The Asian King of Queens

Ahhhh where to begin. Can I say enough praise for my most frequently ordered restaurant? I don’t think that I can do justice when reviewing this joint. This is my delivery standby. I order from here at least once a week…or five. Hell, I must have spent thousands of dollars at this spot- I should have a framed photo on the wall. Yes, they serve Chinese AND Japanese food (an obvious sign of an identity crisis). Yeah, you can barely understand the girl on the phone. And yes, I think I did get food poisoning from here once, but Bourdain did warn me not to eat seafood on a Monday, and besides, that didn’t deter me one bit from placing an order the next week.

King Garden. The king of all (Chinese and Japanese) gardens. Ok, it is a take-out Chinese joint, but it is a few notches above your normal neighborhood spot. They’re pretty clean, considering the competition, they’re very friendly, and their ordering system is completely computerized. After your first order, you’re in the system and they know your exact address when you call… No more “3C” …”3C”…..”THREE SEEEEEEEE!!!!”.

Now let me start by saying, I do not vouch for their Chinese food. I’ve only ordered the basics from here and they were pretty mediocre. But as for the Japanese menu (yes they have two totally different menus), it’s a serious deal for what you get. My main go-to dish is the Chicken Karaage combination ($6.55).



Karaage is basically Japanese fried chicken over rice, and the combination comes with a small salad and your choice of either dumplings, California roll, salmon roll or a couple other rolls. I usually opt for the California. The meal is bomb. A deal and a half. Crispy, moist chicken with a little sauce drizzled over it. I live off of this.

The wife always orders the same- two avocado-cucumber rolls ($2.45 each) and a small hot & sour soup…she’s always pleased. When I am craving sushi, I order the sushi combination B ($6.95) – I worked it out one night, and it seems to be a much better value over sushi combination A. It comes with a California roll and six sashimi’s- eel, shrimp, that fake crab stuff, yellowtail?, tuna, and salmon. Also on my frequent orders are the Oyako Don which loosely translates to “mother and child” (chicken and egg) over rice. Mmmmmmm – Seriously! It’s really a typical Japanese home-cooked dish that reminds me of my mother’s cooking. Another one of my faves is the chicken katsu curry over rice ($5.75).



So flavorful!!! You can’t tell from the picture, but the curry has small bits of potato and carrots. If you haven’t tried Japanese curry, you must. It’s unlike any other country’s curry- rich and slightly sweet. I think I might order it right now. The chicken katsu version is basically a chicken cutlet, breaded in panko and fried. A little dip in the curry bath and a scoop of rice- ahhh, I’m in heaven.

The King Garden also has meals fit for a “king”- enter the world of the DELUXE COMBINATION. It’s really the normal combination, like the karaage combo, plus tempura (2 shrimp and some veggies) AND a miso soup.



This thing weighs like three pounds! Whenever my old roommate crashes over, he always orders the Karaage deluxe combination ($9.25)….And he finishes it! Believe me, this is not for amateurs. It’s a meal fit for kings. If you haven’t yet, give these guys a call.

King Garden
4306 34th Ave
Astoria, NY 11101
(718) 472-3766‎