Hibachi Delicacies Converging in Peking Garden

Peking Garden

Location: 4416 Johnston St. Lafayette, LA 70503
Phone: 337-984-1290
Offers:  Dine-in, Take-out, Party Room, Sushi, Hibachi 
Cuisine: Japanese Cuisine
Capacity: 100
Signature Dishes: Hibachi Chicken, Hibachi Steak, Hibachi Shrimp, Hibachi Mixed Vegetables, Lobster, Seafood
Year of Establishment: 1977 (under new establishment in 2005)

Within the idyllic and rich neighborhood of Johnston Street and Camellia Boulevard, Lafayette where its vicinity are prestigious schools, huge residential houses and office buildings, and right inside Grand Marche Shopping Center, lies a great find for Japanese food lovers – Peking Garden Japanese Restaurant. Given its up-market surroundings, the eateries in the vicinity are naturally high end to cater to its richer clients.

Peking Garden was established in 1977, the first restaurant of its kind in Lafayette. In 2005, the present owner, Yurong Weng took it over and redecorated it into a high-class Japanese restaurant. In fact, it is a fusion of Japanese cuisine and Chinese culinary culture. This has made its style unique in this city, arousing more and more diners to come over and have a wonderful dining experience.

About 4,000 square feet, this restaurant can accommodate 100 diners at the same time. With specific color and material, the restaurant reflects a warm-colored design of the combined philosophy of Chinese and Japanese. The restaurant is intimate and compact, with stylish, warm-colored wooden wall and windows, accompanied with exquisitely designed dining tables and well-matched chairs. The cozy atmosphere is further augmented by soothing background music and soft lighting. 

The structure of light design in Peking Garden is warm and soft, the system is capable to manipulate and play with light, revealing shapes and contrasts. The main theme of its crystal lighting is to bring the modern Chinese and Japanese cultures and beauties into its unique warmth and coziness. The grand crystal suspended lamp is all about the effect of an exotic fascination, with beautiful light combination helping to produce a charming, smoothing feel.

Peking Garden offers hibachi, a gourmet style of cooking, using only the freshest meat, seafood, and vegetables. The delicacies are cooked in front of the clients by its distinguished chefs on a flat hibachi grill. It is now the pride of this restaurant which has several well-trained hibachi chefs. All of them are not only skillful but good at entertaining clients with humorous talk.

Never resting on the laurels of what he achieved, Weng has added some sushi to the already extensive menu, trying to give the customers more alternatives. The sushi chef, Hung, joined in the big family of Peking Garden to bring in some new and exciting inspirations. With over 10 years of experience in making sushi, Hung has acquired the know-how to turn the sushi into pieces of edible art—aesthetically and palate pleasing. 

The sushi varieties net a large scale, ranging from tuna, snapper, mackerel, flounder to salmon. You can’t help but notice the dozens of sushi varieties offered on the sushi bar and the efficiency with which it is prepared. The sushi here is so fresh and delicious that one would think that it had just been harvested from the ocean only minutes beforehand. Its freshness is not only due to it being made to order, but chef Hung also treats the fish and other ingredients with extreme care, and tries to make sure that every cut or slice of fish is perfectly done.

While Peking Garden’s mainstay is its array of hibachi dishes, served simultaneously by three professional chefs cooking in front of the guests on seven hibachi grills. The outstanding Hibachi Shrimp, served with a specially-made sauce, is one of the examples which have always allured numerous diners. The Peking Garden Tuna and Hibachi scallop are similarly impressive, with extraordinarily succulent tuna and scallop perfectly seasoned and brimming with flavor.

A perfect combination of great cooked dishes and sushi at bargain prices makes this restaurant the best choice in the area for Japanese food. The friendly, hardworking staff does its best to keep up with diners' demands. The restaurant gets quite busy between 4 to 6 pm from Sunday to Thursday, when happy hour specials come at very digestible prices –with sushi 20% off. The main menu, which is always available, features great hibachi dishes, including Hibachi Mixed Vegetables, with homemade sauce and rice. Also, a vast selection of appetizers and side orders are available. Diners see brisk business, too, but there always seems to be an available table. Its famed kid’s meals are served every day and present the perfect place for family get-togethers. In addition, an extensive wine list and impressive range of beers and spirits complement the fantastic food and make the lounge bar a great spot for post dinner drinks.

The dedication to fresh, healthy and quality food is clearly manifested in the operation principle of Peking Garden. MSG is considered as unhealthy and prohibited in many restaurants, and Peking Garden was testified to use no MSG, instead they use the Flavor Enhancer that achieves both the standards of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and safety in amounts suggested by World Health Organization (WHO). The efforts to bring more healthy dishes include using little oil, salt and introducing a variety of vegetables to the vegetarians and health-conscious diners.
THE OWNER’S EFFORTS

It is well known that Asians have created more tastes - sweet, sour, bitter – in their cuisine than people in other parts of the world. However, when they introduce certain staples of their diet into western society and customize them to western tastes, the dishes often lose their original quality and distinctness. Thanks to Yurong Weng’s great efforts, Peking Garden has kept the consistency of authentic tastes and flavors of all its Japanese dishes.

On the other hand, Peking Garden has been catering to the discerning tastes of its loyal and eminently refined clientele for over five years. With stylish oriental décor, glorious food and a warm welcome from friendly and attentive staff, it’s no wonder this fantastic Japanese eatery has long been established as a favorite haunt of local celebrities and famous faces.

Looking forward, Weng says with confidence, “we will continue improving our service and providing a more hygienic and inviting dining environment for our precious clients.”

In January 10, 2011, Peking Garden received the recognition, being named one of Top 100 Chinese Restaurant in the category of Top 100 Local Favorite in the Top 100 Chinese Restaurant 7th Annual Awards Show & Reception held in Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, USA.