Rainbow Garden

Went with daughter to try out their Korean/​Chinese offerings. Had champong and cha jang mein. Both below the offerings found in Chicagoland (Lawrence joints, Chef Ping and Yu’s). Was good attempt, but not fully there. For one the noodles appear to be packaged and we’re too chewy. Champ pong was also more oily and the seafood tasted like it was packaged and way too chewy like the noodles. This rating is based purely on those two items from Urbana location.

There comes a day in your life when you crave for Chinese food, well it comes in my life once in a while. Thought of trying some new restaurant, and chose rainbow garden. Had passed by it many times while traveling. I ordered veg stir fried rice noodles and shrimp garlic sau to go. I was so hungry that I immediately sat down to eat after reaching home. Took few bites from both the dishes and only one thing I could taste. OIL. It was like oil stir fried rice noodles and shrimp oil sau. I couldn’t eat more than few bites. My throat was coated with oil. Never going back here again.

So, my boyfriend and I came here for lunch. The server was attentive, but he just seemed like he didn’t care we were there. He’d come to the table to do refills or take away dishes, but he’d rush away before we could even say anything. Not that we had anything to say, but still.
We ordered the crabmeat rangoon as an appetizer. The shell was very crunchy. I liked it, but my boyfriend didn’t like the crunchiness. We try rangoon at a lot of places. We thought this rangoon was too sweet. We know that most places make sweet rangoon, but this was a little more sweet than most places. Also, other than the sweetness there wasn’t much flavor otherwise. I make rangoon at home and I’m used to making a savory kind. So, we’re kind of picky on the sweet ones.
Our lunches came with a choice of egg drop or hot & sour soup. My boyfriend had the egg drop and it tasted like a normal egg drop. I had hot & sour and I found that the mushrooms were a bit chewy. The soup base was good though.
Our entrées were sweet and sour chicken and combination lo mein. The sweet and sour chicken was soggy as my boyfriend is used to having crispier chicken tossed in the sauce. The fried rice was dry and had no flavor whatsoever. My lo mein tasted ok, but the shrimp and chicken just didn’t taste good to me. I liked the pork that was in my meal, but ended up just having them box up the rest of my noodles and none of the meat because I had picked the meat out and put it to the side. I ate all the pork out of it.
It’s inexpensive, but I think you can get better choices at the «fast food» Chinese places around town.

My wife and I both love Chinese food, and we have to agree this may be the finest Asian cuisine we’ve eaten in Champaign-​Urbana. We went on a Saturday night with a large group and had a phenomenal dining experience — so much so, we returned as a couple the following Thursday.
What a horrible disappointment! The food remained superior, but the fine service we enjoyed in the group was nonexistent. We were seated in a booth along the wall farthest from the kitchen, the only diners in that section (as a mixed couple, we’re sensitive to such things), and it was as if the server forgot we existed.
I had to ask three times before I could get a drink from the bar; when I finally got to order and pointed to the cocktail on their drink menu, his immediate response was, «I don’t think we have that.» To our server Brian’s credit, he didn’t fling our entrees on the table; however, he served our dishes so quickly that we could barely slow him down before he vanished again. At one point I actually yelled «STOP!» at him so I could ask for chopsticks. Correct or not, we got the distinct impression they didn’t want to serve us.
Perhaps we arrived too late (about 7:50) to receive their peak attention span (we couldn’t find their hours of operation in the restaurant or online), but at one point we were the LAST DINERS in the building and my wife STILL had to walk to the kitchen and hunt down our waiter to get our check. I hate having a love-​hate affair with a restaurant, but Rainbow Garden has left me no choice. Maybe the moral is, only go there with a large group. For now I have to decide if the quality of the food is worth the insulting, outrageously bad service.

Been here twice. The food is decent but the second time I went I got food poisoning… what else is there to say.

I’ve eaten here on several occasions but today was a bad one. I’m not sure if I’ll be back. I know this can happen at any restaurant but I found a hair in my fried rice. She was very apologetic and didn’t charge me for the meal. Only the drink. It’s very difficult for me to give a restaurant a second chance after something like this. As a youth, I worked at Formosa Gardens as a dishwasher in Lebanon Indiana. I saw a lot of things go on while I was there. It took years for me to eat at a Chinese restaurant again. This just brings all those memories back. As any place that serves food, you never know what goes on in preparation.

Me and my friend got a take out here. We got the Orange Beef and the dumplings, it used to be okay, but this was HORRIBLE, and I mean it was just the grosses thing ever. We both have stomachaches now. Will not go back here ever again.

Nice ambience and well prepared food. Big servings, too. My favorite is the fish fillet with vegetables. Light and very flavorful. Nice spot for lunch as well. Their beef broccoli does not skimp on the meat or the veggies.

