Empress Gardens - Southfield

I have to say I 'm very disappointed with my experience at Empress Gardens yesterday. When working for Channel 7 back in the late 70s, early 80s, Empress Gardens was their go to because the food was fresh and delicious, but then I moved away. While in Southfield yesterday, I decided to place an order for Shrimp and Broccoli and Almond Chicken . The lady (or child) answering the phone was not only abrupt, but she hung up on me before I could ask how long it would take. Now, I 'm a forgiving person and would have overlooked this had they been extremely busy, but when I arrived there was absolutely no one there the place was empty. After spending over $35, we then discovered the food was horrible! The egg rolls, although they had bean sprouts, tasted like cabbage and didn 't taste fresh. The fried rice was old as if it had been sitting for a day or two. I even tried to reheat it, to no avail. Although the almond chicken was plentiful, it was thick and tough, the gravy was watered down, and the broccoli was mushy. I 've always loved Chinese food, but stayed away after some of the rumors started circulating. But after this experience, I won 't be returning and will just start cooking my favorite Chinese recipes myself.

My 1st visit to Empress Gardens will be my LAST! My walk in TAKE-OUT order was 4 Egg Foo Young patties without gravy. The lady taking my order was rude! After getting my order I walked to my car decided to look my food. I was MORTIFIED to see the container was 1/4 FULL of GREASE w/the PATTIES sitting in it! I took it back in showed the lady her reply was THAT 'S HOW IT ALWAYS COMES! I politely asked for my money back she THROWS it on the counter! Such a HORIBBLE EXPERIENCE......

Unfortunately, I've been coming to this Restaurant for years...It has been going down since Covid. It's really not the same. Absolutely trash now....

I visited this restaurant for the first time yesterday. I ordered take out. There was not enough seating for me to wait on my order, I waited outside in the hallway. They called me when my order was finished. Only took 10-15 min. They gave me huge proportions of rice and orange chicken. Very reasonable price. I would have given more stars but I didn't get any eating utensils in my bag, and I found a tiny pebble in my fried rice.

Rude! I just called to ask if they're open on the holiday, if so, what time will they close, since there were no holiday hours shown online. The lady who answered was rude and seemed annoyed by the call. So, we'll find another restaurant.