu as well. Be careful when ordering Take away, you may be getting charged slightly higher. If you are managing Gout, it will be a challenge to eat here. Free dessert served at the end, which we declined.

Service : 2/5 Service was so-so. At the time of our visit capacity was almost 90% full. They seem to pay more attention to the larger tables vs the smaller tables. We were 2 ppl dining, took a while to flag a person to place our order.

Food : 3.0/5 For our dishes we asked for them not to use additional MSG. We ordered G15 HK Style Fried Vermicelli, H6 Garlic Shrimp & Egg White Fried Rice, T1 Fried Tofu. G15 was too salty for our tastes, we didn’t finish it. H6 was more to our palate, but there were a lot of green peas, which I had to navigate around due to peas for me not being friendly with Gout, we also didn’t finish this dish, we also felt there was not enough shrimps in the H6 dish. It is a Garlic Shrimp fried rice dish after all. The T1 fried tofu dish we enjoyed as well. Crispy exterior shell with a soft inside texture, think they used soft tofu for this dish. We wanted some rice rolls, but were informed they were not available. Which left me scratching my head as to why. Also not every table has provided condiments.

Drinks : 2/5 Other than water, wasn’t able to enjoy the drinks they provided due to the potential caffeine content. Not sure what the Chinese tea was that was provided to our table. Along with the lemon tea that was apparently offered with our meal/dishes.

Value for Money Spent : 2/5 For the money we paid, we felt that the portioning was on the smaller side. I’d have to agree with some of the other reviewers on this. Portioning does not seem consistent with dishes seen at other tables.

Worth repeat visit : ?/5 On the fence with this. Even tho there are other dishes I am curious to try. We feel they are overpriced.

Note : Updated review for Sept 19, 2023 on Yelp..since Google does not allow for...

The worst customer service I have ever had. We called around 11am to reserve a table at 7pm, and a Peking duck for dinner. We arrived the area at 6:30pm, so we walked around at the shopping mall to wait until 7 pm. As we arrived, we were told they only reserved a Peking duck at 7 pm, but we have to wait in line to get a table. It doesnt make sense the duck is ready at 7pm and by the time we got a table, the duck will not be fresh anymore. There were around 10 tables in front of us. We explained to the customer service that we have called to reserve a table and were told that they only take reservations for over 10 people. When we made a phone reservation, we were not told that it was only for the duck. If we know that we still have to line up, we will come straight at 6:30 as we arrive. We tried to explain to the customer service that we were told we made a reservation and no one told us it was only the Peking duck, the customer service promised she will give us the next available table. However, we waited for at least 4 to 5 tables and we went to ask. The server told us we still have to wait in line, and when I tried to tell her we were promised to be given the next available table, she ignored me and walked right pass us. The worst was that i saw their reservation list and it had table reservation for 6 and 7 people. Around 7:45, we finally got a table. Tbh, the food was decent, not the best, and not the worst in town. The peking duck, not surprising, it is no longer fresh. The skin was soft. After we ate, we asked for the bill and found that they put 12% service charge on our bill (after tax!). The service we experienced was not worth that much and that we couldn't find anywhere on the menu where it says 12% service will be applied on the bill. Thus, we went to ask why they put 12% without mentioning on any of their menu. The owner came out and was so rude and screamed at us and humiliated us in front of the whole restaurant, saying we don't have to pay for the tips if we don't want to. And that they put it on the bill by themselves and no need to put it on the menu. There are many places I would pay 15 to 20% depending on the service, but definitely not this place. Also, we added an order of Peking duck wrap and got charged for 10 dollars, most places charge 5 dollars and again, it's not on the menu. We asked, and the owner, again, scream at us and said they charge whatever they wanted and no need to write it on the menu. Beware of hidden charge of this place. I do not recommend this place to anyone because I don't want anyone to be scammed or to experience...

Attention: Take Out Customers. Blooming Garden Chinese Cuisine opened up earlier this year. It occupies the former Congee Town Restaurant. It specializes in Chinese cuisine and is located in Woodside Square Mall.

This review would be most helpful to people who do take out.

Call ahead. The wait time is between 15 to 20 minutes as per the Order Taker. Remember your pick up number. When you arrive, head to the counter at the far back left of the restaurant (West Side) and give them your pick up number. Don’t be like me, lining up at the BBQ takeout counter / cash register (South Side). Pay either cash or credit card. There is no cash discount on all take out orders. Grab your receipt and wait at the designated waiting area.

Note the take out menu prices are different than the dine in prices and on their website. The photos I posted are current take out menu pricing.

During the months with warmer weather, the take out bags will be lined up on the counter at the South Side of the restaurant. You see them come out as they are ready. Pick up number tags are stapled on these bags.

During the colder months, the take out bags are kept inside the kitchen area. Out of sight, out of mind. What does that mean? It means you can be waiting forever. All waitresses and waiters are busy with the dine-in clients. No one will check up on you, period. Many employees will just walked past you. Trust me, I learned it the hard way.

How to counter that? Check your clock, keep an eye on your waiting period. Go to the person behind the counter at the far back left of the restaurant (West Side) and ask him or her to check on your order.

The restaurant looks like they have 2 private VIP rooms near the washroom area. There are circular tables in the centre of the restaurant surrounded by booths.

There are two automatic doors for people who needs access to the restaurant, but they are not working at the time of my visit. Keep this in mind regarding the double doors.

There are no direct access to the mall from the restaurant, so you enter the restaurant from the outside. The restaurant is located at the East side of the mall where McCowan Road is.

There is ample parking. Since there are dinosaurs exhibits in the mall and outside the mall at this time, parking has become limited during...