Shing Garden
Jeffrey Zia
February 12, 2001
The Town of Billerica Presents... Shing Garden oriental express takeout.
That's right folks, this is not even a restaurant. It is a take out place. As I have to rush between my work place and my class, speed is of the essence, and so Shing Garden it is.
Fiasco Factor- they don't even bother with paper plates, it is all in those Styrofoam lunch boxes. For the time I was there, the woman at the counter had to explain over the phone for 5 minutes that they moved, and misplaced an order, all while the some alarm in the kitchen (either the frying machine or the smoke detector) is going off. Given the fact I am still around to write a review and have yet to see a new bulletin for "Restaurant Explosion Devastates Neighborhood", it can't be all that serious. Bonus! Comic relief to bridge my class and work. 8.00/10.00
Atmosphere: I guess all oriental fast-food places go light on the decor, but this one is more bear than most. Plain walls on three sides, and some Chinese braidwork on the fourth, along with the old template $1, $5, $10 taped up on the wall. The place is as bare as Airforce One after the Clintons have gone through it. 4.0/10.0
Overall: the food is not bad, the owner must have given me the fellow Asian discount, because I got a cup of "hot and sour soup" for free! So if you need to make a stop in Billerica and you are short on cash, maybe you should try to put on some disguise and fake an accent to try you luck here. Tell'em the Taipan sent you. 6.0/10.0
Final rating: 6.0/10.0, not bad, but not authentic either, nor do they even put up the pretense. I think so far this is a tie with the Beefmaster as 'Best of the Worst'
Supposedly there are actually quality restaurants in Billerica, at least according to my friend Mike, who lives here, but I have yet to see evidence to the contrary. I think that is just like a local myth, a sea serpent or Loch Ness type of deal, pah!
