I have been a patron of this establishment since it's opening back in the late 90s early 2000s and had only had one bad experience up until this week. Years ago my chicken broccoli had bugs in it and I was told that these bugs had come in with the broccoli. I remember not being happy with the way it was handled by the owner, no remorse or apology was forthcoming, so I stopped going there for awhile. Since it's hard to find good Chinese food in Wilmington I started going there once again. Never understood why they don't accept any form of payment other then cash and never give you a receipt.... keep reading.
I ordered shrimp lo mein and while in the middle of eating my meal I couldn't believe what I saw in with my lo mein, a piece of silver wire that looked like a small paper clip. Upon further inspection I saw that it was one of those ties that wrap around a loaf of bread and had been cooked with my order of shrimp lo mein. I immediately called and spoke to the owner who seemed nonchalant insisting that I bring the entire order back to the store if I wanted a refund. When I returned and spoke to him the next day I was once again given no apology or feeling of concern from the owner. He didn't even bother to look at the food I returned, just tossed it into the waste basket behind him. So I'm thinking maybe this has happened before.
This was a pretty scary incident that I hope doesn't happen to anyone else. I can't imagine the damage and pain that it would have cause to my internal organs if I had swallowed that piece of wire. And since I paid in cash and was not given a receipt proving that this was the restaurant from where I purchased the tainted food would have been hard to prove.
If you eat from this place, please check your food thoroughly and make sure to get a receipt with China Garden's name printed on it.
I have pictures that I will post on the TripAdvisor website. read more