"2010-11-24T00:00:00"^^ . "0"^^ . "3"^^ . . "2"^^ . "6"^^ . . "In reading the other reviews on here, it's clear that there are some people who really love this place. Not surprisingly none of them are Asian ... neither am I, but my partner is and we were at Sunluck Gardens together on the eve on which this review was based. \n\nI will say that we went there with minimal expectations, based on most other Cleveland area Chinese restaurants. We arrived at approximately 7p on a Friday evening and found the place about 1/3 full. It's the lone bit of life in an otherwise dismal and vacant strip mall.\n\nThe first thing we noted was the lack of Asians. There were none in the dining room and none to be seen in the kitchen or wait staff. Most of the clientele were older couples over the age of 50. I can't fault the service; they were attentive and friendly.\n\nUpon reviewing the menu, we weren't terribly impressed with the selection and we couldn't help but feel that everything was $2-3 more expensive than it should be, based on other Chinese restaurants in town.\n\nWith some trepidation, we ordered the kung pao beef, the garlic spicy eggplant, and the dark tofu with vegetables.\n\nThe general tone of everything we were served was sweetness. There was way too much sugar being tossed around in that kitchen, and that was a theme I noticed from a number of the other reviews on here. I like my food a little sweeter than my partner does, but even I felt like it was all just short of being a dessert.\n\nThe Kung Pao Been was mostly diced green beans; we ordered it at a medium spice level and could barely note even a tingle on the tongue.\n\nThe Garlic Spicy Eggplant was a brown mush with no discernible eggplant pieces - imagine babaganouj loaded with teryaki and hoisin.\n\nThe Dark Tofu with Vegetables - we weren't sure what \"dark tofu\" was but it was on the menu a few times and someone recommended it in a Yelp review - was not tofu at all. It was gluten. Now there's nothing wrong with gluten; it can be really tasty, and this may have been the best dish we ordered, but the pieces were minuscule and it was swamped with a sticky sweet brown sauce.\n\nWhile we were eating, the owner - I'm guessing her name was Annie, based on other reviewers on here - came to our table and asked how we were doing. She seemed very nice and recommended that if we took home any of the eggplant, that it went well as a spread for pita. she was probably right, it would have been good on pita, but it certainly wasn't much of a dish by itself.\n\nShe stopped by a few other tables and some of the people obviously knew her. An older couple sat down at a table next to us, and when they ordered they made a special request for some dish that wasn't on the menu - while I don't recall what the dish was exactly, I do remember them telling the waiter to \"ask Annie if she would make her special XYZ for us.\" Shortly thereafter, Annie came back out of the kitchen and they conversed for a while. It was great to see that sort of personal touch in a local restaurant, but I just wish the food was better.\n\nWhile it pains me to give this place only two stars - it would have been 1 star but for the service - I just wouldn't feel comfortable sending anyone here who had any anticipation of even Americanized Chinese food. \n\nI wish Annie the best, but we won't be returning."^^ . .