Just a hop away from the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus, North Garden restaurant is located at 33 University Drive. Open seven days a week, North Garden serves Szechuan and Cantonese cuisine. The restaurant’s proximity and accessibility makes it a common food spot for several students – Chinese or not – on and around campus.
Prior to this review, I had visited North Garden on three separate occasions – twice for dinner and once for dim sum. The restaurant’s general ambience is relaxed but busy. Upon being greeted at the door and shown to my seat, the sounds from the kitchen start blaring and blending in with the chill music playing from overhead speakers and the buzz of hungry customers.
The food is satisfactory – as you would expect from a local Chinese restaurant. Their stir-fried lamb leg (with cumin, ginger, and onion) was cooked well, the dim sum was steamed fresh, and although it was quite spicy, their Mapo Tofu allowed for a well-balanced and rounded meal. The hot and sour soup was small in size, but the egg that was whisked in provided a delectable consistency. As a chef, I know that eggs are the hardest to cook perfectly but I could appreciate the efforts that were put into the eggs in my dish.
North Garden provides Chinese food with an unlikely but comfortable aura. The hospitality is great and the food is alright; and this makes the restaurant a noteworthy eatery for students. The restaurant is worth the trip if you are looking for a late night study-grub.
