LADY JADE: 20-02 Utopia Parkway, Whitestone; 352-8111 / 352-3223

CUISINE: Cantonese

HOURS: Monday - Saturday, 11:30 a.m. -10 p.m. and Sunday, 12:30 p.m. -10 p.m.

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes

CREDIT CARDS: All major

Lady Jade Chinese Restaurant has quickly become the semi-precious stone of the Whitestone area since its
grand opening last July. Lady Jade is the third link in a
chain of family-owned trans-continental Canton-ese restaurants. Lady Jade restaurants can be found in Asia, Europe and now the United States. However, it all began 20 years ago in China when a family in Hainin opened the first Lady Jade. "We chose the name because there are mostly all girls in the family," said June, Lady Jade’s proprietor. "We are 16 in total and there are nine girls, so the restaurant is named after my other sister, Jade."

Although Lady Jade’s menu focuses primarily on the Cantonese style of cooking foods, there is also an extended menu of vegetarian dishes containing no cholesterol or MSG. The vegetarian trend began after the second store opened in a suburb of Germany. The restaurant’s chef prepares the meatless meals according to the Chinese Buddhist tradition. The dishes are prepared using combinations of fresh tofu, soy beans, wheat gluten, legumes, mushrooms and yams. The most popular vegetarian delight with Lady Jade’s customers, vegan or not, is the appetizer of steamed spinach dumplings ($4.95).

Following in the Cantonese tradition, most of Lady Jade’s dishes are prepared in a wok, preserving the natural flavor of foods. The house sauce is a brown sauce, which is a mixture of soy bean and miso. The Dieter’s Specials are cooked in bamboo steamers without the additives of sugar, salt, oil or corn starch.

Some of the more popular entrees that can be savored at Lady Jade are their jumbo shrimp dishes, a whole lobster which can be prepared with either ginger and scallion sauce or spinach and garlic sauce, and lest I forget their specialty – spare ribs ($6.95). However, the General Tso’s Chicken ($10.95) is out of this world and the spice factor can be altered to individual tastes. Keeping in line with customer satisfaction, the chef can skip the hot peppers upon request.

Lady Jade offers weekly luncheon specials between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. which consist of soup or soda and entree costing $4.50 for beef, pork and all white meat chicken and $5.50 for most shrimp and lobster dishes and specialty dishes such as Tangerine Beef and General Tso’s Chicken. Vegetarian lunch specials are offered at $5.25.

Lady Jade is available for parties and is able to accommodate a maximum of 60 people. Home deliveries are free with a minimum of a $10 purchase.