Empire Garden Chinese Restaurant

Come here solely for their Taiwanese pork chop or chicken leg over rice (as my allegiances for Chinese food lies elsewhere). Tastes pretty good. They present themselves well interior wise, nice and clean with friendly customer service.

Best Chinese take out food I’ve had. Small and family owned /​operated, great service, delicious food, great portions, will alter dishes to your preferences w out hesitation. They aim to please and they make you feel appreciated and your business valued. I am a huge fan.

This restaurant has your typical Chinese take-​out but what’s special is the Taiwanese food! So delicious. Try the chicken leg over rice — can’t seem to find this item on their takeout menu but they do make it. You get a huge fried chicken leg & thigh over a bed of white rice, pickled vegetables, really flavorful ground beef, and one dark tea egg. I love the way the chicken is breaded and they fry it to order. Seriously a delicious and cheap meal. I can’t wait to try more of their food.
They do take-​out but they also have several tables if you want wait service and I saw a bunch of people dining in so that’s alway a good sign!

Great food if you know what to order. The chicken thigh over rice is awesome.

I’ve been a regular here since foreverrrrr! Their food is not bad, but you must know what to order. I always order their fried pork chop with noodles which is YUMMY. Okay but tbh the pork chop isn’t consistently made well. sometimes it’s like too greasy and just a lot of fat. or it can be perfecto. So it’s a gamble, but regardless I still go for it. I also recommend their fried chicken leg over rice, my dad always order that! It really is delicious. Overall it’s a good place to hit when you’re feeling lazy to cook and want something quick and solid.

The ground pork on fried pork dish had no texture (maybe it needs mushroom, more fat or carrot or something in it), there should be vegetable on the fried pork dish (they served sour cabbage instead.) we ordered Water spinach but it was not quality and too old too much fiber. Service was good but not professionals the servers were chatting about their life in the restaurant and as the restaurant was very small, I can clearly hear about their personal issues.

Small cozy clean restaurant! Almost everything I’ve tried so far is pretty cheap and delicious! The employees are also really friendly. Will definitely be back with family and friends.

If I can give it zero star I would. I got take out yesterday. I ordered chicken with peanuts over white rice and a large hot and sour soup. They got my order wrong. Instead of white rice they gave me pork fried rice. Besides the wrong order the chicken with peanuts had no taste and just tasted like oil. I had to add hot sauce.
Now to the hot and sour soup. I could not finish the soup so I put it in the fridge for the next day. When I took it out to heat up it became jello. Yes JELLO! It was disgusting. Never again ordering from this place.

I love their Boneless Rib on Fried Rice Lunch Special. Fried Rice Cake also excellent. Love it.

This place has a very warming welcome, as I walk in a women I believe to be the owner sat us down, service is good. I came here because I’ve heard so many of my friends who came here liked the pork over rice and they recommended some to come and give it a try. I must agree with them it was delicious.

I have to say this Taiwanese rest is really good, me and my babe come here often, most of the time when I write a review I always leave comment for good food :) and yet pork chop over rice is always the best :) Gatta say it’s the best, don’t quite find it often so far, my girl also love this place. Staff and manager are very polite and nice thumbs up for that I would highly recommend !!

I’ve been coming to this restaurant for a few months now and recently this restaurant has underwent new management and I must say, the new owner is very considerate of the customers and friendly too :)
Everytime I come here, i always have to get the spicy tofu with the sauce!
The atmosphere of this restaurant is 10/​10, good vibes — also a great place just to sit, order some food and talk with friends over a cup of tea.
Overall:
Customer service — 5 stars
Food — 5 stars
Décor — 5 stars
Definitely recommend this place :)

Went to eat dinner with my brother for the first time here. And oh lord was it amazing and most importantly it was very cheap:) Totally recommended! «Thumbs up“The waiter was really nice also. Place is comfortable and clean.

This is one of the most authentic Taiwanese food places in the neighborhood. People who are giving below 3 stars reviews are not getting it right and making the wrong comparisons.
The restaurant is actually 18 years old and has a long history; it recently underwent renovation and is attracting a younger crowd. The owner of the restaurant is from Taiwan too, so you know that you are getting authentic Taiwanese food. I posted a bunch of pictures and you can check them out, if you have tried Taiwanese food before (Beef noodles for example), you know these look damn authentic. Please don’t tell me they look or taste weird, your lack of knowledge and cultural exposure do not warrant a bad review. The food is good. Period.
For the price you pay, you are getting what you paid for, not a cent less. I would recommend this restaurant to everyone. The staffs here are friendly and their service is top notch.

