Jade Garden

Send us more details about this place.

The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

A Sauchiehall Street fixture since 1971, the Jade Garden feels little affected by the passing of time. A well-trod carpeted staircase leads up to its genteel, pastel-tinted dining room where, within minutes of sitting down, a little basket of light prawn crackers is brought to the table while you peruse the large, padded menu book. Aside from a Cantonese speciality section at the beginning, there are few surprises, with the menu focusing on familiar meat or seafood and sauce combinations. Vegetable pancake rolls are nicely crisp on the outside but spongy underneath and rather cabbagey while a generous portion of barbeque ribs arrives under a blanket of sweet, red sauce. A speciality main of king prawns with Chinese vegetables is cooked beautifully; the prawns are tender and the wilted pak choi and Chinese leaves add an iron tang to the mild sauce. Kom Po chicken is a hit, with plenty of crunchy cashews and water chestnuts providing contrast to the pleasingly chewy chicken in batter and its tangy sweet and sour sauce, but it does lack a good chilli kick. Dishes are garnished with a carved radish and rest on foodwarmers, but add the rice dishes and there’s not much elbow room.

• High point: Safe, familiar dishes
• Low point: Sauces tend towards blandness