30% discount at Lan Garden continues until Sept. 1

Seafood Chow Fun at Lan Garden in Ridgefield contains shrimp, scallops and tender squid with broad rice noodles.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On my third visit to Lan Garden, a new Chinese restaurant in Ridgefield, I tried a noodle dish and ordered a whole fish steamed, not fried.

The restaurant's soft opening has been extended, and the grand opening is now set for Sept. 1.

Until then, all food is 30% off, and until Lan Garden gets its liquor license, customers can bring their own beer or wine.

That's contrary to what I was told on my previous visit.

The food is good, but service is still a bit slow, and the kitchen is having trouble filling orders, even when the restaurant isn't full.

On Saturday night, me and my wife ordered four dishes and a fifth one to go, hoping to have a lot of leftovers to bring home to other family members.

We did.

I wanted to order the delicious Lobster with Ginger and Scallion I had on my last visit, but the waiter said the lobsters weighed about 3 pounds and were priced at $19.95 a pound.

So, I asked for a whole flounder to be steamed with ginger and scallion ($26.95).

Steamed Whole Flounder with Ginger and Scallion.

Sweet and Sour Chicken.

String beans came out first

Of the four dishes we ordered, Szechuan Style String Beans ($13.95) came out first, followed by Seafood Chow Fun ($16.95), Sweet and Sour Chicken ($14.95) and the large whole flounder ($26.95).

Those are the prices before the 30% discount.

Lan Garden ran a newspaper ad Friday, claiming it serves food from "China's 8 Classic Regions."

But the limited menu we were given on Saturday night was written on two side of one page with even fewer choices than on my previous visits. 

Szechuan Style String Beans.

The servers and kitchen are still trying to get their acts together.

Lan Garden, 88 Route 46 west, Ridgefield; 201-840-8688. Call for hours during the soft opening.