I’m with a another reviewer. This place has great Chinese food. If I lived in the area I would eat here more often. In fact this place has become the Chinese food I compare all others to now. Everything I have ordered has been delish. I especially enjoyed their Moo Shoo Veggie dish. Yum.
They have very reasonable lunch specials. Their take out is quick and hot! The last time I ate there for lunch the servers were a bit «off», but I can see beyond that because the food is so good.

The best Chinese food I have eaten. The house special fried rice is delicious and don’t even get me started with the Orange Chicken

Firstly, the young man answering the phone was very rude. He kept shouting at me and was very impatient. I wanted to give the restaurant a chance though so I ordered hot and sour seafood soup. It was hot but tasted old and poor quality. I had a few bites and couldn’t eat anymore. Really disgusting. I really wanted to like this place :/

I have ordered food from this place for more than 20 times. Food is really good. I don’t eat in very often, but I will say service can be improved.

The food is okay, though not exceptional. Here I’m also reviewing my experience about their delivery service. The delivery man is rude. After having arrived at the entrance of my apartment building, he kept ringing my door bell, even I have already opened the door at the entrance for him. Finally, he delivered the food to me, but it seems that he didn’t understand how the entrance system works in my apartment, even I tried to explain to him. At last, he just said some f* words to me, which couldn’t be more unpleasant.

So we have always enjoyed Rainbow Garden but with each visit it seemed to get worse. Today was the lowest of lows. I think we were the first ones in there this time and the food came out cold. They weren’t quick to change that. But after some persistence they brought out fresh.
I think Golden Harbor is more worth the money.

I’ve been to Rainbow Garden for lunch several times. Each time I’ve left full and happy. They offer a very affordable lunch menu. Their portions aren’t giant sized either, so I don’t have to worry about taking home a smelly box of Chinese food.
The staff can be a bit aloof at times, but they’re usually really busy around the lunch hour. The atmosphere has gotten better over time as they’ve opened up more of the floor plan and made it more accommodating for the larger crowds that come around the lunch hour.

Food is really good and delivery is always fast. I tried ordering online this time and you can’t make any changes. Apparently everything comes with white rice and there’s an up charge for fried rice. Most expensive Chinese order I’ve ever had.

I went here for the first time yesterday and was waiting to meet someone. When I arrived I wasn’t greeted for a good 5 minutes in a mostly empty dining room. I had to wonder around until someone attended to me. After telling them that I’d like a table for 2 they sit me at a big table with 5 places as opposed to a booth.
After my friend arrived our order was taken promptly and our waitress was nice. The food was lukewarm and could have been seasoned better although the meat on my dish was cooked tender and came in a good portion size although there were a TON of onions I’m contrast to the meat portion. The rice was bland and boring as well.
The décor looked great and very classy and the staff was overall friendly. The price was fair for the portion size and I’d be willing to give this place another go, but I hope for better food and someone at the door to greet me right away.

Ordered here after reading some good reviews. Ordered for delivery, but delivery came after 2 hours. Chinese food was pretty good, but I prefer Cravings. Was super greasy and was completely filled up after half my dish (some beef stir fry with rice), and the Crab Rangoons were awful.

Never again will I order from this place again! I called to order and asked about a dish and was told to «go online and look at it» because they’re «too busy» to tell me over the phone. (1^st red flag)
I then went online… looked up my order & called back only to the same guy who was very rude from the get-​go. FYI to the owners… Sometimes it not what you say but how you say it. So then I hang up & remember I want to pay with my debit card and called back was given attitude again about not giving it to them the first time. From then I decided I will not be giving my hard earned money to a restaurant that doesn’t care about how they treat their customers.
I usually don’t have to leave bad reviews but I will be telling everyone I know about my experience with Rainbow Garden in Urbana! I will stick to Lai Lai’s from now on.
Get a nicer person to answer your phones!

This is really a great addition to the Champaign /​Urbana area. While the cooking is not as great as Lai Lai or Golden Harbor, the dishes here are still prepared well with fresh ingredients. The best thing about the restaurant is that it is really the nicest Chinese restaurant around with Tang Dynasty also being comparable.
The first thing that will stand out to anyone is the décor. It is comfortable, traditional, and hip at the same time. Next, the silverware is for fine dining and everything from the plates to the cups and teapot all bear the restaurant name. This is pretty unique for Chinese restaurants and gives the restaurant a bit of an upscale feeling. The service is also pretty good and we were able to order in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese all in the same meal.
As for the food, they cooked common dishes like General Chicken and Sole Fillet with Chinese Greens well. Since a lot of restaurants around Champaign are in Mandarin or Szechuan style, it was nice to enjoy some dishes prepared Cantonese style. The noodles soups were light and enjoyable as well. The rice was a bit fluffier and most than most other local restaurants, suggesting that it wasn’t prepared in enormous quantities.
The prices were pretty good so I’m sure I’ll return again soon.