Michael Y.
Yelp
Browsing around the Rowland Heights area for some Cantonese food, I found Tasty Garden just off of the 60 freeway with a heap of reviews here on Yelp. Trying to find another solid Cantonese spot in the San Gabriel Valley, I figured I would check them out and see how their food compares to other restaurants in the area. I decided to swing by for a pickup order and chose to order a Pork Chop with Spicy Salt ($19.95) and Yang Chow Fried Rice ($19.95) on a Thursday afternoon. The food was made in a reasonable amount of time which allowed me to get back on the road relatively quickly.
Taking a look at each of the portions, I would get the fried rice and skip out on the pork chop. Looking at the pork chop, there were about 9-10 pieces of pork inside which was decent. But to this, each piece inside was very thin compared to other fried pork chop dishes in the area. For $20, I would have expected more pork or thicker pieces of meat. Other places in the area usually give more meat (and even a free side of rice) for about $15 to $16 dollars! Because of this, price to portion for the Pork Chop with Spicy Salt was a little less than par. As for the fried rice, the portion was larger and lasted for two meals which was nice to see. I also liked that there were a good amount of shrimp, barbecue pork, peas, carrots, and egg. This would fair just fine.... only if the dish was priced around $15. Most Chinese restaurants in the area will charge less for rice and noodle dishes compared to their meat and vegetable entrees. Because of this, the price to portion was about average for the Rowland Heights area.
The taste of the dishes seemed fine for the most part, but I will note that the ingredients in both dishes weren't as fresh as they could have been. Beginning with the pork chop, the dish was simple and had a rich, savory taste in the meat. As for the moisture, the meat and exterior coating was close to dry. This could have definitely been due to the thin pieces of meat. And because of this, the flavor of the spicy salt did not complement the meat very well. Moving to the fried rice next, the rice itself did not have much flavor and tasted close to a regular steamed rice. The rice grains themselves had a dry consistency which was at the very least acceptable. The shrimp had a light salt flavor as well which was interesting to see. But each piece was rather gooey and more soft than expected. The peas and carrots were pretty small and pretty standard which were just decent. And for last, the barbecue pork was the best part of the dish with its lean and fatty pieces of sweet flavor.
From trying a few of Tasty Garden's dishes, I definitely think you could do better with many of the other Cantonese places in the nearby area. The price for the dishes were pretty steep compared to other restaurants and did not offer as much when looking from a quantity perspective. The flavors of the food fell short which was also somewhat unfortunate considering the price of each dish as well. Based on these ideas, I'd argue Tasty Garden deserves a 3 star out of 5 star rating. If looking for a quick stop, Tasty Garden is pretty convenient as it is just off the freeway. But if you're looking to try the best of Cantonese food in the Rowland Heights area, I would choose somewhere else.