A 'GOLDEN' OPPORTUNITY FOR CHINESE-FOOD LOVERS.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

HEALTHY CHINESE food is so emphasized at the sleek new Golden Chopstix in Sherman Oaks, a listing of the restaurant's concerns is posted on the menu's inside cover.

Golden Chopstix promises that it never adds MSG, that it uses 100 percent cholesterol-free canola oil, that it serves lean-cut USDA Grade A beef and that it produces numerous vegetarian dishes.

Even though I'm somewhat suspicious about possible lack of taste when extra healthy fare is promised, that never occurred at Golden Chopstix.

In fact, the cleanly cooked food here seemed to be very consistent in richness of flavoring. Even old-time offerings such as chicken chop suey ($6.95) with bean sprouts, water chestnuts, snow peas, broccoli and carrots in a brown sauce, a dish that could have easily been a mushy mishmash, instead displayed fine individual vegetable tastes and textures.

Soups here ($3 to $7) have distinctively fresh-tasting broths, especially apparent in something as popular as a shareable tureen of wonton soup ($4.95).

Appetizers are generously portioned. Order a plate of salt and pepper calamari (it used to be called squid, but now even Chinese menus use the Italian designation) and for $6.95 you receive a heaping portion of puffy batter-coated squid, each piece tasty, chewable, assertively seasoned and all-in-all much better than those crunchy, tasteless things many kitchens produce as fried calamari today. And there's plenty enough for sharing.

Sauteed sole filets in a well-made (non-gloppy) black bean sauce ($6.25 or $8.95) with white onions and sweet peppers present a harmony of delicately cooked ingredients, as good an everyday fish dish as you'll find in any neighborhood Chinese restaurant.

For scallop fanciers - and I'm one of them - the scallops in garlic sauce ($6.50 or $9.95) are thick, juicy and sweet, wok-seared with mushrooms, snow peas, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, a typical recipe but very nicely done.

Ready for something meaty here? Try the Golden Chopstix black pepper steak version titled ``filet mignon French style'' ($11.95), a chef's specialty item - and one of those rare Chinese wok-cooked meat dishes that comes forth uncluttered with vegetables.

Golden Chopstix presents a cool, lime green decor in its handsome, split-level dining room and has young, caring, smiling management and staff personnel.

It tries hard to please and definitely deserves attention.

Larry Lipson, [phone]

larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com

GOLDEN CHOPSTIX

Food: Three stars - Wine: One star - Service: Three and one half stars

Where: 15466 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Hours: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Sunday, for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. daily, from 2 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

Recommended items: Soups, salt and pepper calamari, filet mignon French style, scallops in garlic sauce, filet of sole with black bean sauce, chicken chop suey, ma po tofu with pork.

How much: Starters from $3 to $7.25, entrees from $5.55 (half-size) to $12, lunch specials $5 to $7, dinner specials $6.50 to $9. Beer and wine. All major credit cards except Discover.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Chefs Shang Gao, left (with filet mignon French style), and Michael Wong (with golden pungent shrimp) and owner Justine Yan (with orange chicken) offer above-average Chinese fare at Golden Chopstix, where healthier cooking techniques don't dilute the flavor.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer