CHINESE FOOD, BY WAY OF KOREA.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

North Korea borders on China. Even more than the Korean culinary influence is felt in the San Dong province of China, Chinese food makes a big impact not only in Korea but wherever Koreans reside.

Here in Los Angeles, we see a Korean brand of Chinese food popping up in various parts of the city, one being in the H.K. Valley Center, a Korean-accented shopping and dining complex on Sherman Way in Van Nuys.

Here sits the Mandarin House, a smart Chinese restaurant, the newest of three locations, the others being in Koreatown.

At this latest Mandarin House, the entrance displays an impressive marble waterfall topped with an aquarium in which expensive gold and silver Malaysian dragon fish cavort.

A tank to the left in the foyer is being readied to hold live seafood.

Inside the sleek dining room, the main hue is a pastel rose set off by white, black and green.

And does this place bustle!

Parties of 20 waltz in and are shown into one of the several private rooms. Families, business types, some casually attired, some dressed to the nines, the majority Korean-Americans, immediately relax on the comfortable, ebony-toned chairs around rectangular or circular tables.

Once seated, they receive a plate of kim chee, the traditional peppery pickled cabbage condiment of Korea, plus a plate of white onions with a dark, almost black, soybean dipping paste.

A lengthy menu displays family dinners, an extensive seafood segment and 19 special lunch offerings, plus soup, appetizer, cold platter, pork, beef, chicken, noodle, vegetable, rice and dessert items.

And they're inscribed in three languages - English, Korean and Chinese.

The food, generally speaking, is superior.

But some Americans could find it difficult getting past the somewhat unpleasant smell of Korean-style julienned pickles that are apparent in a good-tasting shredded pork and turnip soup ($4.50) and other pork dishes, including a melange of pork, seafood, meat and veggies called ``pork renaissance'' ($7.95).

Incidentally, each item you order at Mandarin House is big enough for at least two people and sometimes for three or four. Consequently, your check will be lower per person because of the sharing process. For example, an order of steamed meat dumplings ($4.25) yielded a much larger dish than expected, with eight of the crescent-shaped dough goodies about twice as big as those usually proffered in Chinese restaurants. Similarly, sauteed spinach ($6.25) was only a third eaten by a twosome one night. Yes, it appeared to be enough for half a dozen.

On the entree side, a magnificent-looking platter of whole rock cod ($18.95) provides plenty of moist fish smothered in a lively hot bean sauce, chunks of the denizen ready to fall away from the bone, having been sensibly cut on the bias before cooking. Even so, there are always those tiny thin bones to worry about that seem almost unavoidable in a dish like this. But as fish lovers around the world agree, the taste and texture fulfillment is definitely worth the picking time.

For a variety of seafood and vegetables in a tasty and substantial presentation, Mandarin House's version of the ``happy family'' feast ($16.95) is recommended. Incidentally, the scallops in this dish are so outstanding, scallop fanciers might want to try the hot garlic sauced ones or a dish called crystal scallops ($13.45 each).

Noticeably, many of the patrons here may be seen enjoying noodle bowls tossed with dark, chocolate-toned, brown bean sauce. One of the best renditions of these ``chachiang'' recipes is the ``sa chun'' version ($6.75), which is a variation of the familiar Szechwan style.

Yes, you guessed it. It's spicy hot. And the bonus is it's filled with crunchy calamari, shrimp and onions. Really a delicious ``Chinese pasta'' experience.

Mandarin House, catering to the Korean-American community's love of Chinese food spiced up in the Northern Chinese provincial style, affords the San Fernando Valley diner one more example of rich ethnic diversity in restaurant fare.

THE FACTS The restaurant: Mandarin House.

Where: 17619 Sherman Way, Van Nuys. (Also two Koreatown locations, 3074 W. Eighth St. and 928 S. Western Ave., No. 147).

When: Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, for dinner from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly.

How much: Starters from $4 to $12, entrees from $6 to $19, desserts from $4 to $6. All major credit cards.

Wine list: No wines. Beer, sake and full liquor supply.

Reservations: Only taken on weekends for parties of 10 or more. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three Stars for food; Three Stars for service.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Chef Jeffrey Wang, left, and owners Susan and HsienMing Ho serve up ample plates of Korean-accented Chinese food at Mandarin House. The menu is in three languages - English, Chinese and Korean.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News