In many ways, the Chinese restaurant is a victim of its ubiquity. Next to Hawaiian fare, it is one of the oldest cuisines in the islands, and while the Cantonese restaurant remains popular as a user-friendly, inexpensive place to dine, it doesn't exactly generate the kind of passion or buzz associated with far simpler fare, such as burgers and fried chicken done with flair. Always the wife, never the mistress.

Chinese plate lunches for less than $5 still exist downtown and in Liliha, and when cravings for such fast fare as beef broccoli and chow mein can be fulfilled so cheaply, why would anyone want to repeat the experience in a more formal setting when that entails a minimum of $25 for two?

Although many dim sum restaurants fill up by day for quick, inexpensive eats accompanied by camaraderie, I've noticed few Chinese restaurants fill their tables at night, when would-be diners are more inclined to stop by for take-out en route home. Why wait around for service and the bill to arrive when you can head straight for the comfort of couch, where you can keep tabs on how your favorite idol, dancing star, dance crew, or runway designer is doing?

I find reservations unnecessary for a casual run to a Chinese restaurant, but Moon Garden Restaurant is one of the exceptions. As my sister said of the scene, “;Where did all these Chinese people come from?”;

It's not exactly the boonies, but few people have reason to stop at this location on Vineyard, westbound just past Liliha Street. The restaurant shares the building with the Buck Toy Club and I was told you can park in the gated lot just before the restaurant, though many choose to simply pull over in front of the restaurant's doors. Do so at your own risk since part of that curb is painted red.

The restaurant is of mom-and-pop size, so you may end up sharing a table with another small party. I ended up sitting at an overflow table on the street on my first visit. In the back of my mind were all the news stories of people being shot near this very corner. Luckily, it was a rainy evening and over time I've noted that senseless shootings occur on hot days when tempers flare with the temperature.

What this restaurant's got that others don't have is one Siu Yick Fong, a chef who came out of Legend Seafood Restaurant and now works his magic in a much smaller kitchen.

A quick survey of what other diners are eating reveals favored dishes of stir-fried green beans ($7.95), black-bean or drunken clams ($10.95) and any tofu dish.

Love of raw garlic is required for the drunken clams, which are served cold, dressed with plenty of minced garlic, green onion, cilantro and red pepper in a light soy- and Chinese-wine sauce.

Moon Garden's other main claim to fame is its kau yuk ($9.95). The pot roast pork with taro is lovingly and painstakingly made the hard way, from scratch, beginning with blanching and frying the pork before slow roasting to render skin, fat and meat meltingly soft. It makes me tired to think about the process, but it takes diners only mere seconds to appreciate the difference from the more typical red-dyed quickie roast.

And if you live for deep-fried foods, look no further. Moon Garden is THE place for all your needs, making so many of the dishes doubly hazardous for your health, because you'll want to eat more than you should. These would include crispy skinned chicken ($10.95), deep-fried tofu with a custardy interior topping braised spinach ($9.95), and even that thin textured coating between honey walnut prawn ($11.95) and its sweet mayo dressing.

One of the tests is deep-fried squid ($7.95) served with five-spice seasoned salt. You can count on calamari to be rubbery 90 percent of the time, but here it's tender, while the batter coating cooks up to a heavenly light and airy crisp.

Come back down to earth with such comfort food offerings as Shanghai-style thick, chewy pan-fried noodles ($7.95), won ton noodles in soup ($6.25) or a hot pot of squash, taro and pork ($9.25).

Now, if only they could just come up with a chilled dessert to close the meal, the experience would be complete.

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