Main Street Imperial Taiwanese Gourmet

After passing by this place hundreds of times, I was finally able to eat there today. My excitement was sparked by the fantastic yelp reviews and the crowd of people that are usually outside of the restaurant during peak dinner hours.

Well...here it goes...

Clams with Salted Beans - $9.95

I had ordered Clams with Black Bean sauce but when it came out, there weren't aren't black beans in it. They must have ran out and decided to use salted beans instead. I didn't mind but it would have been nice if they told me in advance. I guess they figured I wouldn't notice the difference.

This dish was actually one of the betters ones. The clams were cooked well and on the smaller size (I like small clams). It was a bit salty though.

Sauteed Chinese Watercress - S.P (per the menu - I forgot to look at the actual cost when the bill came)

Very simple dish. I felt like there was enough flavor for me to eat it but not enough for me to say that it was wonderful. I've had better.

Oyster Pancake - $5.95

The only reason I ordered this dish was because it was highly recommended by the reviewers on Yelp. The pictures that people had posted did not look good to me but I decided to get it anyway since everyone seemed to recommend it.

I should have stuck to my initial feeling and not ordered it. I didn't enjoy this. The pancake was a bit mushy. I expected the texture to be something similar to a Korean pancake but it was nothing like it. Maybe this is way it is suppose to be?

I found the sauce on top to be too sweet. I didn't think it complemented the dish. I also found it too oily. I wouldn't order this again.

Fried Calamari - $8.95

This was an average dish. The breading was decently seasoned and the squid was just a tad chewy. I think the fact that some of the pieces were big didn't help. I like smaller cuts of squid (bite size) so that there is no need to bite (or chew) the squid in half. The salt and pepper that was on the side didn't do much to enhance the dish but it didn't hurt either.

Three Cup Chicken - $8.95

This took the longest to come out. We were half way done with our food by the time it came. Being a Taiwanese staple, I was excited about this one. Again, I ended up disappointed. The chicken was on the bland side and I think it could have been cooked longer. I just don't think the chicken was simmered long enough. Even the basil tasted like nothing (and I love basil).

Not to be full of myself or anything but the very first thing that popped into my head when I ate the very first piece was "Wow, the three cup chicken that I made tastes so much better than this". My friend even agreed ;).

Overall, I was very disappointed and I don't think I would go back to this place unless someone else wanted to go. Maybe I had a bad experience because I didn't order the right dishes? I don't think I can be blamed for that though. Almost half of the menu did not have any English translation so my choices were very limited. If I want Taiwanese food in the future, I'm going to go back to the one that I found in Flushing (I don't really know the name but there's a post on it).


Main Street Imperial Taiwanese Gourmet
5914 Main St
Flushing, NY 11355

(718) 886-8788