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Hunan Garden

MY REVIEW: It was middle of the road for me in terms of food quality. This was my second visit and they get points for actually having my order ready. Which wasn't the case the first time I went. I think they are under new management as of the date of this review. Some chaos with getting the order together and a language barrier when placing the order. I had to reiterate that I was a pickup and the phone got handed off to another person. Somewhat minor grips but I hope they get things running smoother in the future. As to the food somewhere between nice and good I would rank it as one of the top ten in the area. Standard taste on the fried chicken wings and shrimp egg foo young. Shrimp fried rice was so so not in the top ten of restaurants from the area. Seafood delight was a little troubling. The baby corn had an almost spoiled taste and smell to it but the rest of the dish was standard fare. I can say if you've never been here give it a try and then further experiment. This restaurant is in the lower top ten for me and given the area you have many other better choices.

NAME: danharr
SUBMITTED: 9/30/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/12
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I was the first to review this restaurant back in January 2005. It's absolutely crazy how fast time passes. lol This place still rocks!! These days, I can't seem to get enough of their pork Egg Foo Young. With an order of fried cheese puffs dipped in sweet and sour as a finale...uhmm... It's the freakin' best!! :)

NAME: BPC
SUBMITTED: 8/9/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2011
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I order Chinese deliveries on a regular basis and recently noticed Hunan Garden as a newly added restaurant in my area. To try them out I placed an order on a Monday night and hoped for the best.

The driver showed up 40 minutes later (about average delivery time these days, better than the conservative 45min-1hour estimate though) at my door with a hand held wireless credit card processing device commonly seen at some high scale dine-in restaurants and asked to swipe my credit card. At first it surprised me since I already filled out my credit card numbers online when I placed my order. The driver then explained to me that the card number I gave online was not used at all (no "hold" or "authorization" either) and instead was immediately destroyed. With the wireless device, my card would be processed via the merchant's secure network on the spot and the driver would not have access to my card number (the machine would only display the last four digits and the authorization number to them, same as a normal credit card receipt). This setup is somewhat similar to that of placing an order online at an electronics merchant such as Bestbuy and then picking up at the physical store. They would ask for your card number online just to complete the order, but the transaction would only occur at the store where they would swipe your physical card. Upon further thinking I realized that it's a win-win situation because the restaurant reduces its exposure to credit card fraud (stolen card numbers used online etc) while the customer's credit card is effectively protected from the employees. Pretty impressive stuff from a business of this size.

Now to the food, in one word, fabulous! I ordered egg rolls and cheese puffs as appetizers, General Tso's Chicken, Hunan Beef and Vegetarian General Tso's Chicken (made of Tofu) as entrees. By the way, I was very pleased to see a real vegetarian's menu (not just the steamed stuff) available from this place since most vegan restaurants don't deliver. So I ordered the dish for my wife and she totally loved it. Next time she'll try the vegetarian fish which is supposed to be "heavenly" good according to another user's review. Our beef was juicy and flavorful, chicken was crispy outside and tender inside with just the right balance of sweet, sour and spicy, the way General Tso's should be. The entire order was packed neatly inside the paper bag with no leakage or whatsoever. Overall the quality of food and service we experienced was in a class of its own compared to any other restaurant we've used on Eat24. Oh did I mention their price was very reasonable and they do NOT charge a delivery fee like most other places do these days.

I will definitely be coming back to Hunan Garden again and again in the future and I strongly recommend that you give them a try yourself. My only regret is that we did not discover this little gem sooner. As a matter of fact, merely writing this review is already making me crave all that tastiness and I know for sure what I'll have for dinner tonight!

NAME: Mike S.
SUBMITTED: 7/21/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Really like the General Tso Dhicken,The Sweet and Sour Pork and the Pepper Steak, Won Ton Special Soup is good too, and Bonus if you do not like foods spicy, they will leave the spices out, AND real bonus if you charge your meal, the young delivery man went to a nearby gas station to get the charge processed as he did not have any way to take a charge plate, he came back a few minutes later with the correct change, we have eaten their food for over a year now, it is good, prices are fair, meals are very ample, we always have food left over for extra meals, so the cost is more than fair for the meals.

NAME: Mirage
SUBMITTED: 4/14/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: January 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I've been eating at this place for about 5 years and the food is awsome. I work right up the street from them so i do call often to have them deliver. Prices are great for the amount of food served. I love this place and its one of my favorite places to eat!!

