Pros:
Very solid chili chicken
Cons:
Non-Hakka items leave a little more to be desired
We were feeling Hakka one evening and decided to try a place we've never been to before. As anyone who reads my reviews knows, when it comes to Hakka in the GTA, Fredericks is the king. Asian Garden is a pretty good choice for Hakka, but it won't be dethroning the king anytime soon.
I came in to order take out. I don't think they have much staff in the back because even though the place only had one table seated, they told me it still would be a 20-25 minute wait for my food to be ready. Asian Garden has a good amount of tables but I suspect that take out is the preferred way to go for most of their customers.
Of course when you go to a Hakka place, you have to order the chili chicken. It is the standard for which I judge Hakka places. Along with the chicken, I ordered some deep fried shrimp and a mixed vegetable stir fry.
The chili chicken was pretty good. It was a drier version than most others you find in the GTA. It had a good blend of spices which give it a nice kick. It was by far the best of the 3 dishes I ordered. The deep friend shrimp looked like pretty big pieces. When I bit into it, I found that it was actually a couple of smaller shrimps encased by a lot of batter. It was still OK, but I felt a little misled by presentation. The vegetables were clearly the dish I liked the least. They just looked like vegetables you get when you go to food court Chinese food. They don't seem to offer green beans here which is what I would of ordered usually.
In the end, Asian Garden is a pretty good pick for Hakka if you're in the area. I would easily recommend their chili chicken and other Hakka specialties but would refrain from the non Hakka items. Also, paying in cash on pick up orders give you a 10% discount.