Peking Garden regulars share favorite entrees
Published 1:00 pm Sunday, May 19, 2013
If a restaurant can stay viable for almost three decades, it must be doing something right.
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Huang opened Peking Garden Chinese Restaurant in 1984 and it has been a local favorite ever since.
Five of us recently went to Peking for our lunch break.
We have all eaten there many times and each of us has our favorite menu items.
The following is our take on the food and dinning experience.
Johnathan Manning
My favorite entrees are the Mongolian beef and the long-life noodles.
The long-life noodles are the créme de la crème of lo mein. Once you’ve had Peking’s take on the Chinese restaurant staple, you’ll consider all other lo mein a poor man’s substitute.
The Mongolian beef is mixed with green onions. It’s similar to what you would find at P.F. Chang’s, although I would give the national chain restaurant’s version the edge.
• Recommendations: Mongolian beef, long life noodles and egg rolls.
Pamela Seal
I can make a meal off an order of egg rolls if it’s just me eating. There are two in an order.
When I’m ordering an entree, my favorite is China pan. It is served with a dark sauce and generous portions of beef, chicken and shrimp, along with the water chestnuts, broccoli and carrots. It’s extremely flavorful.
Aside from every order being cooked and served fresh, another bonus is being greeted by Mary with her sweet smile. She always takes time to stop by our table and ask how everything is going.
Sometimes, she will even tuck in an extra order of egg rolls “to go” because she knows I like them so much.
• Recommendations: China pan, moo goo gai pan, long life noodles, egg rolls, shrimp tempura and shrimp toast.
Laura Heller
The lunch portions are generous but if you order off of the dinner menu, you can easily make two meals out of it.
If you enjoy alcoholic drinks, try a Scorpion or a flaming Volcano. They taste like fruit punch, but have some serious punch to them.
Peking is a family run restaurant and this is evident in the stellar customer service. Those who work there greet regulars by name and who doesn’t like that?
Mr. Jay always makes sure to greet customers with a nod and a “nice to see you.”
The restaurant is an old home and it is decorated in an Asian-Renaissance classic theme — it features antique furniture pieces, ornate traditional and Asian paintings, bronze lions, a “wishing well” pot, and of course, a big wooden Buddha.
The ambiance is quiet and the lighting is also soothing.
• Recommendations: Pepper beef, moo goo gai pan, and hot and sour soup.
John Guidroz
While I like ordering something different each time, my favorite entrees are the Mongolian beef and the sauteed scallops.
Both dishes are served with a spicy dark sauce and come with fried rice. I usually order from the dinner menu which is never short on portions.
• Recommendations: Mongolian beef, sauteed scallops, chicken with garlic sauce, Robert McHale’s Shrimp Noodles.
Michael Cooper
Peking has won awards and been named best Asian restaurant in Southwest Louisiana countless times.
You know the food and service are going to be great. The only question I ever have is, what am I going to try this time?
While I do have my favorites, there is nothing on the menu I wouldn’t suggest.
If it is your first time, there are a few things you must check out other than the food.
First is the original artwork on the wall of the lobby. The prints, which are for sale, are by Charlie Huang.
Charlie has been putting his work up for years and it has been a joy to watch his talent grow. Knowing a little bit about goes into printmaking, I am always amazed by what he is able to produce.
• Recommendations: Long-life noodle, Mongolian beef, double-cooked pork, John Polk’s shrimp, boneless chicken, egg drop soup and shrimp toast.
If You Go
• Location: 2433 Broad St.
• Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday and Sunday; 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
• Phone: 436-3597.
• Online: www.pekinggardenonline.net
Peking Garden offers two different lunch specials each day during the work week. The meals
at $8.75
