East Lake Seafood Restaurant
“The Dungeness crab in lotus wrapped sticky rice – better than the one at Imperial Palace.”
“I've been to both Imperial Palace and here, and though their menus are pretty much exactly the same, I prefer East Lake.”
“Steamed Flounder w/ginger n' scallions – The waiter de-boned the fish in front of us.”
East Lake Seafood Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Typical Chinese food I would say more Cantonese style. Lots of seafood options but also pricey because of what it is. My party really wanted the dungeness crab but it was $45 for one. The lobster actually was cheaper for two. Anyway, we went with a steamed fish, lamb, mayo shrimp, veggies and noodles and everything was delicious and tasted like all the foods in my Cantonese childhood. Parking is horrible at the municipal lot across the street, I always go to the one a few blocks away. The waitress spilled something, not exactly sure what behind one of the chairs and offered us free drinks so we got some free beers. That's good service for Flushing! Crowded on weekends! Make sure you look out for people ordering seafood because they will bring out the fish/crab and show it to you. The table next to us ordered a massive king crab and we really got a kick watching them take pics of it. If the dungeness crab is $45, that would have been at least $200!!!
Came in, staff was very friendly and helpful.
My friend and I came in to grab overhung to eat before turning in for the evening and decided to try this place because it said on yelp that they had seafood selections (which I didn't even end up ordering by the way). I looked at the tanks and there were a different lobsters, crabs and fish to choose from but no guess I wasn't prepared to pay seafood prices lol.
They bring you a little dish of roasted peanuts to the table as the starter to your meal as well as a little cup of green tea which I didn't really drink but not because it didn't taste good but because I just wasn't in the tea drinking mood. This establishment is more of a family restaurant. There were many families gathered around their table with plenty of good looking food to share.
I ended up ordering pan seared noodles and chicken and asked them to make it spicy. It was more of a savory dish which kind of caught me of guard (probably because on the west coast, Asian food usually always have a sweet taste to it.) I asked for chilli sauce to add to the spiciness and for some sweet and sour to give me that sweet factor. I ate mostly all of it and toothed rest to my hotel for later.
I would have rather seen more of a variety of menu options. Maybe I just need to come back again on my next visit and try something different. I'm willing to give it a second shot.
Accept credit card. It should not be a selling point for a restaurant but in this area it is rare. I feel much better knowing I don't have to count my cash before ordering.
It is a medium size restaurant with around 100 -120 seating. Yes it also takes reservation. I am not sure if I should be praising them for presenting the live fish or crab before cooking it to us at the table.
Sliced conch stir fried – if you like sliced squid or calamari. Pretty good with the smoke hint and pungent shrimp paster as dipping sauce.
Seafood egg noodle – smaller size but packed with scallop shrimp and other seafood. Not the best.
Filet fish in black bean sauce – fresh fish. A bit oily but tasty.
The Dungeness crab in lotus wrapped sticky rice – better than the one at Imperial Palace. The sticky rice has better flavor.
The restaurant was packed by 7. I tried to order hot dessert but it was out. I wonder if they just want us out for the new customers.
After walking around for 15 minutes or so starving, checking out menus at various Chinese restaurants that my hotel recommended I decided on East Lake and I am so glad that I did. The lunch specials were fairly priced and the food was delicious. For just $6.50 you get tea, soup, and your entrée including rice (most of the other restaurants I checked out charged you extra for rice and were way more expensive). I decided to get the chicken with vegetables, which was not on the lunch menu, but I was able to request. My food was brought out hot and quickly. My food was great–full of flavor and not too salty. What I really liked was I was able to take my time and really enjoy my food–the servers were not rushing me out the door.
I liked this place so much that barely 30 minutes later I came back and brought my mother. She ordered the chicken and Chinese Broccoli, which was very delicious and full of flavor as well. All around us were families and couples trying various entrees, which all looked delicious. I definitely will be coming back here during my next trip to Flushing!
I'm not sure that Flushing has any bad Chinese restaurants, but this one gets 4 stars. The ambiance is exactly what you'd expect from an authentic Cantonese joint- loud and full of children, with a scent that's sure to give you order envy from the table to the left. There isn't much to be missed on this menu, but our favorite items were the eggplant casserole special (included scallops, shrimp, calamari and fish with a brown sauce to DIE over!), the whole fried flounder, dungeness crab with sticky rice and jellyfish. Nothing was overcooked, the rice was sticky and full of flavor and the texture of the fish was near perfect.
My first time here for dinner and the food tasted amazing. We got 3 dishes and a soup, DELICIOUS! If you do decide to come here you must try their house special roasted chicken. OMG! that chicken was juicy and tender. The best part was the crispy skin it was so crunchy and I love how it ripped right off the meat.
I would consider their dishes to be pretty standard for an Asian family style place. Nothing of excitement or new/fusion. So if you like your classics. I would come here. The walnut shrimp mayo, the T-bone steak with broccoli, the roasted garlic chicken, the steamed sea bass, the salt pepper pork chops, the grouper fish and tofu and so forth. Down a star for parking during prime time and another one for bit much on the msg.
One of the most authentic Cantonese restaurants outside of Hong Kong, East Lake Seafood Restaurant is actually the newer, sister restaurant of Imperial Seafood, a restaurant that has consistently been voted #1 seafood and Cantonese restaurant in New York (and Flushing) and which earned a glorious 1 star review from the New York Times. Their menus are the same, so you can pretty much order anything you can get from one from the other.
The best stuff to get is the live seafood. Ask your waiter what the fresh fish or shellfish is and what they are charging (SP = seasonal price). There are a variety of different fish that I don't know how to translate into English. "Gum been soon hook" (golden sided Cambodian sand goby) is fatty with flaky white meat. "Mon cho" (striped bass?) is a fish I've never eaten at another restaurant and is equally delicious. The only way to eat these is lightly steamed with soy sauce, ginger, and scallions.
If you're feeling wealthy (or just won the lottery), order a Dungeness crab, cold Chao style (~$45), or the lobsters steamed with sticky rice (~$35). Razor clams (when available) are sticky with the spicy black bean sauce and beautifully deshelled and cleaned (~$15).
The restaurant is by no means cheap if you go this route, but it's worth the money. You'll be eating like Chinese royalty. The seafood, especially, can get quite pricey because they usually charge by the pound. Just make sure you know upfront how much certain things weigh!
Other great things: cold jellyfish (head or flowers), giant oysters steamed with XO and glass noodles, the Hong Kong steak, any of the special soups (Four Treasures soup, Buddha Jumps Over The Wall soup), frogs legs, house special chicken, … The list is endless. Just don't get chicken with broccoli!