Indo-China Garden — Restaurant in Kalkaska Township

Holy Jesus... I don't normally leave reviews, let alone bad ones... But this place... Actually bafflingly bad. I ordered two things. I spent 30$ for the dinner priced items (during lunch as I was told I'd get more food, I don't think I did get more though) and I can not distress this enough, the most disappointing Chinese food experience I have ever had. I got sesame chicken and chicken lo mein. They both came with rice. The sesame chicken is just sweet and sour chicken that's so soggy the skin squishes and dissolves in your mouth because they just dump sesame sauce all over super over cooked sweet and sour chicken, good tasting sauce but completely ruined the texture, especially with how tough the chicken was under the mush breading. The lo mein was a solid brick of noodles with every vegetable, some of which I don't even know what they were, and it had this gross almost alfredo textured, almost flavorless sauce over it all, super over cooked. And then the rice. I asked for fried rice because who doesn't like fried rice. This was the most disappointing fried rice I have ever had. No egg, no onions, no meat, no any vegetables, no moisture. Just like the noodles, came out of the box in a solid brick, extremely hard as well. The best part of my meal was the plastic wear, very solid spoon and fork.

Then the building itself.. Normally when you see a little hole in the wall tiny restaurant, you can expect a good experience and great food. This place just made me sad. On their door it says that right now they're "only a pick up restaurant". You open the door and no one's there. Not a single soul in the front of the building, they have a little doorbell in the front entrance, which by the way, that's the entire place customers are allowed. You are not allowed to enter the dining room as they have it blocked off, they talk to you through a little cut in half door window they made once you ring the doorbell to let someone know that you're here.

Also extremely slow. I was the only person there, and I called 30 minutes before I got there. Over the phone they told me it'd be 25 minutes. I got there after 30 minutes and still had to wait another 15 minimum for my food. So over 45 minutes for two boxes of fried rice and two entrees. Had one other group of people show up, clearly not knowing it was pick up only and left because they waited so long for anyone to show up.

I absolutely love chinese food, and as far as I know, this is the only one in kalkaska, truly a shame. Maybe their Thai food is good, not sure if I'm willing to try it at this point. And man they didn't even have any packets of duck sauce, what kind of chinese place has no such sauce? Would have really helped the dry flavorless rice.

Truly a severe disappointment, I may go back only to try their Thai, if I can update reviews, I will once I taste that. For now though 1 Star, I can not recommend their Chinese even if it's being served to your worse enemy...

Also a little side note, you definitely can update reviews, came by again after reading other reviews, and the only good ones are from years ago. The older the review, the higher rating it is. It's a surprise they're still...

Cleanliness is is not a given with Chinese/Thai restaurants around Traverse City, most of which smell of mildew and/or ancient cigarette smoke, ingrained in the stained and crumbling acoustic ceilings. We were pleased to find Indo-China Garden in Kalkaska, a short drive from Traverse City, to be clean, tidy, and cozy if a little worn. Our waitress was kind, helpful, and just the right degree of attentive, so that we felt well cared-for, but not smothered. She was familiar with the menu, and willing to give advice, when requested. Very good. Our meals were perfect. Generously portioned, properly prepared, attractively plated, and appropriately hot when served. General's Chicken was tasty and definitely spicy, boldly hot but not insanely so. My husband said it was the best he had ever had, and General's Chicken is one of his favorite dishes. I always find Almond Boneless Chicken to be a safe bet. Sometimes, wonderful, sometimes mediocre, but always edible. The ABC at Indo-China Garden was transcendent. The chicken filets were of proper uniform thickness, cooked to exactly the proper degree of doneness on the inside, and with a lovely crisp and flaky breading on the outside. They were served on a bed of fresh and bright vegetables, pea pods, bok choy, broccoli all done to the exact proper degree, neither raw nor overcooked. We were very pleased, and will plan more trips to Kalkaska just to visit this friendly little...

TLDR version: "Awesome!"

This is a small family owned business I've frequented for years; the owners actually work the kitchen everyday and are very nice people.

Large menu, most of the meals are very good but there isn’t too much difference between a few of them. The takeout meals are HUGE; a lunch is very filling, and you can usually eat two meals from a dinner size. Prices are very reasonable. Buffet variety is small, but items are usually kept fresh.

I like most of the meals on the menu and they even let me custom order them to my liking. This is the only place I've found eggrolls I like. The wanton and eggdrop soup are the standard stuff you find at any cheap oriental buffet restaurant. Dine-in waitress service is hit-or-miss depending on who they hire that year. Only reoccurring problem I’ve had over the years is rarely they may give me the wrong rice with a takeout order; which isn’t a huge problem.

ABC: Almond Boneless Chicken is always a safe meal bet for new comers and kids; but their stir-fried meals are where its at!

They're closed during most holidays.

Thanks for all the great food...