Gourmet Grilled Cheese - Parksville

If you have had previous experiences with China Garden, you may want to avoid visiting this restaurant. It recently changed its name to "Fortune Beach" before reverting back to its original name, "China Garden." While China Garden was once known for its excellence in Parksville, something happened that caused a decline in its quality, resulting in people leaving without eating or paying. I visited Fortune Beach without realizing it was the same owners and regretted my decision. The inconsistent reviews, ranging from excellent to terrible, suggest there may be issues with management or staff. I have been apprehensive about giving this restaurant another chance, as it appears in need of improvement.

The reviews for Chinese restaurants on Trip Advisor were all quite low and confusing. Despite this, I decided to get take-out from this restaurant since it was close to our hotel. While the food wasn't like what you would find in Vancouver or Hong Kong, it was decent, with good portions and was very edible. The food was prepared in a timely manner and the staff at the restaurant were friendly and skilled. We were able to finish the leftovers over the next few days. It's unclear if there is some sort of competition among reviewers, but this restaurant should not be avoided. By the way, I never go to buffet-style Chinese restaurants.

I cannot believe it... let me start with the positives. The woman I assumed to be the owner was very attentive in ensuring that the buffet items were well-mixed and quickly replenished when low. There were always prawns, both battered and sautéed, available. However, despite the variety of food options, the buffet was lacking in flavor. As someone who has enjoyed many good Chinese and Szechuan meals in the past, I have to say this was the worst. We were staying at the Beach Club on the 8th floor and noticed the buffet sign from our room, located in front of the resort. Feeling too lazy to venture out for a nicer dinner, we decided to dine there. However, we regretted our decision. The place appeared to be new, but I later learned that it had moved from another location in town with the same owners and the same disappointing food quality.

Didn't even get to order food. Confirmed with their online website that they were open. Called 3 times and the phone kept ringing and ringing. On the 3rd call it said voicemail was off and the phone call got dropped. Won't be recommending to anyone.

Small restaurant, hardly decorated, Small buffet, warmed up or precooked food, Friendly service, Next day we had upset stomachs, ice cream was refrozen.