So recently I have gone to a restaurant named Lucky Garden.
It is located on N. Huron street in Ypsilanti Michigan, in a little strip mall
called the eastern plaza. They are an authentic Chinese cuisine restaurant,
also called cheap Chinese because of such affordable prices for good food. The
eastern plaza is just off the Eastern Michigan University campus within easy
walking distance. The easy walking distance is good for me because I don't have
a car so it really limits my options of going out. If you really don't feel
like walking you can have your food delivered
The plaza has adequate parking for it being such a small
group of businesses, but I wasn't too worried about parking. From the outside
the Lucky Garden doesn't look like much. It looks like a small restaurant
tucked away that nobody notices, sounds tragic I know. walking into the
restaurant my first thought was 'does anyone go here?' there is one large
dining area with a large mirror covering one wall and beautiful Chinese
paintings the kitchen is placed right
behind the front counter. At first I didn't see the restroom because it was in
a corner of the restaurant near the front almost out of view. There wasn't much
for a waiting area probably because they aren't expecting a large amount of
clients. There was no music playing only the sizzle of food in a wok, which was
kind of peaceful in a way. There wasn't many tables and booths but of what
there was, was spaced out so it didn't feel too crowded, with no one else
there.
When looking at what a critic looks for in restaurants it asks to make note of clientele. To my best generalization, I can say the clientele is very low on the socioeconomic scale. People that would come to the Lucky Garden would most likely be people that are looking for some Chinese food that isn't very high in price because of having such a tight budget for things like eating out. The lucky garden could be served to anyone that likes the taste of traditional Chinese-American dishes. Many children would probably not care for many of the meals because every dish has vegetable incorporated into the meal, so kids that throw tantrums at the sight of edible vegetation be warned of this establishment.
Because the Lucky Garden is very small it is hard to give
the restaurant's story, so I have found their website at
luckygardenypsilanti.com, to just cover what they are about because I was not
ready to barrage a the cashier/waiter questions about the restaurant. So, I
have added a picture of their website's about us page, instead.
The menu is a large trifold paper menu covered in meal
options. It is supposed to be taken home so that you can easily have it when
ordering delivery. The front cover has the name contact information business
hours and location on the front. On all the other parts of the menu is full of
many options including a section for lunch specials. Some dishes that aren’t as
well know have very brief descriptions under and if you don’t know what are in
the other dishes the staff is willing to give some insight into what the meal
is. Meal prices can range from five dollars to around twelve dollars, but the
dishes that are over ten are generally very large portions meant for more than
one person. Overall I think the prices are great, especially for those on a
tight budget.
I had ordered the lunch special of General Tso’s chicken,
fried rice, and a side of wonton soup. The General Tso’s chicken was sweet and
slightly spicy, I wish it had a bit more spice, the chicken was juicy and
tender. The chicken was served with two bits of broccoli perfect for sopping up
the last of the sauce. I was served a good portion of chicken which was only
part of a meal. I had a choice between fried and white rice and I choose the
fried rice. I was served a good amount of rice, cooked up with some chives and
onion, giving it a delicious flavor. Last I had the wanton soup, I had never
gotten soup from a Chinese restaurant so I didn’t know what to expect. The soup
was a small bowl with three wantons in it but it was really good. The broth was
delicious, almost reminds me of the broth of chicken noodle soup, which gives
me a good feeling inside. The wantons were a little too large for eating with
one bite but, it seemed very impractical to use my knife to cut it into a more manageable
size. The food was all brought out to my table at once in a very quick amount
of time. That is to say that I was pretty much the only one they were serving.
The service was pretty good, I didn’t have very high
expectations going in so I was not disappointed. The Lucky Garden is a small
restaurant where you go in order at the front counter sit down and wait until
they bring you your food. There was no need for them to visit my table there is
no need for reservations. They are very quick with their serving which is much appreciated.
They have decent hours starting around eleven o’clock during the week ending
late in the evening. As far as clientele dress code I believe they have the
standard no shirt, no shoes, no service.
In the end of my review, I think overall the Lucky Garden is
a good restaurant that I will likely go to again when I want Chinese food. They
have good quick service, very reasonable prices and delectable meals. I have
pictures of my first time to the Lucky Garden to show what the inside and
outside is like, I apologize for the low quality.
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