Best Chinese food in central Iowa. High demand for this restaurant, so sometimes there is a wait. Foods is very reasonably priced as well. read more

Chuong Garden - Kung Pao beef and chicken - Chinese Near Me - Grinnell, Iowa

Great friendly service and good atmosphere. Food was good and there is a large menu with many options and everything we tried was good. Would recommend for either dine in or take out (which they seem to do alot of) read more

Good food. Staff is a little short. Decent prices for being a Buffett! I'd definitely go back.

Among the best American Chinese food I've had...and what a surprise from a tiny town in the middle of Iowa! Every dish came out promptly and hot. The egg rolls were crunchy on the outside, truly crisp not somewhat soggy. The filling was made up of a nice savory vegetable mix and the sweet and sour sauce paired very well with it. Same story with the crab Rangoon--hot, crispy, fresh, delicious. The beef and broccoli was nicely sauced, not too dry or too saucy. The broccoli was perfectly steamed and the meat was tender. The fried rice was excellent! Not greasy or mealy, just a deep almost nutty flavor. At a restaurant that serves mostly cuisine staples, name of the game is execution and Chuong definitely delivered. Everything was perfectly cooked, seasoned, and delivered with a smile. The only drawback was the state of the restaurant itself. The booths and walls definitely need updating. read more

See all

It's only take out right now, but we have picked it up many times and all 3 of us enjoyed it.

5 Star review streak continues with me. Egg Drop Soup-Tasty soup with very good flavor. Egg Roll- Good eggrolls, crunch and filling done just right. Steamed Dumpling- Did a great job with them. Fried Rice-Good fried rice that does stand out from basic fried rice. Orange Chicken-Little spicy, right amount of orange flavor, great cut of chicken used to cook, has right crispiness, and great sauce. One of the best in Chinese restaurants in Iowa, there is one in Knoxville, IA and one in Des Moines, IA that round out top three that I have had here. They are a sit down place with no buffet which is great since every Iowa town has one. Nice to have a change in that trend. read more

Recommendation: Chuong Garden really isn't too bad, especially considering its location in the middle of Grinnell. Some of my favorites are the Shrimp with Lobster Sauce and any of the Pan Fried Noodles. The Bubble Tea also gives CA boba shops a run for their money! TIP: Chuong doesn't take Discover or Amex, last I checked. Mastercard and Visa are the only options! Food: From time to time, the vegetables can be a little underwhelming, but on most occasions they're pretty fresh and delicious. The prices are reasonable with regard to the food quality and portion size, and on most occasions we have enough leftovers for another half a meal. Take-out is available too, so you can call ahead and usually have an order ready to go in under 20 minutes. Chuong Garden also caters in the form of providing 12x18 inch party platters of some of their dishes. However, these platters run upwards of $45-50 and for the price, the food is good but in little quantity. After ordering from here for group meals in the past, I'd recommend looking elsewhere if you're trying to get the most bang for your buck. Service: The restaurant is primarily run by the owners and is bussed by college students. The college students are typically adequate at their jobs with regard to filling drinks, cycling the tables, and providing a positive diner experience. There can be lapses though when the amount of seated diners is large, but I'd expect as much from non-professionals. You'll definitely see better wait staff in other cities or nicer restaurants, but there are no weird vibes or anything thankfully. Atmosphere: This is probably the biggest pain point of the restaurant. The booths are a little on the run-down side, with wall paint starting to come off and tables and seats showing signs of wear. The restaurant is dimly lit by ordinary incandescent lights and there is not a huge amount of decor. There is no music playing in the background, meaning the space can be very quiet at times. Conclusion: All in all, I'd still go back. The food is good enough to overlook the decent service and lacking atmosphere, and the prices (at least for single dishes) is entirely reasonable on a college budget. read more

See all

You never know what you're going to get in small town America for ethnic cuisine. Chuong garden offers the standard Chinese American fare. I had the Szechuan shrimp and was not disappointed. The vegetables were crisp and cooked perfectly and the shrimp was fresh and had a good bike to it. Sauce was well-balanced for American Chinese. Not too sick and not too sweet. I've given it a 5-star review for American Chinese. This is not Asian fusion or authentic Mainland Chinese but I was pleasantly surprised. Set your expectations and you will enjoy this place along with the decent service read more

Chuong Garden - Szechuan shrimp - Chinese Near Me - Grinnell, Iowa

Just a waste of $20. Lo mein was slimy and flavorless. And the chicken cho mein was cold

Thus food was very good. We enjoyed the Bean Curd Vegetable Soup, Vegetable Fried Rice and Begetable Lo Mein. Good vegan options, however, the broth of the soup was chicken. Although flavorful, the Lo Mein was heavy with oil. read more

This is a favorite place of hours to try either on the way from Pittsburgh to Nebraska or from Nebraska to Pittsburgh. We have never had a bad meal here and have enjoyed everything. Our lunch specials for the two of us came to less than $20. And we were totally full and did not go away hungry. Great place and a great college town read more

