Wah’s Garden

I got take-​out from this restaurant against my better judgment because it was the closest available and I was hankering for Chinese. I base my 2-​star rating not on the strip mall location it shares with Ocean State Job Lot (admittedly suboptimal) but on the thoroughly mediocre food. Our order of hot and sour soup, wonton soup, steamed dumplings, and sesame chicken technically fulfilled what we had ordered but did nothing to satisfy my desire for delicious Chinese food.
On the whole, the soups were good while the dumplings and chicken were thoroughly «meh».
Save yourself the trouble and just go elsewhere. If you must order from here, set your expectations reasonably. Aim low, avoid disappointment.

Here’s what Wah’s Garden isn’t.
1) It isn’t large and it isn’t a sit-​down restaurant. It has just two 4-​person booths and three 2-​person booths, so it’s primarily for take-​out.
2) It isn’t fashionable-you’ll see cracked floor tiles and peeling panelling.
3) It isn’t found in a glamorous location –it’s more or less in a strip mall between a gym and an Ocean State Job Lot.
4) It isn’t organized. Take out orders from the phone get a «number». Take out orders from walk-​ins get no number, so when there are a dozen take-​out customers millng around the counter like there was tonight, it gets pretty confusing for everyone, including the counter gal.
But here’s what Wah’s Garden is. It’s been around forever. It’s a very dependable and inexpensive place with a huge menu where you can pick up some very good Chinese food.
I’ve stopped here quite a bit, and tonight we paid $ 20 for a quart of chicken with broccoli ($ 8.95), six steamed pork dumplings ($ 4.95), a pint of won ton soup ($ 2.15) and a pint of hot and sour soup ($ 2.75). Plenty of food for the two of us. For $ 20.
The H&S Soup was absolutely jam packed with tofu strips, water chestnut cubes, slivers of bamboo shoots, and egg ribbons in a sturdy broth. No meat, but it wasn’t necessary –the soup was excellent and quite a good value for just $ 2.75. The dumplings were equally good– big and meaty and not too doughy.
The chicken and broccoli was great– plenty of chicken and tender broccoli in a nice brown sauce.
For take-​out, they sure get the job done.

Located in the lot where ocean state job lot is in Bloomfield. Dropped by for an early dinner snack. Got my order wrong which was okay and they were busy with only the wife and husband working there so I didn’t make a big deal.
The food is a good portion. They don’t have a website but you can find their menu online. Note that their price did increase from what was shown online. I took a few pictures of the menu there.
Happy that the wonton soup had a few spareribs strands in there and 5 wontons in a qt soup is pretty good. And she threw in two bags of the fried crackers things which I normally don’t eat but I tried this one and it doesn’t taste so bad! Maybe I was hungry.
They also have hot water there for free was is a plus. The places seems a little run down and messy behind the counter with cardboard boxes here and here. Place was slow paced and you can take your time ordering if nobody else is there.
Left decently satisfied, only wished the food was the right food I ordered to make the experience better. May go back in the near future if I can make it sometime for their lunch special.

Definatly the best Chinese in Hartford county that i’ve had. Im glad to find a place where all the dishes taste different. A lot of times everything tastes like «brown sauce» and i’m glad to see that this place is not like that. My order came with a free General Tsos chicken and when i asked for things to be extra spicy they actually were. I couldn’t be happier.

Being from NY, this is the best Chinese food I’ve found in CT.

Consistently good food! The selection is good and the quality does not disappoint. We order here at least once a month. The food is never rarely
greasy and is very flavorful. The staff is very friendly. We have ordered from both the American and Traditional menu. I am glad they are here in Bloomfield and would recommend them. My favorite are the chicken dishes and my wife loves the fish. If you order the chicken fingers be cautious in the amount you eat because they are greasy and can upset youngsters tummy’s.

Gotta give them props… they were opened at noon on the day of the Blizzard, when almost no one was.
Wah’s is, I believe, the oldest established Chinese take-​out place in Boomfield, at least near the center of town. They have survived by serving consistently good food, very good portions, at very reasonable prices. They are a bit off the road, so you have to see them when coming to the Ocean State Job Lot plaza, or happen upon them if going for a work-​out at Gym, or filling up on Jamaican food at Island Grille.
The workers are always friendly, and if you have to wait a bit, that’s only because they are so popular. Their Singapore Mei Fun is good, as are their BBQ spare ribs, Gen’l Tso’s, etc. etc. Spring rolls are sometimes subbed for Egg rolls, but that is about the only negative comment I have.
There are a number of Chinese take-​out places in Bloomfield, not to mention plenty of Thai and Japanese sit-​downs that are great. Wah’s is close to us, both in distance, and in our heart.