Saturday, January 24, 2009

Happiness detected

Happy Garden

Stopping over one weekend for lunch at Happy Garden in Novato, we found it's open but very quiet in the midst of a mini-tech office area. The waitress was very welcoming, and although the restaurant had a well-worn feel to it, I thought the feng shui must have been correct as it felt peaceful and like a nice place to linger.

Fish Tank

Having a fish tank right next to the table with pretty fish swimming and water gurgling contributed to the happy tranquility.

Crab Puffs

We received a table treat from the chef, crab puffs. The filling was well blended with cream cheese and crab and the puff pastry made it a delicate crisp and melting sensation. I would order these next time.

Soup Noodles

I enjoyed the shrimp noodle soup. It was filled with fresh vegetables still a bit crisp, and meaty shrimp pieces. The noodles were a bit soft for my taste, but it was still good.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Dad wanted to try the chicken salad, and was overwhelmed by the volume! It was lightly dressed, crisp and good. I tried a little of the salad part and thought it was one of the best (if you like very crisp iceberg lettuce). Dad commented that the chicken pieces had a nice flavor like they had been marinated before cooking. Although we would not term this a 'destination' restaurant, we enjoyed our experience and would stop in for lunch if we were in the neighborhood.

Restaurant Inspection Results
Critical: 0
Noncritical: 0
Last inspected: 12/1/2008

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You are so lucky to have so many independent restaurants in your area! When dining out we rarely visit chain restaurants and looking at all of your gorgeous food pictures, I am surprised that so many people do.

Glad to see that you are still blogging and still enjoying the culinary world around you.

Bon Appetite!