Restaurant Review: Snow Garden

All the Senior Suits in my office always rave about Snow Garden (located at 469 Richards Street).  Snow Garden; Snow Garden; Snow Garden!  I've always known it was there but never interested in trying it out on my own dime. Why? I have a sort of Big Mac Index for Chinese Food--called the Mapo Tofu Index. It tells me whether a place is affordable. Snow Garden's Mapo Tofu is $12--($$$$!).

Last week, all the Senior Suits were away for a retreat and so, we, the Leftovers, decided to order out for Chinese on the firm. It was only natural that Snow Garden; Snow Garden; Snow Garden! was the Chinese of choice.

We ordered out:

Seafood Egg Drop Soup -> Tasteless and the Seafood was rubbery
Shanghai Steamed Dumplings -> Bland and salty
Deep Fried Wontons -> Fried tasteless Dough
Chicken and Cashews -> Mild in flavor
Sweet and Sour Pork -> Sweet and Stodgy
Chicken Balls and Vegetables -> (I admit--I was too weirded out to try this dish)
Spicy Beef with Vegetables -> Salty and Spicy Shriveled-up Beef Strips
Vegetable Chow Mein -> Stiry-fried Mush
Shrimp Fried Rice -> Not bad; not great

At the end of the lunch, my Office Manager (the person who hired and will some day fire me) asked me: "So, what do you think?" I looked around reluctantly and said: "It sucked."

I'm sure the dining-in experience must be nice or why else would the people in my office always be going there? (Someday I'll be a Suit and I'll tell you all about it.) Strictly speaking for the food though--Snow Garden is over-priced and probably good for old people and people adverse to flavor.

If you are looking for decent Chinese for a affordable price--try out East Fusion in Tinsletown. I highly recommend the Eggplant with shredded Pork. $11--enough to feed 4 and worth every penny.