I came here with my boyfriend on a whim to avoid the high school crowd at Subway and boy am I glad we did. After being seated immediately and brought complimentary hot tea, we began ordering off of the lunch special menu, deciding on a chicken and garlic and chicken w cashew nuts lunch specials as well as a side of fried dumplings. The food came nicely plated with authentic fried rice and the chicken was tender and the saucy completely non greasy.
What really made this visit special was the owner May. (I hope I’m spelling her name right)
When my meal arrived, I took a picture as I often do. May saw me take the picture and was so flattered and even treated us to free drinks, along with introducing herself and telling us the back story of her and her husband’s restaurant owning business.
The impeccable service and amazing food will definitely bring us back.

I think the 3.5 stars this place has is spot-​on. If you’re coming in here expecting the experience of a 5-​star $$$$ restaurant, you’re in the wrong place. In essence, you pay for what you get, and this is especially the case for these small, mom&pop Chinese restaurants. You can expect to leave here with a full stomach and leftovers for about $ 10 a person, inclusive of tax and tip.
From the outside, this place looks like any other Chinese takeout hole-​in-​the-​wall. It’s got those neon signs in the window, and when I went the curtains were drawn so it looked closed from the outside. Inside, it is your basic no-​frills décor. Service is just enough to get it done — waitress brought us peanuts, tea and menu, took our order, and packed our leftovers when we were done.
The food here is good — comes out comes out steaming hot and seems fresh enough. My friends and I all got the pork chop over rice, and the hot oil and sesame sauce wontons. The portions are downright massive and reminiscent of Taiwan’s food carts/​huts/​restaurants. The pork chop comes with a side of veggies, a braised egg, and enough rice to feed a family of 4. The pork chop itself is very Taiwanese — salt and pepper seasoning with a hint of sweetness in the crust. The wontons were not as good as Nan Xiang’s but were much spicier (which I personally liked).
All in all, a good place to go for a cheap and filling meal that satisfies your cravings for some home-​cooked Taiwanese food.

I ordered pick up here. I never eaten in. So I don’t know their service is good or not, but the manner to take order over the phone and atitude of cashier were good. I don’t know if I want to eat here because I don’t like their red lighting. Probably, among white people, this lighting looks exotic and special. The decoration on the shelf was funny. Mostly Chinese stuff, but there was a Japanese doll, too.
This place is little far from my place, but better than the Chinese place near my place, so this is my choice of Chinese in my neighborhood. There is nothing special to say, but I liked their sesame chicken.

Honestly, I think this place has some of the best Chinese food in Queens. From the outside it seems like your typical Chinese take out, but it’s a legit Chinese restaurant on the inside (albeit a little small). They have a wide selection of dishes on their menu, from your usual Chinese take out items, to some more traditional dishes, and even some pretty fancy specials. I love that their food isn’t too oily. And the prices for the quality of food, can’t be beat!
I’ve been here numerous times with my boyfriend now. We usually eat in, and they always serve hot tea with our meal. Our favorite dish is their Chicken Thigh special. It takes a little longer to make, but it is totally worth the wait! We’ve gotten it several times and the chicken is always perfectly tender on the inside, with super crispy skin on the outside. And the garlic sauce on top makes this dish a winner.
The best part is how cheap it is. For my boyfriend and me, we can get a soup and the Chicken Thigh special to share (with brown rice for an additional 50 cents) for $ 13 total! A really filling dinner for a really affordable price.
A testimony to the great food here is that there are often a lot of Chinese people who come to eat. I will say that because of the small size of the restaurant, it’s not a good place for large groups. The largest table seats about 6 – 7 people, and most tables are for 4 people.
I will also say for anyone who doesn’t speak Chinese that the waitress doesn’t have very good English, and my boyfriend has had some miscommunications with her. But if all else fails, pointing to the menu always works. Also the hostess/​manager can come over and help translate your order, since her English is pretty good.
Overall, great Chinese restaurant with a wide array of dishes to please different palates!

This place has one of the best chicken leg/​thigh over rice I’ve ever had. Hands down must try. The other dishes are good too, but are not on the same level as the chicken leg over rice.
I’d advise against eating there, however, because Empire Garden has only a small restaurant dining area, which is filled with greasy kitchen smells.

I am quite surprised that a few people gave this place a 1 star rating, for shame people! The Food is quite delicious here. YES, the seating is limited and the service is lack luster, but the food makes up for the inadequacy.
I don’t judge a restaurant too harshly over a few dishes. The bottom line is this, «is the food worth the trip to get it?»
I admit, the soupy buns here are terrible, but the other dishes are spot on. House fried rice, beef noodle soup, chicken mixed with seafood in brown sauce and seafood casserole were AWESOME!
They offer great deals on weekday lunch specials. As for parking, there is a shared parking lot in the back, but you will need to walk through the «Rite aid store». There is no access to the restaurant from the parking lot out back. Metered parking is available in front of the street on Springfield Blvd.
So give them a shot, you won’t regret it. The only regret you’ll have is for not trying out this place sooner!