Restaurant review: GARDEN FRESH

One would think a restaurant named "Garden Fresh" would feature a salad bar, whole fruits and vegetables, and even a raw foods menu. Fortunately, for me and my friends this weekend, we went to this Mountain View hole-in-the-wall, knowing we would be eating at a popular Chinese vegetarian/vegan restaurant. With veggies covered in typical Chinese sauces, spices, and stir-fry, we simply trust that the vegetables served were really "garden fresh".

If you are looking for a place that serves dishes that taste and look like a "traditional" Chinese restaurant (yet without meat), this is the place for you. For me and my dining companions (3 meat eaters, 1 vegetarian, and vegan-me), this was the perfect place. Though we enjoyed a tasty, reasonably priced, Chinese vegetarian meal with good service, personally, I am not into "mock meat" meals and deep-fried dishes.

Our dinner began with appetizers. For the price ($2.50 for 4), the Taro Spring Rolls were nothing to write home about. Filled with cabbage, they were small and too oily for my taste. However, the Scallion Pancakes were delicious with a light drizzling of sweet and sour sauce and carrots on the side. They were also not as greasy as similar pancakes in other places. It makes sense why one of our friends says, "These pancakes are what this place is known for."

Along with the 2 appetizers, we ordered 4 family-style dinner entrées for the 5 of us. The dishes were good size, and there was plenty to eat with brown rice served as the "default" rice.

According to the meat-eating fiancé of the vegetarian who frequents this place, one dish we had to order was the Vegetarian Curry Chicken. So we did. "The first time I had this," she said, "I wouldn't have guessed it wasn't chicken." After trying it, one of the other meat-eaters agreed. After my first bite, however, I knew those chunks weren't chicken, but soy bean gluten, and definitely not to my liking. While the curry sauce was mild, but tasty, I definitely did not care for the dish, which really did not need the "chicken". More vegetables or some tofu chunks in the sauce would have been just fine for me.

While the "chicken" in the curry did not measure up in my estimation as a "meat substitute", the soy bean gluten vegi-pork did. The deep frying of the "meat chunks" probably helped, but the sauce was very balanced, not too sweet, all served on a generous portion of broccoli. It was the first platter that was cleaned.

The two dishes I especially enjoyed were the dishes that were not trying to be something else. The Tofu Delight was delightful, with tofu and vegetables in black bean sauce. And the Kun Pao Eggplant was a "wow", with a nice hot and spicy kick, which complemented the Japanese eggplant, tofu, bell peppers, and water chestnuts. (This was my entrée choice and I think it was the winner!)

Overall it was a good dinner, and I will definitely go back to the place. There are lots of dishes I want to try, like the Stuffed Chinese Cabbage Deluxe or the 100 Layer Tofu, but you can be sure the Roasted Vegetarian Chicken will not be one of them.