Finally: Lee's Garden

**** Lee's Garden has closed

As indicated in My previous post, we were searching for Lee's Garden when we got side tracked by Ly's Garden. And after that very inexpensive lunch, we traveled a bit further down the road, and came across Lee's Garden, though the signage really didn't make it easy.....

Nor did the rather battered storefront, Lee's just looked alot more rundown then I remembered, how sad:

We decided to eat at Lee's this past Sunday, and arrived at about 4pm for an early dinner. We were walked to our seats immediately by a very friendly Gentleman. We passed one of the other tables and noticed that the Vietnamese Family there were eating 4 different versions of clams, so I made a mental note while we were seated. As is typical for these Vietnamese/Chinese Restaurants, the menus are huge, and analysis paralysis set in:

After what seemed to be a very long period of indecision, we placed our order. Starting with the Clams with Basil($8.95):

These clams seemed to be cooked a bit too long, the clams somewhat tough, and many of them really "gritty". Also, many of the clams had fallen out of their shells and settled into the bottom of the earthen bowl, making this into a search and destroy mission. This led the Missus to state; "I swear, there are more shells than clam meat in this dish, I think we're being ripped off!" I of course disagreed, but felt strangely aware of what seemed to be an abundance of empty clam shells..... This dish was flavored with a good amount of basil, and some jalapeno peppers, but seemed a bit flat in taste. I think it was the lack of garlic in this dish, in addition to perhaps some sweetness to balance out the anise like flavor of the basil.

Seafood Hotpot with Duck Feet(leg - $11.95):

See that kind of yellow/brown strip of meat to the right of the pot? I think that's duck "meat", but I'm not quite sure. I almost never take a salt shaker to my food, but in this case I came pretty close. The dish was very bland, and insipidly boring. Even the shrimp had no taste, the only item in the pot that had any flavor were the shiitake mushrooms.

The best dish of the evening was the Fish Fillet with Black Peppercorn($7.95):

The slightly sweet, salty, gooey sauce, full of pungent black pepper was oh so good. The fish, on the other hand was not. First off, the fish was dry, now I believe that one of the real benefits of battered and fried fish is to keep it moist. But in this case, the fish was dry as if overcooked, probably due to lack of freshness. Also, the batter did not keep any of it's crispness, it seemed to be either under fried or fried at the wrong temperature. Too bad, this could have been a really great dish.

As we were leaving, Lee's started filling up, and everybody seemed to be getting the clams, so I'm guessing it's one of their more popular dishes. We did enjoy the excellent service, and the prices weren't too bad, but I don't know if we'll be back anytime soon.

Lee's Garden
4055 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105

Comments

[Pam]

Hmm, sounds like "Ly's" was better than "Lee's"...LOL! BTW, I love the shingled pagoda style roof they've got going on.

[dietchilicheesefries]

i'm still waiting for the review on "Li's" Garden...

[Kirk]

Hi Pam - Can you believe that these two restaurants are just down a block from each other? Talk about confusion.

Hi DCCF - You have to go Huntington Beach for that one:
LI's Restaurant
8961 Adams Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
But if you want Li's Garden you'll have to go a bit further:
Li's Garden
219 County Route 57
Phoenix, NY 13135
Sounds like you could make a career of this if you want! LOL!

[Kirk]

DCCF - come to think of it - you can go to any L&L - it stands for Lee & Lee....hehehe!

[Candice]

Hi Kirk - We go to Lee's Garden during lobster season and feast. The lobsters are cheap enough to get one per person - stir fried with ginger and scallions.

[elmomonster]

That fish dish sounds exactly like my favorite dish at Capital Seafood in Rowland Heights...looks the same too...too bad this one doesn't sound like it floated your boat.

Next time your up in the 99 Ranch Plaza on Nogales Rd., be sure to try Capital Seafood...too bad it's not called Li's.

[Passionate Eater]

Awwww! That weathered and battered sign and wrinkly menu made me feel real sad for some reason. It makes me think that Lee's was the first Chinese (or "Oriental" as they called in back in the day) restaurant in town.

Also, I know what the Missus means about the "more-shells-than-meat" phenomenon. I think that they pick out the meat in the back and say to themselves while laughing, "I wonder if they'll notice we just gave those people shells only?"

[Kirk]

Hi Candice - Thanks for the tip! I'll remember it, for possible future consumption.

Hi Elmo - Capitol Seafood, eh? I've actually eaten there once.....well I guess it'll be twice!

Hi PE - LOL! You should see some of the other Chinese Restaurants in San Diego! The aging facade seems to almost say that the restaurant had seen better days..... Leave it to the Missus to get right to the point!

[Jack]

I haven't been here in years. I do remember the lobsters though...pretty yummy

[Kirk]

Hey Jack - Well that's the great thing about comments - I now know - it's about the lobsters.....