New Chinese restaurant is well worth celebrating

EVERETT — A new restaurant impressed a local couple so much, they celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary with a “wonderful” lunch and sent an e-mail recommending we visit.

Beijing Garden opened about a month ago in a space on Rucker Avenue that used to be home to an appliance store. Now, the storefront gives visitors a view of the tropical fish tank that’s just inside the door. The showroom’s been converted to classy dining areas decorated with dark wooden tables and chairs and tropical colors. There’s seating for about 60 customers under the red Chinese lanterns.

The menu is lengthy, with nine appetizers, six soups and 75 main dishes plus fried rice and noodle dishes. There are also combination dinners for parties of one to 10, and house specials such as yellow onion strips with beef served on a sizzling platter ($10.95) and mango prawns ($12.95).

For my lunch, I had to try the mango-bell pepper prawns because that’s not a common dish, and I also ordered one of the daily specials — black pepper beef ($10.95). My lunch companion had the General Tso’s chicken ($9.50). My friend selected the hot and sour soup and I had the egg drop soup, plus fried rice and a spring roll, which were included with our lunches.

The mango prawn dish was a beautiful display of onion and red and green bell pepper strips, mango slices and fresh prawns in a clear, slightly sweet sauce that deliciously coated everything. My friend’s chicken was among the best I’ve tasted. The sauce was a splendid combination of chili-pepper heat, brown sugar sweetness and soy sauce salty. Inside the crispy, deep-fried coating, the chicken was juicy and not overcooked.

My friend thought the black pepper beef was overly marinated, but I really liked it — thin strips of tender beef infused with a flavor combination that acted as the perfect background to the black pepper.

About halfway through our lunch, owner-chef Hao Xie came out of the kitchen and checked on everyone’s lunches. We complimented him and our server, Sue Wang. They had a restaurant in Lynnwood before moving to Everett, and hope to celebrate many anniversaries here.

Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.