EATING INEXPENSIVELY
IN NEW YORK:
UNCLE KING'S
IN FLUSHING, QUEENS

While most New York restaurants are ridiculously overpriced, there are a brave few, such as this one who thrive by serving good food and providing courteous service to hungry New Yorkers like you and me.

Uncle King's Restaurant: 135-75 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, NY
phone 718 353-2261, 718 961-0255. Major credit cards accepted

recall reading somewhere that you couldn't get a decent lunch for less than six dollars in New York. Although that statement is basically true, it is a bit exaggerated. Of course, it is hard to find inexpensive eateries in this city unless you mean a cold cut sandwich in a deli or hot dog at a street vendor or the usual fast-food restaurant.

However, if you look hard enough, you will find comfortable, clean places that serve you good food without costing you the usual arm and a leg.

Which brings us to the Uncle King Restaurant, one that the recently published Inexpensive Eateries Guide on The Village Voice completely missed out in a recent issue, reviewing instead an uncomfortable and not so inexpensive place not far from the restaurant this writer has been patronizing for the last six months.

The Uncle King looks expensive when one enters. There is a hostess that quickly leads you to your table and serves you a free appetizer, which can be a rice snack(if you're not Asian) or kim-chee, the traditional spicy Korean salad,plus Asian tea and water. The floors are well carpeted, and the glass-covered tables have comfortable, cushioned seats.

After I had the opportunity to taste their kim-chee, I started refusing the "Caucasian" snack for the delicious Korean treat, which is something you can't always find in most Chinese restaurants.

You are quickly shown the menu, and for newcomers they include pictures of the nine lunch combos they serve, which always feature fried rice, an egg roll and whatever the order is.

Their lunch menu is very inexpensive, ranging from 4.25(vegetables) to 5.90(jumbo shrimp), and it always includes a choice of soup.

Over the last few months, I had the opportunity to have a taste of every item on their menu except the pork and the beef(since I do not consume red meat), and my taste buds have been quite satisfied by their options.

To name a few, their Szechuan-style shrimp is unique, and so it their own recipe, the chef's chicken, which is fried pieces of poultry, hot peppers, peanuts and other Asian spices that I might never learn to pronounce properly. For vegetarians, I recommend the Chinese eggplant on garlic sauce, which is a bit spicy but good tasting.

Their servings are quite large for the price, and I have never left the place unsatisfied.

There is only one drawback there: Although the staff is efficient and very courteous, most of them can't speak English, so communication is limited to those who cannot speak Chinese or Korean.

Since the menu is in three languages (Cantonese,Korean and English), I simply point my choice to the waiter or waitress, and I am promptly served. Basic commands such as "water", "tea" "beer" or other menu choices are easily understood. However, don't try to make elaborate questions, for you might end up puzzled, no matter how hard the staff tries.

At nights and weekends the prices are a bit higher,since it is out of the "special" menus, but they are still lower than their nearby competitors.

The Uncle King Restaurant is a good option for the budget-conscious patron who likes good treatment for an affordable, fair price