Want an *impressive* chinese place in flushing chinatown that caters to a wordly foodie from suburban boston…8-10ppl fri night

[pslpsl]

The does not need to be super- opulent (i.e. doesn't need to be a banquet hall….but that's OK), but does need to be 'nice'+ for guests.

We will have a group of 8-10 people on friday night, so it would be great if they took reservations,

the food needs to be excellent: best of its breed in either ingredients (i.e. seafood) or the best dongbei, unusual regional cuisine etc.

Price <$50/head…so essentially anything, right?

the ideal thing would be Fu Run, but in a space that was a little nicer that took reservations.

Advice?

[pslpsl]

Went with imperial palace. Thank you all!

[Lau]

how was your meal?

[pslpsl]

Imperial palace excellent, a particular standout for me was the clams in the 'house' or 'special' sauce , truly divine flavorwise.

Their whole fish in garlic sauce was great (I preferred the steamed to fried).

Crispy quails great.......
Passable lamb in cumin as well......

Crab rice merely delicious.......

A++ would nom again.

[Lau]

great, im glad you enjoyed IP

[Lau]

i'd go imperial palace
https://www.lauhound.com/2012/03/imperial-palace-east-lake-seafood-restaurant-my-favorite-chinese-restaurant-in-new-york/

or maybe lake pavilion (def get the peking duck); also after being there more times, i'd also recommend that crab sticky rice (i've come to like it more than i did the first time
)https://www.lauhound.com/2012/12/lake...

[saria]

I love Imperial Palace and sometimes I still think about that sticky rice. My non-adventurous mother, who is relative stranger to anything other than Americanized Chinese adored it as well.

[Lau]

yah IP remains my favorite restaurant in Flushing, i think cantonese food is quite easy for most american palates to enjoy if you order correctly

[saria]

I know you're looking for Chinese, but have you considered Korean? Boston's Korean options are mostly deplorable and some of the Korean restaurants are pretty nice.
Otherwise, how about Biang!?

[diprey11]

Lao Dong Bei on Kissena? The chef used to work at Fu Run. The quality is as in the best days of Fu Run.

Fancy something else? Opulent is easy, you know. Good, honest food is not.

Just ask Ms Li, the owner of 興順逹, aka the Rural Restaurant. :-))) Simply tell her you are having a party and want to impress your guests with some great Liao Ning food, give her your budget and let her and her husband, Chef Liu, decide on the menu: you might be very pleasantly surprised.

Their honesty is beyond any doubt, IMHO, as well as their creativity. It's not that expensive and it's more than worth it. They are a small restaurant: when planning your dinner, give them some extra time.

[Peter Cuce]

Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sichuan is best of breed, takes reservations and cards, has large tables and is nicer looking than your average Flushing spot - much nicer looking than Fu Run. They get crowded so reserve ahead.

[swannee]

Don't know if I agree that it is so much "nicer looking", but HK of GS is an excellent choice, too, especially if one sticks to the Hunan specialities.

[Peter Cuce]

They have white table cloths and cloth napkins, so that helps a lot right there.

[diprey11]

The food quality at 故湘味 might be inconsistent: when it's good it can be real good thiugh. Nice decor, too.

[Peter Cuce]

For English-speaking mortals, I assume you are referring to HK of GS when you write 故湘味. I only figured that out by Googling it. :) What's the literal translation of that? I've eaten there around eight times over a large span of time and haven't noticed any great inconsistencies. It could be my ordering - have you noticed specific dishes?

[diprey11]

Apologies. I didn't mean to be cryptic. That's their name.

I found their signature dishes, e.g., barbeque-style fish (meh) and even pig trotters (quite better) highly inconsistent. I have other examples.

Stinky doufu was pretty bad (I would never dare serve that but my guest insisted), which could have been expected. Red-braised pork shoulder was not tender enough: ideally you should only use chopsticks to get a piece. Watercress (空心菜) was as tough as straw. All that within the last year. Should I continue?

On a positive side, they are open until at least midnight, they take credit cards, they have a nice (if kitschy) decor. Cloth napkins too.

[Peter Cuce]

Nice to hear your opinion - you can continue as long as you like. Too bad about the inconsistencies then, but I've had generally good experiences there. I don't care for stinky tofu so would never know about that. Haven't personally had that problem with the pork although possibly with the watercress - can't remember. I like the Mao's BBQ Fish quite a bit, especially the generous helping of root vegetables and potatoes covering said fish, and no one I've eaten with there has felt like it was meh.

[swannee]

I was able to make reservations at Fu Run and they kept it rather promptly. Imperial Palace or its affiliate would be a good Cantonese option.