There are times when lunch and dinner have passed me by, and on a weekend at 3 in the afternoon or at 10 in the evening, I find myself unwilling to cook and struggling to think of someplace to eat a hearty meal at an unconventional hour. At that point, I just want a reasonably priced, quiet eatery with convenient parking that's comfortably casual, where people won't stare if I show up in an old T-shirt and slippahs.

Driving down South Beretania Street, I was happy to see that Mini Garden had appeared next to Fujipan Bakery near McCully Street, in the old Taniguchi Store location. Yes, it's the same Mini Garden as the one in Chinatown on Hotel Street since 1973, and with an express outlet at 99 Ranch Market.

But at this location, which opened in early June, I'm not forced to try to find parking in a crowded supermarket lot, on a street with meters or blocks away at a municipal garage despite the business sharing limited stalls with its neighbors.

The newly renovated space, decorated in a contemporary Chinese style, is inviting, with warm butter-yellow walls and blond wood. The dining room has a corner big-screen television that plays amusing Cantonese karaoke dramas while the odd party of one slurps noodles over reading material and groups of friends indulge in the latest gossip as they dig into fried rice.

Although Mini Garden is known for its Hong Kong noodle offerings — they number about 60 — the rest of the menu's 200-some selections consist of an extensive range of Chinese comfort food. They include dishes inspired by Chinese-influenced Southeast Asian fare as well as enough vegetarian items to make those avoiding meat feel welcome.

On my first visit, I went for a steaming bowl of wor gau gee noodles in soup ($6.75). This dish had choy-sum greens, carrot slivers, napa cabbage, water chestnuts, straw mushroom halves, a few small shrimp, large chunks of chicken and char siu along with boiled gau gee dumplings filled with shrimp bits and ground pork. All of this floated in a meaty-tasting broth above an impressive skein of skinny, Hong Kong egg noodles that held their texture without ever going soft, even as I spooned away the last drop of soup.

Subsequent visits revealed some remarkable dishes, like the soup noodles; others were merely passable. Navigating through Mini Garden's lengthy menu is like sailing through uncharted waters because the menu doesn't contain descriptions but rather lists dishes by their contents, similar to many Chinese restaurants. House specialties are marked and act as guiding stars, generally leading customers to worthy dishes.

Most of the ones I tried I would order again. Head-on tamarind shrimp ($11.95) were chewy-crispy, addictive and slightly dangerous at almost a dollar per shrimp. Szechwan spicy beef shank ($11.95), a casserole dish big enough for two or three, uncovered large chunks of tender beef immersed in lots of rich gravy, aromatic with ginger slices and peppercorns. Casting aside issues of authenticity, it was so tasty I would have been satisfied spooning its sauce all over rice.

However, stewed noodles with jah jan sauce ($6.50) proved disappointing because it bore no resemblance to the popular northern Chinese dish. Mini Garden's version is not served with traditional ground pork in a bean sauce. Instead, the same noodles used in the wor gau gee dish were boiled and drained, then topped with a westernized pork stew flecked with cubes of celery, carrots and bamboo.

I had good luck when I randomly chose vegetarian chicken and choy sum over noodles ($6.95). Bright greens and tasty morsels of seitan (wheat gluten) in a flavorful gravy smothered the same skinny Hong Kong noodles, this time boiled and then flash fried to produce crispy, browned areas.

Another veggie dish — ong choy with bean curd sauce ($6.95) — was just as pleasing with its sauce as was the Szechwan beef shank, and could have been a filling meal with just a plain bowl of rice as an accompaniment.

Even after three months, this eatery still sends up some curiosities that I find comical. Several times without success I attempted to order a beverage called red bean fleecy ($2.95), which I assume is made from azuki beans, but I will probably never know. And when I requested hot Hong Kong milk tea ($2.50), I was informed they only had it cold ($2.75) and that it tasted better that way.

My advice is to request no MSG in your food, and go during nonpeak hours. My experience was that whenever the restaurant was busy (not necessarily meaning that every table was taken), I ended up like a soul lost in a sea of customers, waiting what seemed an eternity for assistance to order and for beverages and food to arrive.

The wait staff can be curt if they are shorthanded. Otherwise, Mini Garden is friendly enough, and it already has some die-hard regulars who will gladly cast a lifeline and recommend dishes to you, making it an oasis in terms of a neighborhood destination.

Update: The restaurant Sweet Basil — featured in last week's TGIF section — no longer includes free Thai iced tea or coffee in its buffet price.

Reach Helen Wu at hwu@honoluluadvertiser.com.