Friday, April 14, 2000

China Gardens’ lunch one of best deals in town

By Glenn Dromgoole
Special to the Reporter-News

One of the best restaurant values in town has to be the $3.95 daily lunch special at China Gardens on South 14th near McMurry University.

Three of the four items on the lunch menu vary from day to day but remain fairly constant from week to week. That is to say, you are likely to find the same specials every Monday, every Tuesday, etc.

But every day China Gardens includes its most popular dish – lemon chicken with fried rice and egg roll. It’s so good I could eat it every week, and in fact a friend and I meet there on Wednesdays and nearly always eat lemon chicken.

Every once in a while I try something else, and I can say from experience that the snow white chicken (also on Wednesdays), the pepper steak (Thursdays) and the cashew chicken (Fridays) are also quite tasty. Sweet and sour pork is served on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and sweet and sour chicken on Tuesdays and Thursdays. China Gardens is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

At night (5-9 p.m.) the portions are larger and the prices higher, but, incredibly, owner Francis Chiu says he hasn’t raised prices since he opened China Gardens 21 years ago. (Tea used to be included with the meal but isn’t now.) Dinner prices range from $6.25 to $8.75, with family style dinners going for $6.25 to $8.25 per person.

The family style dinners are great for groups of four or more because everyone gets to sample four different entrees, and the meal includes soup, egg roll and drink.

My favorite dinner entrée is shrimp egg fu yung ($7.75) served with gravy, and it’s the best I’ve tasted anywhere. The egg drop soup is another personal favorite.

Mr. Chiu and wife Vicky handle the cooking themselves. He says the hot chicken, beef and pork dishes — which include authentic Chinese dry, hot peppers instead of the more readily available and less expensive jalapenos — are popular with Abilene diners.

The small restaurant has a family atmosphere, with friendly and attentive waitresses (often Dyess wives) literally running to serve the busy lunch crowd. You can easily be in and out in 30 minutes for about six bucks, including tea, tax and tip, or you can linger awhile and ponder the mysteries contained in the fortune cookies served for dessert.

China Gardens (by the way, it is Gardens, not Garden, despite what the sign says outside) also offers an American menu, sandwiches and salads for those with less adventurous palates.

Glenn Dromgoole is an Abilene author who has eaten in restaurants all his life. For previous restaurant reviews and a complete directory of Abilene restaurants, visit www.EATabilene.com.

IF YOU GO ...

China Gardens is located at 2525 S. 14th St., near Ross.

Lunch is served from 11-2:30 and dinner from 5-9 Monday through Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday.

Expect to spend about $6 per person at lunch, including drink, tax and tip, and about $10 or more at night. Dinner portions are huge, so you may want a take-home box or plan to share an entrée.

No credit cards, but personal checks are accepted. Phone 692-3872.