China Garden

vote for authentic Chinese food in Monterey, tasty and served fast, no wait, minimal service

I really was sucked in by the picture of dimsum on the window. First Chinese food I have eaten in 5 years in which I was not offered chopsticks. I bought my own, but left them behind. Waiter very disinterested, during Sunday lunch and it showed. Water not offered (it might be a city thing). Sesame chicken, meh. There were only two of us, which probably factored into the extremely animated greeting our waiter gave a Chinese party of five. Should have gone to the noodle shop further down. No effort here.

I came in with 3 co-workers when we were in town for an industry trade show/festival. Most of the other restaurants around us were crowded and had 20+ minute waits. But we walked in here and we were warmly greeted and seated immediately. Service was friendly and the food was good. 1 star away from being perfect because while my dish (shrimp with spicy garlic sauce) tasted great, the texture of the shrimp was a little off. Kind of chewy and not like high quality shrimp I've had at other places.

Friendly service and relatively clean place. The food wasn't bad, just left something to be desired.