NAME: lannette
SUBMITTED: 3/12/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 3/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: So, late last Wednesday I found a flier for Hunan Garden at my school. I decided to order some before I left class. Best Chinese food place ever. I'm a vegetarian, so generally any Chinese place only has one acceptable dish: general tso's tofu. Not the case for Hunan Garden. They offer a wide variety of veggie dishes (but still have the veggie staple tso's tofu) Although I have only tried two of them, I am confident I'll hit this place up at least once a week. The food also comes in large portions and sufficiently fills me up.

On the first night, thanks to the reviews, I tried the veg fish in garlic sauce. OUTSTANDING. Completely flawless. The aroma as well as the taste was impeccable. I've never had tofu made this well before.

On the second night, I tried the smoked veggie chicken. It was very good, better than most place's tofu, although it wasn't as moist as I wish it was. Also, it didn't really have an adequate amount of vegetables. None the less, it was still delicious, but it's hard to try anything after having the veg fish.

My boyfriend gets the pepper steak and egg drop soup, and from glancing down at my coffee table, it is all gone and thoroughly enjoyed.

The staff at the Fondren location is very friendly as well.

NAME: Christina
SUBMITTED: 8/20/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: August 2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: This place is probably the best kepy secret in Houston. I am Chinese and I am so glad to have found a place outside of the chinatown area that actually serves real and good chinese food at a decent price on top of all that. My favorite is the kong-pao dishes (beef, chicken, or shrimp) and this place uses the real recipe, not like other places which just throw in sweeten soy sauce on the meat and sprinkle it with raw peanuts.

This place seems to cater more to take-out, then dine-in customers there's only 4 tables. I've done both and received courteous friendly service both ways.

The previous reviewer's statement on how well they package the take-out is right-on. This place really does not the extra mile to pack everything you order neatly and securely. I am really impressed.

NAME: Zhi-Rong
SUBMITTED: 4/9/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I work on Regency Square (right off of Hilcroft and 59). One day, I got a flyer from them (1. I was amazed we were in their delivery area...cause they're on Fondren) and INSTANTLY the vegetarian section caught my eye. As a vegetarian, it's quite difficult to find dishes at places that ALSO deliver. Instant plus.

So, I called them to place an order (V8. Veggie Fish in Garlic Sauce), still amazed they had soy-meats. 30 minutes later (usually it's about an hour for delivery from other places) my food was delivered by a pleasant man who smiled and bowed like crazy. I paid him, tipped him well (while praying that the food didn't taste like cardboard), and looked in my bag.

First thing I noticed was how neatly they had packed everything into the bag. That was the 2nd plus. I hate it when chinese resturants just shove everything into the bag and it gets grease everywhere (and onto my nice veggie-friendly food...). Condiments and utensils were put away in a nice little white bag, complete with complimentary Fortune Cookie.

Well, I took out my "fish" and pulled the lid off the container. WOWOWOWOWOWOW. It smelt so good...and tasted even better. It was heaven in a little black plastic container. Amazing. It lacked NO flavor (like some soy dishes tend to) and filled me up. BIG GOLD STAR to them.

That started my test-tasting...here's my take:

V5. Veg General Tso's Chicken: Nice...not AMAZING like the fish, but pleasant nonetheless. My boyfriend said it was too sweet (he is also veggie), but I personally found it pleasantly yummy. Spiciness was lacking, but I'm a spicy food guru so you might have to check on that one yourself. [3.5/5]

V10. Smoked Veggie Chicken: Delicious. This is my 2nd favorite dish there (besides the veg. fish). Meat-eaters are amazed at this dish as well. The chicken is tender and has that light smoked taste that smoked meat has. PLUS IT HAS SKIN!!!! Some genius in the soy-foods-designing comittee somewhere made this look almost exactly like real meat. My meat-eating co-workers said they couldn't believe how delicious it was (they want me to order for them from now on!)---> my bf loves this tender soymeat...delish. It could use some veggies though... [4.5/5]

V11. Joy of Soy: Ahh...the famed dish with Veg Shrimp, Veg Fish, Veg Chicken AND tofu...a soy-lover's dream. My take? Amazing again. The sauce was pleasant and the mixture of meat kept my mouth happy and not-wanting anything else. My bf also loved this dish (picky eater that he is). The mixture of soy-meat...you won't find that ANYWHERE. [5/5]

Conclusion:

2 thumbs up to them!!! I WISH THEM WELL!

NAME: Sera
SUBMITTED: 4/30/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: April/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: We go here frequently for take out and love it.

Granted, we have our "regular" dishes and don't vary much. General Tso's chicken is a fav at our house. I did find I get more broccoli with it when I order in vs. doing take out.

