China Garden — Restaurant in Irvine

On a Lazy Sunday afternoon at about 1PM, we decided to go to China Garden in Irvine for Dim Sum. There were only 2 of us and when we arrived the restaurant was full, but clearing out. There were several people waiting outside. However we only had to wait about 15 minutes.

We were sat in the infamous "side room" and I recalled all the posts about how the side room was one of the worst places to be sat due to the fact that people feel that the carts don't go into this room as often as the other room. We did not find this to be true. As a matter of fact, the second we sat down, there was a cart there and the Dim Sum girl was already barking out what she had to offer. Carts continually came and so did the people with trays. So I didnt experience the lack of carts that many others have talked about.

I am convinced that these girls are on some sort of commission system or if they don't sell enough they get tortured in the back. They always slam things around and yell out the selections like they are mad at you. They get pretty pushy at times. I am not Chinese and they seem to get annoyed that I can not understand what they are saying and have to point or ask them to show me what they are referring to. And if you don't take what they are offering, you always get "the look". Notice how this Dim Sum girl is all smiles. These behaviors are not unique to this place. I think its most Dim Sum establishments.

The Taro Cake was pretty good. I think it could have been fried longer to develop a crispier, more carmalized skin. I liked the gooey texture of the inside with the chunks of taro. My mom makes this and I hate to say it, but its not as good as mom makes. But its still very good here. Somewhat bland, but in a good way. Drizzle with a little soy sauce and you are good to go.

The Har Gow tasted good enough. I have never been to a Dim Sum restaurant where I did not like these. I suppose they could have been a little more delicate with a thinner skin, but they had a very mild, yet tasty flavor and when you bit into them, it seemed like they were full of filling.

The Shu Mai were very meaty and dense and had a great peppery flavor to them. Nice size to them as well

I enjoyed the tripe. Thin ribbons of tripe in a gingery sauce. The tripe was delicate, firm, and chewy. You need to eat this one rather quick because as it cools the sauce starts to thicken and gets kind of gloppy. But I really loved the flavor of this one. Very Clean and crisp.

The pork riblets were tasty. Perfect saltiness to them and they had a nice anise flavor to them. Lots of meat on these and the meat was very tender and came off the bones easily.

They had a dish here that I really haven't seen before. The angry dim sum girl called it "Skweh". I would say "Squid?" and she would say "Skweh" again. So I assumed it was squid and luckily it was. However these pieces must be cut from a BIG squid. Big pieces of the top of the squid that comprised most of the dish. Then there were pieces of the tentacles, but very large pieces. So much so, you really couldn't tell they were tentacles. It was in a curry flavored sauce and I really enjoyed this. It wasn't tender, but it wasn't tough either. I would say it was "firm tender".

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My favorite Dim Sum dish is chicken feet and China Garden has the best out there in my opinion. I love this dish so much, it deserves its own picture. Deep fried first and then steamed. Completely tender and falling off the bone with so many complex flavors going on. Anise, sweetness, spiciness, saltiness. Nice and chewy tendons. I could eat 3 orders of this stuff. Its like candy to me.

They didn't have the yellow egg custard cups that I love. I guess its because we came so late. But everything you see pictured was $23.00 including tip and that served 2 people.

In my opinion China Garden does Dim Sum pretty well. And that's from sitting in the "side...

"Don't come back!" is what I heard from the male server today. Took my 90 year old mom in for dim sum today, and had to wait forever for the first cart to arrive (it was only 11:30 and wasn't that crowded) but I figured I can wait, no problem. Had 3 small plates off the first cart, then NOTHING. No cart came for a long long time. My tea pot was empty because I waited so long. I finally had to go to the front and pay the bill then ordered dim sum to go. The guy looks at me and says "no tip!" three times. I know. The server yells "no tip!". OK, I am usually a pretty generous tipper, minimum 20% is usually my limit. For cheaper restaurants, 20% isn't a lot of money, so I don't mind tipping minimum 15, 20 bucks. But today was the day I did not feel like tipping for the first time in my life, really- having to wait forever for the food that never came (perhaps I should've gotten up from my chair and waive my hands like I'm a crazy woman or whistle to call the cart??), I had to walk up to the counter to pay, then I had to order food to go so that I can eat at home when it gets cold. Then they look straight in your face and yell "tip tip tip". I explained to the male server "I am sorry but I had to order to go because the cart never came last twenty five minutes" then he flips the table cloth in my face then says "Don't come back next time!". I have a pretty low expectation on service when I go to Chinese restaurants, I get that I am not at Mastro's Steakhouse, but this was an unacceptable dining experience. Yes no need to tell me because I won't be back when there're hundreds of good dim sum places in the area that are more...

I would rate this place 0 if I can. My bill was large for just two people. Which I was fine with. But when I went up to the cashier to pay. Cashier noticed i didn't write down the tip after paying with my card. I told him I was going to give them cash on the table. They cleaned our table already, so I thought, hmm, I'll tip them next time I come by because it wasn't so bad. As I walked out the door, one of the waiter comes out telling me I didn't leave tip. I gave him $2. Why? Because how dare you chase after me for tip. Gave him the money and walked away. As we continued to walk to our car, same waiter popped out the side door and said, "You only gave 2% tip, take the tip back and never come back."

First of all, sure I will never come back and I will tell all my friends and family who live in the area or even visit to NEVER eat at this place. Next time give me the tip back in front of all of your customers and tell me not to come back in front of your other customers too. Don't be sneaky and come thru the side door to tell me not to come back so you can save face in front of everyone else.

Tip is a privilege and not part of your employees' wages. So, maybe pay your hard-working employees more rather than have them rely on tips. And throw in health benefit packages for them. You obviously make good money. The place gets packed, and you serve in Irvine. So you reeling in money isn't related to tip.

I get better service eating dim sum in garden grove, and the employees do not chase after me for tip.

Be better and learn how to be respectful and...