Looking for authentic Chinese restaurants in scenic South Lake Tahoe? For the best Chinese cuisine near town / near South Tahoe’s extensive collection of tourist spots and areas of natural beauty, be sure to stop by Mandarin Garden Chinese Restaurant to enjoy gourmet Chinese. Filipino, and American Asian classics.
The Current Head Chef and Owner of Mandarin Garden has been gourmet level dishes since learning to do so in the 1980’s in China. Before immigrating to the US in 1995, he worked his way up in the kitchen’s of epicurean restaurants and high class bistros. Once in the US, he found a job at a rival Chinese restaurant in South Lake Tahoe.
On his daily commute home from his establishment , he passed by Mandarin Garden Chinese Restaurant and dreamed of a day when he could own it for himself. in 2020, Mandarin Garden was up for sale and he jumped at the opportunity to run his own establishment with his wealth of knowledge and skill when it comes to masterfully crafting and reworking signature dishes. On top of always improving popular dishes already served at the restaurant, the Head Chef loves the challenge of making specially requested items and learning completely new dishes to add to the restaurant’s repertoire.
The current menu’s most famous offerings include American Chinese favorites like Fresh Orange Chicken, Fried Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Mongolian Beef. They also specialize in Filipino dishes like Peppered Fish and Fried Bananas. The owner’s wife mentioned that her favorites were the BBQ Pork Fried Rice and authentic Roasted Duck. She also relayed a recent example of how far people will go in order to visit this small town’s Mandarin gem.
Tourists from San Fransisco scheduled time in their visit to the basin to come here for dinner specifically because it is an authentic Chinese eatery in a town that lacks a strong Chinese influence and contains a low Chinese population.
