Sunny Garden

It’s no wonder this West Windsor spot, owned by a perfectionist, is listed as one of the top 100 restaurants in the nation.

By: Tom and Kate O’Neill

TIMEOFF PHOTOS/MARK CZAJKOWSKI

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   At the end of our meal at Sunny Garden, the fortune cookie’s promise was wrong in only one respect. "A thrilling time is in your future," it foretold. In fact, the thrill had been in the dinner we had just enjoyed, with every dish presented in style and prepared with skill and imagination.
   Sunny Garden is tucked in just south of MarketFair along Route 1. It occupies an attractive building that stands alone amid landscaping that deserves the name "Garden." Its appearance and sequestered setting distinguish it from many Chinese restaurants. The lobby offers couches upholstered in deep reds and gold beneath tall bamboo plants that reach toward the cathedral ceiling.

   Passing into the main dining rooms, guests pass a bustling sushi bar, where specialists demonstrate their artistry, and diners perch on stools to enjoy their wares. The dining rooms are furnished with elegant dark-wood chairs, their backs crafted from thin interlocking slats, and earth-toned floral seat cushions that match the upholstered banquettes and complement the room’s green, burgundy and tan color scheme. Walls hung with ink-and-brush scroll paintings and wide windows overlooking the gardens complete the pleasant décor.
   Once served, the diner begins to sense the substance of the restaurant’s claim — boldly heralded at the start of the menu — that this may well be "the region’s leading Chinese restaurant."
   Joined by our son Tim, we began with sushi ($5 each): the familiar Philly roll — smoked salmon and cream cheese in a traditional maki hand roll — and warm, tender unagi (eel).

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   Soup followed the sushi. The miso soup ($2), light and not as rich as some we have enjoyed, is flecked with diced tofu and snipped chives. The bean curd and vegetable soup for two ($7) has a base of thickened lobster sauce and is loaded with tiny shrimp, morsels of lobster and, most delightful, al dente garden-fresh peas and minced carrots. A vegetable moo shu ($5) was deftly finished tableside by our server who gently folded the delicate pancakes around a flavorful filling of sweet sauce and crisp vegetables. Service throughout the meal was smooth, friendly and professional, with a touch of elegance.
   We sampled two kinds of steamed dumplings that were served in elegant cylindrical baskets of woven bamboo. The fillings were savory, but the envelope of dough on both was disappointingly rubbery. The meat dumplings ($5) were stuffed with a rich, shredded pork mixture, while the shrimp sui-mai ($6) were packed with a well-selected medley of shrimp and vegetables. Both were accompanied by two standard sauce choices: sweet duck sauce or a piquant, gingery soy sauce, topped with minced chives.
   After that array of appetizers, we limited ourselves to two entrées. On the menu the special soft-shell crab with black-bean sauce ($18) was marked with an asterisk, warning the diner of possible heat hazards. But its kick proved agreeably mild. The fried crab was chopped into pieces manageable with chopsticks, with a deeply flavorful sauce that married the complementary flavors of soy, scallions and earthy black beans. A dash of vinegar lent tang to the moist and mellow steamed halibut ($16.50), served on a bed of delicate bok choy.
   Before receiving the ubiquitous fortune cookies, we sampled two desserts. A final thrill of the evening was fried bananas ($4.50). Two diners sharing this delightful dessert will want to keep a close eye on each others’ chopsticks. Our server presented us with seven deep-fried dumplings, each the size of a golf ball. Covered in a filament-thin coating of honey, the exterior glows good-as-gold and has a subtle crackle with every bite. The interior is feather-light and subtly sweetened by the fruit itself.
   Cold, creamy raspberry truffle ($5) was more familiar: raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream covered with white chocolate. This serving consisted of half of the ball, sliced in three, served with a flourish of fresh strawberries. In addition to pots of brewed tea, Sunny Garden, which has no liquor license, offers exotic fruit drinks and the usual soft drinks. We brought along a crisp, Alsatian Pinot Gris that complemented all our menu choices.
   We had a chance to talk with manager James Shen a few days later, and he represented very well the courtesy and class to which we had become accustomed. From his kind words about his employer, owner Yulen Yen, we can only imagine this trend goes all the way to the top. Shen stresses that, since Yen’s opening of Sunny Garden in December 1994, he has never settled for less than the best service and best ingredients. He was recently rewarded for his efforts by being selected as one of America’s top 100 restaurants, but he is not prepared to rest on his laurels: he has plans to expand the parking and to add some finer touches to the sushi bar. Equipped with such a perfectionist spirit, Shen will likely have a success on his hands for years to come.