We order the meal and always skip the soup (but they give us extra egg rolls instead) so I can't give an opinion there. Once in awhile we eat in, but not often just because it's close to home.

FYI -- for the person who commented on seeing no tables/chairs last month. Hunan Garden has been remodelling for a month or two. They now have their 5 or so tables back in place.

They are fast and they are nice. One guy even suggested a different way to order so I could get more food for the same price!

I recommend them. But maybe, from what I hear, just skip the soup and go for the extra egg rolls!

NAME: kk10
SUBMITTED: 4/18/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: First Time Trying Hunan Garden: We have mixed reviews. First the good: We called Hunan Garden at 9:57 pm to and found out what time they closed (10:00pm). We asked them to fax us a menu with the intent to order food another day when they were open. At 10:20pm They actually called us to see if the fax went through, and then asked if we would like to order tonight. WOW!!

The food arrived only 15 minutes later. WOW WOW!!!!

The egg rolls were great.

The Kung Pao Beef was delicious.

The Hunan Chicken wasn't special, but it was ok. The sauce wasn't as thick as most places.

The BAD:

The soup was lacking flavor.

Chicken and shrimp soup seemed like they just through a meal in a cup and added water.

The hot and sour soup was also bland. However after spices were added it was hot, but still lacked the sour.

In all:

A+ on service

B on food

We will order again, just try different foods next time and no soup.

NAME: LATE EATERS
SUBMITTED: 3/24/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: March/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I've been reading some of these reviews and everyone else seems to have been happy with their food. We got some flyers at my workplace and so I decided to give this place a try (the Fondren location). I usually don't do these reviews, but the food I got today ranks right up there with some of the worst Chinese food I've ever gotten. I got egg drop soup and since there was so much I shared with a friend. Well, she didn't say anything until I asked her if her soup tasted like hot water too. There was no taste to the soup at all. We even added quite a bit of salt but, still, no taste!

I also got the vegetable lo mein and it was also pretty tasteless. I found one whole mushroom in it...which made me much happier than it should have!

Not to leave on a completely bad note...the shrimp rolls were pretty good! Not enough to make me go back and spend more good money there though.

Also, I'm not sure if they were moving out or moving in, but there were no tables in the restaurant. Just a bunch of boxes and silk plants in the room, so I got the idea that it was either "delivery" or "carry out" only for this location.

NAME: Dianne
SUBMITTED: 3/19/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/07
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Hunan Garden has a broad vegetarian menu and delivers - two things you don't often find together. The General Tso Tofu is delicious. The Kung Po Tofu is probably too spicy for the average eater, but has a superb flavor if you can take the heat.

I haven't visited the dining room, but they are my regular choice for delivery. The food is great by itself, but they throw in two free egg rolls on orders over $15, and they are always fast and friendly. Overall, an A++.

Next to try: the fabled "Joy of Soy," which puts tofu chicken, tofu fish and tofu shrimp into a single dish.

NAME: Jonathan Bruder
SUBMITTED: 11/29/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: This is a great Chinese place! I ordered the General Tso's Chicken with all white meat ($1 extra), and it was AMAZING. Fast, friendly service, and great presentation, especially for a delivery place. The eggrolls are also very good. Another great entree is the pork lo mein. It comes with the crunchy noodles, & it's quite delicious.

NAME: JessicaG805
SUBMITTED: 11/8/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/06
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I found this restaurant from this site because the K*im Son restaurant (Westheimer) recently closed down. I was hesitant at first, but after reading all the reviews I decided to give it a try. I was surprised by the quality of the food as well as their delivery packaging. They used small rectangules of cardboard inbetween each stack of their soups and round containers. This made the bag very stable. I was very impressed with this level of detail. My order was delivered quickly with no spillage. Based on the reviews, I ordered the General Tso's chicken and beef pepper steak. My boyfriend, who is very particular with his Gen. Tso's, actually liked it. I've also ordered their Shrimp Egg Fu Young. It has become our favorite from Hunan Garden. Each pancake is large enough for one and it's accompanying sauce is delicious, not too salty. I'm writing this review as I am waiting for my latest order (third) to arrive. It's good food with reasonable prices, attention to detail and friendly staff.

NAME: asiangirl
SUBMITTED: 1/1/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/15/2005
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Hole in the wall isn't a bad term anymore. I really place this resturant at the top of take out chinese. It was a clean place the food stays freash past one day and the staff were pretty nice. I live thirty minuites away from everything so i'm not sure it's worth a trip across town, but definitly people who are close should give them a try.

NAME: danharr
SUBMITTED: 8/26/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/05
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

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