Lotus Garden

Suzie Q’s Fun Facts:
Lotus seeds can germinate many years after the plant produces them. The oldest recorded lotus germination is from 1,300 year old seeds, recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China.
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On Christmas Eve 2015, friends and I were driving from LA to Palm Springs in heinous bumper-​to-​bumper traffic. We decided that we might as well stop for dinner to wait out the traffic.
We randomly stumbled upon Lotus Garden, an unassuming Chinese place in a suburban Upland strip mall with little ambiance. But it had the distinct advantage of being open for business on Christmas eve. So Lotus Garden it was.
As we were the only customers at the time, the woman at the register assisted us promptly. One of us ordered a half bowl of seafood soup, and another friend and I shared a full bowl of wor wonton soup. We also each ordered a chicken entrée with brown rice ($ 1 extra per person).
As we were waiting for our food, I happened to check in on Unilocal,and realized that there was a «free egg roll» offer upon check-​in. Our server initially protested (she said the offer was only good for online orders, though there was no such restriction included on the offer), but since it was Christmas Eve, she kindly decided to give us all a free egg roll anyway.
Our soups came out quickly, and we were shocked — and delighted — at how large the portion sizes were.
The wor wonton soup was so chock full of shrimp, chicken, dumplings and veggies that my friend and I could have made our entire meal out of the soup. In fact, I was so stuffed after eating the soup that I couldn’t even touch my generous garlic chicken entrée (I ended up taking it «to go»; it was yummy, although overly salty… possibly from an excess of MSG?)
Our server brought us some chocolate wafer sticks as a little free «dessert» at the end of the meal. We all agreed that the meal had been delicious, and at only $ 16/​person plus tip, a fantastic deal as well.
If I ever return to Upland, Lotus Garden will be at the top of my list for a quick, inexpensive meal.