China Garden Reading (Shinfield) Restaurant in Reading

Reviews

1. Tad Baranski ★★★★☆

   I read the reviews before going. Clearly very mixed, I was apprehensive. A few things first: 1. Cash only. It says "card machine issues..." I suspect that is not the whole truth. 2. The menu on line has a "drinks" section (wine, beer, spirits etc.). Forget that, they had none of these, just soft drinks but not even a tonic water. 3. The male toilets should be avoided. I suspect they would not pass any inspection. Dirty with lots of signs that I suspect are warning signs, but in Cantonese. Off putting in any restaurant. The food was surprisingly good. Yes the rice came out before the starter, then the main course, then the starter! However, all were either fair or good. Duck in plum sauce had no vegetables at all but a half tin of pineapple chunks...odd. Chicken satay was excellent, and the mixed starters were very good. Reasonable value, but the cutlery was dirty so I used the chopsticks. I suspect this restaurant is only adequately managed, and it can show, but someone there can cook a bit.

   almost 8 months ago
2. Edward Taylor ★★★★★

   I first reviewed this fantastic little Chinese restaurant 8 years ago, and I’m so glad I recently went back — it’s just as good as I remembered. It’s a small, family-run place on the outskirts of Reading and still very much a hidden gem. Everything we ordered was great, but the Hong Kong-style beef brisket noodles and the Sichuan spicy chicken were real standouts — both absolutely delicious. The flavours are authentic, the portions generous, and the prices reasonable. Friendly service too. Highly recommended

   1 year ago
3. Denis ★★★★★

   I had the crispy garlic chicken with egg fried rice, and it was absolutely delicious! The chicken was perfectly crispy, coated in a flavorful garlic sauce that had just the right balance of sweetness and savoriness. The egg fried rice was light and fluffy. The portion size was generous, and the service was friendly. I’ll definitely be coming back!

   1 year ago

1. Ben Lau ★★★★★

   Lovely food and great service! Best Chinese and Hong Kong food around! Lunch menu with iced lemon tea. Authentic Hong Kong taste.

   1 year ago
2. M M ★★★★☆

   The female waitress can speak Cantonese and English well. A nice dining experience.

   almost 3 years ago
3. Sophia Whitham ★★☆☆☆

   At first glance the all you can eat menu seems like decent value. Starters were nice and we thought we were in for a treat but the main dishes were a let down. Crispy Chilli beef with no beef, chewy squid and sickly lemon chicken were not what we had in mind. While portions were decent everything was lack lustre. Being conscious of the 'pay for what you don't eat at full price' clause we tried our best to get through everything, but would have rather had the starters again. Drinks were very over priced and the coke was flat and questionably Coca-Cola. Add onto this 12.5% service charge and the exclamation that they only take cash and the cash point was up the road, and the meal came to over £100 for three people with soft drinks and one glass of wine. On the plus side the chow mein was good and everything came out very quickly. Maybe a case of learning what is worth eating and what isn't to get value for money.

   almost 3 years ago

1. AC CCC ★★★★☆

   I tried the All You Can Eat menu. Chilli Salt, sweet sour and crispy dishes are great. Soups are also wonderful. The variety of choices definitely meets your expectations. The quality of fried noodles needs to keep up the consistency. The first one is good but the second of the same dish is just so so.

   almost 3 years ago
2. CW W ★★★★☆

   Nice staff, tidy and spacious environment, some of the food are good. Fried beef noodle and sweet & sour pork are tasty

   almost 3 years ago
3. Bun Mok ★★★★☆

   Very nice Cantonese food! I’m from HongKong, So as the chef as I heard, and I do think it’s authentic. I definitely feel closer to Home. I would say it’s 80% taste like home, I understand that some ingredient are not possible to get exactly the same way as in Hong Kong. I ordered a la carte, not the buffet, since that’s not usually how we go to a Cantonese parlour, but food seems to be in bigger portion, and the plating seems nicer (I guess) One thing to comment, is the rice, it was a bit dry and separated - a good bowl of rice should be a little moist, and shiny, and a little tacky so they stick together but not too much. I guess it is because we went on a very quiet night and there were only a few people in the restaurant - maybe the turn around was really low. For a busy restaurant, this would not happen generally because the rice was being consumed immediately. However, so far the best Cantonese food in Reading I have tried! Keep on the good work! The food is beautiful, not too oily, not overly sweet with cornstarch sauce, not overly rely on the dreaded “sweet and sour sauce” (that’s not a good representation of Chinese food) and most of all, definitely the quality is not like those take away Chinese food shops! Please try this for yourself! You get what you pay for! The atmosphere was good , it’s very neat , clean and comfortable. I was chatting with a waitress who was friendly and also come from Hong Kong. I would definitely come again with more friends, and try other dishes.

   almost 4 years ago

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