I have one thing to say: Best Crab Rangoon EVER! No, seriously, my fiance and I order crab rangoon at every place we go that offers it, and no where else measures up. The rest of the menu is great too. Their lunch specials are a really great deal and service is prompt. I have moved away now due to graduation from the college, and I miss this place so much. read more

Was only in Grinnell for one academic year and it's been several years since we were there. We live in Chicago and we know Chinese, Thai, and other Asian cuisines. We can say that Chuong Garden's food was the equal of very good to excellent Chinese restaurants in Chicago. Chuong Garden was our go-to Sunday night takeout restaurant in Grinnell. Food was consistently great. Cannot offer a judgment on sit-down service since we only did take-out, but the staff was always courteous when we picked up (and they were always very busy on Sunday nights). Would give 4 1/2 stars if Yelp allowed this. Only drawbacks to Chuong Garden were that entrees were a bit pricey and sometimes a little on the stingy side. Otherwise, CG is a great choice for Chinese in the eastern Iowa prairie. read more

Holy cow, if I ever make it back to Grinnell the first place I want to go is to Chuong Garden. BEST lunch special ever! Pick any item on the menu and it is delicious! Crab rangoon is so good, I haven't found a better one anywhere. One of my friends always gets the shrimp fried rice and it was great. Not some measly little shrimp, big old things in tasty fried rice. One of my favorite things is that their orange chicken is slightly crunchy. I have yet to find a place that does this, and it is amazing! read more

Great food! There's plenty of options on the menu so there's always something new and exciting to try, I get something different Everytime I come here and have yet to find anything I don't like! Would happily give 5 stars but the servers are rude. They don't revisit tables and act as if they are annoyed that you are even there! Food is great though, I will continue to come back for the food. read more

Looking for some good food and I found it here. I had the garlic chicken per waitres's recommendation and I was not disappointed. Lunch special was a good deal. read more

Like many restaurants in Grinnell, Chuong Garden is being very safe and responsible with regard to Covid-19. As usual, the food is very good and the service is fast and friendly. read more

I really wanted to like Chuong's given the Yelp bias as well as the positive reviews from several peers but in the end I found Chuong's to be nothing more than a culinary atrocity. I wanted leave immediately after being served their $10 rendition of sweet and sour pork. It was a plate of insipid pork bites lazily coated with a thin batter, accompanied by a florescent sweet and sour sauce that you can purchase for dimes at Walmart. I swear it's the same sweet and sour sauce served with the chicken nuggets on the Wendy's dollar menu. It seemed like they didn't even try. read more

If you want real chinese food, chuong garden doesn't have it. But if you are simply looking for something good to eat, it's a good place to go. read more

Good prices, great portions, and quick service. I see that its already been said, but I'll toss this out: Awesome crab rangoon! I don't know what crab rangoon IS, by traditional standards. But this is deeelicious. read more

The most amazing egg rolls ever! They are all the way crunchy! I try to go once a week... Sometimes once every two weeks. Only place in town, in Iowa, where I have found the food really good! My favorites are the Kung pao tofu, garlic broccoli, and the vegetables lo mein. For dinner I always get the mu shu vegetables because I don't go there very often for dinner. The staff is always so very nice and little by little I am getting to know them. I love to go when it is less busy like right at 11 am or around 1 pm. They have a great lunch specials which is when I usually go. The dinner portions are huge. I always end up with leftovers, always! I love getting the hot tea to drink with any meal. They serve it in individual tea pots with a small tea cup and saucer. I always ask for spicy and just found out you can get a tiny dish of chili sauce if you ask to make it even hotter! I love that! To me the very best part of all, the tofu is always fully cooked and there always plenty of it in the dishes I order. Some times it can be too much. But that is better than not enough. It is a true little gem in the prairie read more

We walked in and were almost immediately called out for dining and dashing, when it had been many of our first times to this establishment. Once we sat down we took our orders, dividing the bill and such, we were unable to finish our meal because they were pushing us out the door. Their rice was cold and dry, and their sesame chicken's sauce was similar to hair gel. Their beef and broccoli was so salty my brother couldn't even eat it. Everyone had such high hopes for My Mom's birthday but the restaurant almost ruined her day. read more

Wonderful food. I've tasted many authentic asian dishes in my lifetime and this place is making it on my top ten list of places to eat.

Great food! You get a lot of food for your dollar. Prices are reasonable. Service is very quick.

