Tarim Garden Xinjiang Cuisine — Restaurant in Santa Clara

I’m back to put review, so, I heard this restaurant from friends saying they are the best Uyghur restaurant in the bay even though they’re not Uyghur but still. We went 1 week when they just opened food was somewhat oily and noodles were so thick at a point that it was not cooked, so I couldn’t eat at all. Then we went again after 2 months yet again we had to wait for 45 minutes for one dish and again the noodles were not cooked we all had diarrhea at the restaurant was embarrassing. Then we went again, if you ask me why again I was truly hoping they would improve they were new that’s why all that happened it’s not their fault. Yeah, again it was not cooked the noodles seem to be machine made not hand pull ( only Dingding seems to be hand pull) the stir fry noodles were 10% beef 45% chives and 40%uncooked noodles with 5% oil. Their mifen is good I think is mostly because the sauce is pre-packaged ready to use. However, Donggan also has a lot of good food in your culture. Long story short, disappointing food and disappointing service. When last went there I was asking questions from another server but the girl was kept interrupting us so I just asked her instead but she gave me most insane answer, saying they sold out Dapanji Laghman and the chicken for that dish is different so the owner needs to go get it from farm, then I asked so you don’t have chicken what about Dapanji? She was saying yeah we have Dapanji. Is that moment I noticed something wrong but I just left. Good luck with...

I'm disappointed to say that I had a terrible experience at this restaurant. This is my hometown food, so I was really hoping that this place can offer some quality food so that I can be a frequent visitor. It's not the case however..

First and foremost, after eating there, I had diarrhea for 3 days and counting. I believe it is food poisoning since my friends who ate with me there had the same experience. The food quality is terrible. The meat (both chicken and beef) didn't taste fresh. The chicken somehow tasted sour, almost like the chicken had gone bad. I initially thought it was probably their way of making it so I ate it anyway. Another beef dish was basically smothered in chili sauce, which masked the bad quality of the meat. After dining there, I had to rush to the bathroom as soon as I got home. I spent the next few days in misery, with stomachaches, no appetite, and running to the toilet 5 times a day. I had to take diarrhea medicine just to get some relief.

In terms of the food taste. The hand pulled noodle is not chewy, it is almost too soggy. Not even comparable to my own home made hand pulled noodles.. The other chicken-sauced rice noodle tasted weird. Didn't taste even close to the same dish in Xinjiang.

Service was so-so. They had only one person running around serving. Water was not served, we had to ask for it. Utensils were not provided, we had to ask for it. Check, of course we had...

I ordered the Cumin Lamb with Naan and the Garlic Bok Choy. The Lamb with Naan is unusual and delicious. The lamb was juicy, bursting with flavor, and paired perfectly with the naan. If the naan were slightly more delicate, with a crispier exterior and a softer, moister interior, I’d easily give it six stars!

The Garlic Bok Choy was outstanding too. It's remarkably complex in flavor for such a simple stir-fry.

I returned today and tried the Beef Laghman, which also impressed. The dish had pieces of tenderized beef, a rich savory sauce, and fat, chewy noodles. During the meal I didn’t notice any spiciness, but afterwards my tongue was a bit numb, like I had eaten Sichuan peppercorn—yet I couldn’t detect any peppercorns in this dish! Whatever chili pepper they used, it’s magical.

Tarim Garden brings flavors to the Bay Area that many of us might never otherwise get...