There’s a reason why Asian Imperial Garden is celebrating its fifth year in business - because they’ve got the ABC’s of Chinese and Japanese food down to a tasty science.

    For instance, you could talk about how the Imperial Garden’s kitchen produces a bounty that ranges from Aromatic to Zesty, but it’s much more fun, and MUCH more mouth watering if you look at the A to Z’s of the cuisines themselves.

    It’s something my family and I do quite often actually. We’re a group of food fanatics and at least once a week we indulge at the Garden.

    Now A is for the Alligator Maki, a must try if you love sushi. No, it’s not made with alligator but is rather a delicious and delicate shrimp tempura roll topped with avocado salad. Alternately, the Agedashi-tofu, deep fried and served in a savory soy sauce is also exceptional and makes for a great appetizer.

    B is for spare ribs. Why? Because you can get them Boneless or Barbeque and either way you won’t be disappointed. B is also for the Beef and Broccoli dish, served over white rice. It’s flavorful and filling, without any bloating side-effects.

    C is for the cucumber roll, especially the Garden’s new Sashimi cucumber roll. And of course their California roll, which comes with all of the Garden’s Sushi Lunch specials. I need to also add that C is for the Garden’s soft, sugary Chinese Donuts - once you start eating them, it’s hard to stop.

    D is for the Chef’s Specialty, the Dragon and Phoenix, a combo of General Gao’s Chicken and jumbo shrimp served in a spicy sweet and sour sauce. My mother and sister order this quite often.

    E is for the Eggplant in Garlic Sauce, a slightly spicy dish that’s a phenomenal vegetarian option. Served over white rice, it’s hard to say no.

    F is for the fried rice - get it any way you want, with chicken, beef, shrimp, pork or vegetable. I often find that the fried rice is never the same from one Asian cuisine restaurant to another and some variations are better than others. Personally, I find the vegetable fried rice at the Garden is fantastic, especially with a splash of soy sauce.

    G is for General Gao’s. I don’t care if you get it with chicken or beef, just get it. You won’t be disappointed. G is also for the Gyoza raviolis. A wonderful Japanese appetizer, the Gyoza is a vegetable ravioli filled with pan fried meat and spices. For lack of a word that describes it better, these guys are yummy!

    G is also for Gift Certificates. Looking for a great gift for that sushi lover? Why not get them a Gift Certificate you know they’ll use!

    H is for any House Special on the menu, whether it’s the House Special Lo Mein or the Chow Foon, or the House Dragon Maki or heck, even the House Salad… I suddenly want to start singing Brick House.

    I is for the Imperial Triple Chef Special. Get ready for it - it’s a triple play of chicken, scallops and shrimp served up in an amazing ginger and scallion sauce. It’s a new item on the menu, but one you don’t want to miss. I also stands for the Idaho Maki - sweet potato tempura, and the Ikas (squid) and Ikura (salmon roe) selections on the Garden’s Sushi A La Carte menu.

    J is for the Japanese Teriyaki. Anything teriyaki is good in my book but the Garden’s Japanese Teriyaki dishes (of which you can get chicken, beef, salmon, shrimp or grilled eel) make great entrées.

    K is for the Kenney Hand Roll, a kickin’ little number off of the appetizer menu of the Garden’s sushi bar. It’s spicy tuna rolled with thin sliced cucumber. A friend of mine simply refers to it as the “num num” Roll. K is also for the Kung Pao dinner and lunch special. You can get Kung Pao beef or chicken and have it served with steamed or fried rice and your choice of an appetizer (egg roll, spring roll, chicken wings/fingers, chicken teriyaki or crab rangoons).

    The Garden has 16 different Lunch and Dinner specials to choose from and although I recommend the Kung Pao, any of these specials are good and are great on the go, so get one as a take-out treat for yourself.

    L is for the Lo Mein, my particular “num num” favorite. L is also for the pork in lobster sauce, another family favorite.

    M is for the Mango Chicken. It’s mouth-watering, really. White meat chicken stir-fried with fresh mangos and peppers in a mango sauce. I highly recommend it if you are a mango maniac like me. M is also for the Miso soup. The Garden’s Miso soup is mmm good.

    N is for the Naruto sushi appetizer. Crab stick, flying fish roe and avocado rolled with cucumber. Not for the faint of heart, but hard-core sushi fans will love it.

    O is for the noise you will make when you split a Pu Pu Platter. The O will be followed by “so good” when you get to the crab rangoons, which are fantastic here, but there are also six other appetizers included in the Pu Pu Platter so it’s possible the “O so good” may be repeated several times throughout your dining experience.

    P is for the Peking Duck which you can get half or whole, marinated and expertly roasted to perfection and served with scallions and wrapped in a pancake. P is also for the Pad Thai, a popular dish with my family.

    Q is for how quickly you’ll receive your food if you have it delivered. The Garden has excellent delivery services and the quicker they are the sooner you can dive into your house Special Egg Foo Yong with reckless abandon.

    R is for rolls. The Garden has egg roll and spring roll appetizer specials (2 per serving) and they go fabulously with some soy sauce or duck sauce.

    S is for spicy. As my readers know, I am a spicy kinda girl and I can tell you that when you see a little hot tamale next to a dish on the Garden’s menu, you’d be remiss if you didn’t try it. I personally enjoy the spicy green beans and the broccoli in garlic sauce. Superb. S is also for sushi, which is one of the best part’s about the Garden.

            Asian Imperial has a wide range of sushi and sashimi specialties as well as sushi a la carte, a sushi bar, sushi luncheon specials, Nigiri sushi, etc., etc.

    T is for the Thai-style Triple Rainbow, jumbo shrimp, scallops and chicken sautéed in a delicious Thai sauce.

    U is for the Udon noodle special, a new dish on the menu, served with your choice of shrimp, beef, chicken, pork or veggies.

    V is for the Vegetable Tempura, another of my favorites. Lightly battered and deep fried veggies with a sweet little sauce for dipping - magnificent.

    W is for the wonton soup which you can buy in pint and quart sizes.

    X is for the little mark you’re going to put next to the Value Appetizer Combo you want when you see what the Garden has to offer. Three different combinations or four different appetizer items, all for under $10. X marks the spot, baby.

    Y, because there’s sometimes a Y for everything, is the question you will ask yourself after you visit the Garden for the first time. More specifically, it will be “Why haven’t we come here before!?”

    Y is also for the question which Garden fans will also ask themselves when they realize that Asian Imperial is open seven days a week AND that there are coupons in this week’s edition of The Lunenburg Ledger. They will say, “Why don’t we go more often? How about right now!”

    And last, Z is for the Sizzling Platters, which I can’t forget to mention. They are SiZZling good and SiZZling with flavor. Try the beef and scallop combination or the shrimp, scallop and crab meat combo. They are fo’ schiZZle.

    So now you know your Imperial ABCs, next time won’t you dine with me?

    Asian Imperial Garden is located at 324 Electric Ave. in Lunenburg. The Garden is open Monday through Thursday, 11:15 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:15 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 9:30 p.m. Call (978) 343-8858 or (978) 343-8868. Gift certificates are available.