I have not been to Peking Garden in over a decade. However, I am glad I returned to try some familiar dishes and their famous house special because Peking Garden serves meals perfect for both dine in or carry out.
Located at 206 N Randolph Street in Downtown Champaign, it’s a good spot if you have an event at the Virginia Theatre or Springer Cultural Center. When we went for dinner, there were no dinner specials, but Peking Garden serves lunch specials from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays. The lunch specials include an entrée, appetizer (spring roll or crab rangoon), and rice (fried or steamed) for $8.45, which I think is a great deal.
My family of six shared the food family-style and had plenty of leftovers. I highly recommend eating family-style at Chinese restaurants to get a little taste of everything. We ordered our food to go, but when I picked up the order, there were several large groups and families dining in. The restaurant has plenty of tables and space, and perhaps the location would work nicely for an event or party.
First, here are some classic protein dishes that my family always enjoys.
To start, we had the General Tso’s chicken ($13.45). Peking Garden’s chicken has a little spice to it, but I think it’s barely noticeable. The chicken had a deep-fried breading with a sweet and spicy sauce with broccoli and a choice of white or fried rice. This dish is always my children’s favorite dish and something they always ask for, and it was that night as well.
This Mongolian beef ($13.95) was well-seasoned with a sweet sauce, onions, and green onions, then garnished with fried rice sticks. It was so delicious over a bed of rice. It’s definitely a staple and something everyone will get a serving of — if not seconds!
The meat-stuffed tofu ($14.95) is the house special I mentioned earlier. There is an option to get the vegetable-steamed stuffed tofu if preferred for the dish to not to have meat. In my experience, this is the only restaurant I have had this meat-stuffed tofu in town. It was served with various vegetables, and there was pork stuffed inside the tofu. Even for those who don’t eat family-style, this dish is worth ordering for yourself because it has plenty of flavor and variety you won’t get sick of.
This dish is on the menu as salty green beans ($12.45); however, I asked if they could make them sweet. When ordering, I described the taste of a sweet soy glaze, and they met the challenge impressively. My children ate these up and said they were as tasty and similar to the stir-fried green beans at another Chinese restaurant in town. These green beans were stir-fried with onions, garlic, and carrots, and the sauce was great.
Of course, we also had to get chicken lo-mein ($10.45). We always need some noodles to pair with the protein and vegetable dishes. The chicken lo-mein hit the spot with the sweet noodles filled with carrots, cabbage, and broccoli.
Lastly, we ordered combo fried rice ($10.45) to cap off our tasty Chinese meal. It was full of various proteins and vegetables. It was seasoned so well that even your pickiest eaters will gladly eat some.
For those who want to try something reliably delicious, pick Peking Garden for your next lunch or dinner night out, delivery, or takeout.
Check out the full menu here.
Peking Garden
206 N Randolph St
Champaign
M 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
T 4 to 10 p.m.
W-Su 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.