Descriptive Mini Essay: Jade Garden

“Jade Garden”

Planning events for a Saturday night out almost never occurs. I have learned through experiences in college that some of the best and most memorable nights are those that are quite spontaneous. My last Saturday night consisted of seeing the action movie, “Taken” at the theaters, visiting PetCo to look at the ferrets, fish, hamsters and birds, and then hanging out at a friend’s house off campus. However, the best part of the night was the plans we made for dinner. We ran down a list of options of restaurants in the area: Sonic, McDonald’s, Famous Dave’s, and finally Jade Garden. Most of us had never heard of Jade Garden and were unaware of what it had to offer a hungry college student. We were soon surprised as this quaint Chinese buffet filled our stomachs, but also allowed us to make some pretty hilarious memories.
The outer appearance of Jade Garden is nothing too exciting. The square building is composed of two toned brown and gray bricks, glass doors with silver push handles that invite anyone into the appealing buffet. The atmosphere of the establishment is recognized right away as you walk through the doors into the foyer of the restaurant. A hostess dressed in a white, button-up collared shirt, black slacks and black shoes directs you to follow her to the available table. From the outside, Jade Garden does not look very spacious, but surprisingly there were many tables open for a Saturday night. The dim lights and slow classic music set a mood of relaxation. The relaxed air was further enhanced by the aroma of the various cuisines that waited for us at the buffet lines. There were three different buffet lines to adventure to. Two shorter ones, one that contained fried rice, steamed white rice, sweet and sour chicken, lo mien, and the various other sauces that accompanied the main courses. The other shorter line contained salads, fruit, pudding, various baked goods, and desserts. There was not much of a dessert selection: chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, brownies, lemon squares, and vanilla, chocolate, and mixed soft serve with sprinkles. Personally, I wish there were some Chinese desserts available to try. It would be nice to experience the cuisine for all its worth rather than just the main courses. The final quite large buffet line contained even more kinds of chicken, steak, and beef, all with various sauces and seasonings. There were also different varieties of vegetables and noodles as well. There was almost too much food to choose from, but every bite was delectable and mouth watering. Maybe it was because I was just very hungry, but buffets are never a good thing to go to when your eyes are bigger than your stomach.
The staff at Jade Garden was friendly, but they were very shy. You could tell that there was a language barrier because most of them would not hold a conversation with a customer because they had a limited vocabulary, or they simply could not understand what you were saying. They knew the bare minimum of vocabulary to successfully run the restaurant, but as far as customer interactions, it could have been much more personal than it actually was. The other guests at the restaurant seemed very pleasant, until my table of friends got a little out of control. Jokes and laughs were spread between the five of us and most times it was a challenge to control our laughter. I remember one table that was almost directly across from us that was getting extremely annoyed with our behavior. It was a family with two teenagers, parents and what looked like cousins. A tall, dark haired man in a purple t-shirt, I think he was the father, gave us dirty looks the entire time we were laughing. Needless to say we had good interactions with the other customers at Jade Garden, but they probably did not like us too much for disturbing the quiet atmosphere.