Oriental Garden

Linda Perney

1:28 PM EDT, October 31, 2007

In the normal course of events, I would not have gone to Oriental Garden. The place specializes in Cantonese food - a style of cooking I have always equated with the dreary shopping-center Chinese places I remember from an unsophisticated childhood. If I'm going to eat Chinese, I want the fiery flavors of Szechuan, the intricate tastes of Hunan. Not what I always thought of as the Chinese equivalent of Midwestern mall food. But a friend recommended the place, so I went.

Surprisingly, I liked the place. The food was uniformly tasty, from the first bites of the appetizers to the last morsels of the main courses.

This is a simple restaurant in the heart of Chinatown, and as you walk in there's little to distinguish it from plenty of other places in the neighborhood. Plain white tablecloths; brusque, if efficient service; golden dragons on the wall; far too much wattage in the ceiling lights.

But look a little closer: Along the walls are tanks filled with the fish you're soon to be eating. In fact, I couldn't help but be morbidly interested by one particularly large and lively crab that seemed intent on escape.

The place, in case you haven't guessed by now, is all about seafood. The salt-and-pepper shrimp were fried to perfection: Big, meaty specimens, they came to the table hot and crisp. Dumplings filled with a flavorful mix of shrimp and pork were served encased in thin, soft wrappers that bore no relation to the tough, cardboard-like dough that has given the potsticker a bad name.

Main courses were equally successful. Pea shoots were perfectly prepared and came with a crab-filled sauce. Lobster was sauteed with plenty of ginger and garlic, topped with utterly fresh and crisp scallions. But the true stars of the menu are the razor clams - doused with a spectacular, garlicky black bean sauce.

If there was one disappointment, it was the fried shrimp balls that we ordered as appetizers. Boring and tasteless, they lived up to all my preconceived ideas about Cantonese cooking. Don't waste your time or calories on them - not when you could be eating the steamed whole fish.

Who eats here? Largely a neighborhood crowd of Asian families, but there's one surprise. According to rumor, celebrity chef David Bouley has been known to show up. Now, I don't know that to be true - he wasn't there when I was. But whether he eats here or not, you should.

ALSO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ...

Parking: This is Chinatown, so don't even think of parking on the street. But there's a garage nearby, at 44 Elizabeth St.; 212-226- 9425. $23 an hour; $27 for two hours; $32 for the day.

Shopping: There's no better place to shop for things such as embroidered slippers, brocade change purses, small toys, children's clothes, sunglasses and socks than the stalls along Canal Street, and throughout the streets of Chinatown.

Culture: The Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) (70 Mulberry St., second floor; 212-619-4785) has an interactive exhibit called Where Is Home, which chronicles the Chinese in America.

Sweets: And, after all that wandering about, a treat from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is most welcome (65 Bayard St.; 212-608- 4170).

OrientaL Garden

4 Elizabeth St., near Canal Street

212-619-0085

Cuisine: Cantonese

CHECK: Appetizers and soups, $3.95 to $12.95. Main courses: $15-$25

Hours: Monday -Friday

10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes