Oriental Garden has so little resemblance to real Chinese food I'm not sure I should even classify it as an Asian restaurant. One of the many buffet restaurants found in El Paso, particularly in the northeast part of the city, it is not that different from the other mediocre choices that are available. What is different about Oriental Garden, though, is that no MSG is used, so at least most people can eat here, even though I doubt that any true Asian food aficionado would actually enjoy it.

There is no menu, and they will not cook any individual orders in the kitchen except to-go orders, so the buffet is the only option for dining in. Like many buffets in El Paso, the big problem here is that the old food is never cleared from the buffet, but the fresh refills (the very few times they are prepared), are poured on top of the old food in the serving trays. My experience was that the only food I could recommend, or even eat, was what was fresh, and this will vary according to the time you go.

I was able to try fresh batches of egg drop soup (good, but lacking flavor) and hot and sour soup (terrible!). The kung pao chicken was OK, but did not have any peanuts. The best items from the buffet were the fried rice, kimchee (the restaurant is operated by Koreans), and the fresh fruit.

It is probably not worthwhile even writing a review, since nothing was very good, but I try to take my job (or at least my hobby) seriously, and I'm trying to be fair (but when it comes to El Paso Asian food that can be very difficult at times).