Maple Garden
Maple Garden
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
5 reviews
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I've had my fair share of Shanghainese food and this place does not blow me out of the water. I thought the soup dumplings were okay. The Shanghai noodles was tasty. The spare ribs which came recommended by the women manager/owner was tasteless other than it being fried. The dumplings were mediocre. I definitely won't be back.
Good deal for lunch where you get 3 dishes for $17 and additional entrees for $5 each. Try the flounder, salt and pepper shrimp, shrimp and squid with basil, and end with a melon soup. It's a little place next to the East buffet, but it's a good place to try a variety of dishes with friends.
East Buffet has been Maple Garden for some time now, so my review is unchanged:
Let me preface this by saying that I've never sat at a table here and only ever some here for dim sum to go and for their hot buffet to go, so I can't attest to wait times or service (though it's generally crowded during the peak dim sum hours.)
The dim sum is always delicious and fresh every time I go. It's not life changing dim sum but the fact that it tastes great even once I get home should attest to the taste and quality. I always get a couple of their shrimp wrapped in rice noodle (har churng), the shrimp dumpling (har gaw), the sticky rice, the siew mai and chicken feet! (Fung jao).
I'm also a fan of the "3 or 4 items with rice" deal. It's self explanatory but you pretty much choose the sides you want at the hot buffet (range of the typical fish, mixed vegetables, pork, beef, chicken varieties) and you get it all dumped in a styrofoam container with a generous heaping of rice for $4-5. Good for those lazy "I don't want to cook" days.
The way the dim sum and hot buffet station works is that you tell them what you want, and they will print out a receipt for you. You take that receipt to the cashier, pay, get it stamped and then give the receipt back to the lady to get your food. I was puzzled the first time but I suppose it makes good enough sense.
I took one star off because a couple of times, they would charge me random prices. I successfully got it changed once but the second time, I was just shrugged off. Not the greatest customer service but I've been a resident of the area for 25 years so I can't say I'm appalled. Otherwise, love the place
*EDIT* Got into an argument with the cashier because they charged me an arbitrary amount for my food yet again. Don't expect any semblance of customer service.
If you and your stomach are willing to overlook the health and safety rating, you're in for a great meal! (my family and I have personally never gotten sick here.)
Maple Garden is always filled with locals, many of them elderly. If you're not sure to start, ask your waiter or waitress for recommendations, even if you're not Chinese. The service is unusually good for a Chinese restaurant in Flushing.
They make excellent xiao long bao (soup dumplings) which I think are terribly underrated in comparison to more 'famous' places like Joe's. Crispy fried prawns and any of the squid dishes are my go-to dishes. I must mention, though, that the squash with golden mushrooms, although not for everyone, is probably the best I have ever had. Their steamed live fish is always tender and fresh, and even pedestrian dishes like cucumber and garlic sauce are very flavorful. Skip the stuff you can find at ordinary take-out, like General Tso's Chicken, and your experience at Maple Garden should be excellent.
The Moon Festival celebration on the Chinese calendar holiday should have made restaurants step up their game as many go out to eat. Alas, this was not the case. Next door, the buffet that we were suppose to eat out at was so packed that it was just not an option to wait longer than an 1 hour for. So my family and I ventured to the restaurant next door, Maple Garden. The restaurant was not packed and had 2 other diner patrons, 1 when we walked in. The lack of customer didn't deter us from eating there but I did not notice the C rating that they have for sanitary reasons as I was probably oblivious on 4 hours of sleep awaking just to eat with the family. The decor is quite plain as its theme is obviously Chinese as it was a Chinese restaurant matched with yellow clothed chair and red wallpaper. I ordered the squid w/ sour cabbage that was decent but lacked the flavor that sour cabbage should have. Furthermore, the waitresses' lack of attention even at a non-full capacity was disappointing. I was recently educated on the culture of lack of service in ethnic eateries that focuses more on the food. Yet, the food was sub par as well so in short I have to dock points specifically for just those mentions alone. The waitress might not have been trained in food handling because I don't recall not washing your hands/coughing on it previously and hovering that same hand over a tiny bowl of rice delivering to paying patrons is ever okay. Furthermore, my cousin's guest found hair in the rice that seems to not shock these waitresses. Talk about putting a damper on the holidays. Normally, I'd give a restaurant a second chance to win over a disappointed customer but I don't think I will in this instance.