I am working in the area this week and was checking out Yelp to see what I should treat myself to for lunch on Friday. I miss the good 'ol Chinese restaurant as they are really hard to come by anymore. I recall my childhood experiences of sit down Chinese restaurants where I felt (albeit a child) that the food was far superior than what we experience these days and that the owners were very proud of providing you with a pleasant dining experience. Nowadays, most options are take out and they all taste the same to me. They don't taste homemade (i.e., Sesame Chicken in my hometown was, now it's just lumps/chunks of fried meat drowned in some sauce that is interchangeable for lots of dishes). Anyway, so, reading the reviews on here, I was intrigued to give it a shot. I went with the lunch special of Shrimp Fried Rice and crab rangoon side. I didn't think it was amazing by any means, but I did feel it was above par compared to the area choices. It definitely had more substance and flavor than the typical rice, meat, soy sauce and gobs of onion. They actually put egg in theirs with diced carrots, peas and green onion. The portion was more than enough and I could have used more shrimp. The crab rangoon was fine as well, but not rave worthy as I had anticipated from the other reviews. Not trying to be a debbie downer on this. The experience was better than your standard take out and bonus, it is a sit down restaurant, of which, I may just come back and try something else. The place was clean inside and service was friendly, so overall a positive experience, just not Woo Hoo knock my socks off, bring back my childhood again. read more

Well of all the places to eat in the small town of grinnell, this is my favorite. I find myself here once a week. Their spring rolls are seriously done to perfection every single time! I love the Kung poa tofu. Followed by garlic broccoli tofu. Then their vegetarian noodles. For dinner their moo shu vegetables. Once in a blue moon I get their Thai iced tea, with or without the boba. Most of the time I get their hot tea to drink with my meal. Seems like a great combo. I don't change up my choices mainly because I love those few so much. What I love, they don't just throw in the tofu, they actually cook it so it isn't that strange watery texture but a pleasant one. I prefer my meal with steamed rice instead of fried as the steamed brings out the flavor of the food more. Great just writing this review makes me drool! read more

Good, high-quality Chinese food. Probably the best a small town in Iowa can offer. Would recommend the beef with snow peas. The vegetables are always well cooked, still crunchy and not overdone. Service is average-good, and I've always had a good time there. read more

Solid reliable Chinese food. This place is packed when students are in town, and with good reason. In particular the hot and sour soup is good, and you must try the broccoli and tofu. I like the pan fried noodles myself -they get a nice char on the outside - but really check it out for yourself.!! read more

Hands down best Chinese food I've EVER HAD! The crab rangoon really is amazing. And I ordered the shrimp fried rice spicy and it was PERFECT. I want to move to Grinnell. :) Very quick and friendly service. read more

We ended up here because everything else in town was closed. It's not easy to find food on a Sunday night in Grinnell. The service was great everything was quick. I ordered Mushu pork and thought it was just okay. My husband tried to special order a meal with no sauce ginger and garlic but it came full of sauce. Even though the price was reasonable we felt that we had overpaid for the quality. read more

Always a stop for us whenever we go to Grinnell! Quick service with great menu.

I love Chuong Garden! I try to eat dinner there once a week. Their food is delicious. I usually get the Beef with vegetables and fried rice. Also have their hot tea to drink. I finally ordered the appetizer plate the last time I was there and there is so much food, that my sister-in-law and I could barely eat our meal when it finally came. Very good egg rolls, paper wrapped chicken, chicken wings, beef kebobs, and fried shrimp. There is 2 of everything and at a great price. read more

Honestly I don't like Chinese food that much but Choung Garden is AMAZING! They have amazing egg rolls and the prices are surprisingly good!

Just stopped in for lunch. Very good food and service! Cashew chicken, egg drop soup w/ egg roll. Highly recommend!!

I happened upon this place and am very happy I did! I ordered the Cashew Chicken for lunch and it was DELICIOUS!! My decision where to eat the next time I am traveling in Grinnell for work just got much easier. The cashew chicken, fried rice, egg roll were all really good! I can't say whether the soup was good, although it was included, I decided not to get it because I wanted to make sure I could finish the rest of the meal. :) read more

This restaurant is located right in downtown Grinnell, next to the Louis Sullivan Bank. The menu is pretty extensive, and the prices are about standard for this type of restaurant. However, our Cashew Chicken and Shrimp in Lobster sauce were very bland with no interesting flavor at all. One in the party ordered Fried Noodles with Tofu; however, partway into our meal the server came over and told us that they had forgotten the Tofu. The person who ordered that realized that the Tofu was missing, but really just wanted the Fried Noodles so did not complain. The oddest part was that the woman who first brought out two of our orders said she did know what the dishes were, so we had to identify our meals. Afterward, food for the third and fourth person came out one at a time. We were given plates in addition to the serving dishes, so we could share. However, the table was barely large enough to hold all the plates, so eating was somewhat difficult. Perhaps we should have ordered a spicy dish, but I figure that just would have been spicy, but still not tasty. This is not a place I would recommend. read more

This place is great! Food is always hot and super tasty. Every time I visit my tastebuds experience the most incredible level of satisfaction. Lunch special is fantastic! read more

Very disappointed in the service. We were seated prompty but waited more than 45 minutes for our food. A table that came in probably 15 minutes after us received their food before us. When our food did come, not everyone got it at the same time. Some of our table did not have food 10+ minutes after the first person at our table was served. read more

We went there all the time in college. Their crab rangoon is one-of-a-kind.

Who knew? Little Grinnell, IA is home to the best Chinese food anywhere (and I grew up in Montreal and NY). The Garlic Tofu Broccoli is the stuff of dreams. Heading there soon and can't wait! read more