DYNASTY A GRAND VARIATION ON THE CHINESE THEME.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

After a long, dark period, the Encino restaurant that began as Ah Fong's and later became Marix has returned to its chopsticking heritage as Grand Dynasty Chinese Gourmet, a full-service upscale Chinese restaurant.

Sporting a well-stocked bar, a surprisingly well-rounded 29-label wine list, a spacious step-down dining room and private banquet room, Grand Dynasty is a handsome place, furnished in muted, contemporary green and brown tones, a far cry from the old-fashioned gaudiness of suburban Chinese restaurants.

And its food is skillfully cooked, modern Chinese with well-defined individual flavors, not a mishmash of meats and vegetables like yesteryear, but more delicate in nature, utilizing such flavoring and garnishing ingredients as Japanese plum sauce and bonito flakes.

You won't find a better version anywhere of minced chicken in a crisp iceberg lettuce leaf than this kitchen's appetizer for two ($5.50), and chicken again is handled deftly in thin-sliced breast form joined with wood-ear mushrooms, green squash and plum wine sauce in a superb dish called chicken with young sponge squash ($9.95).

Chicken reappears in tiny bite-size dumplings ($5.50) paired with the much appreciated zingy sauce mixture of soy, ginger, rice vinegar and chili oil.

That other favored bird, duck, provides shredded meat for a pleasant if not outstanding salad ($6.95). It also comes tea-smoked or aromatic ($14.95 each) or by 24 hours advance notice as a whole Beijing duck ($24) with crepes et al.

You won't find duck soup here, though, just the expected Chinese soup styles featuring a standard hot and sour ($5.25 for two).

And though the seafood offerings are limited to mostly Chilean sea bass and prawn recipes - no whole fish - the one ordered, a platter of Chilean sea bass filets gently sauteed in a delectable sesame-flavored sauce with a touch of peppery heat ($13.95) shines triumphantly.

Cooked simply and effectively, this sea bass preparation is one of several offered ($14 or $15). The Chilean fish comes steamed in sweet rice wine - possibly Japanese mirin - boosted with soy sauce and flavored with ginger and scallions, or lightly battered with a black rice vinegar sauce. It also is available with mushrooms and black bean sauce or with garlic in a brown sauce.

And it even earns a listing with the appetizers, as a starter option evidently cut in strips and sauteed with a peach and passion fruit sauce ($7.95).

You rarely see veal on a Chinese menu. But Grand Dynasty does a terrific job with it, pairing the tender meat ($14.95) with a variety of mushrooms and presenting it atop a crispy sweet potato nest.

Crispy beef ($10.95) is more traditional, this version with the can't-miss mixture of soy, garlic, ginger, chili and rice vinegar.

You get white rice with your entree, and, incidentally, the restaurant promises no MSG is used in its cooking preparations.

But for a nifty noodle alternative or extra side plate, the Beijing ja chiang mein dish ($7.95) of regular wheat flour noodles tossed with sauteed minced chicken, mushrooms, pressed tofu, bamboo shoots, hot bean paste and sweet hoisin sauce, provides a great addition to any meal here. Much better, we thought, than the Shanghai noodle dish ($7.95) tried another night, which seemed, at best, rather standard.

Facing tough competitors like Bamboo in Sherman Oaks, Prince and Jasmine in Encino, Art's in Tarzana and China Garden in Woodland Hills, Grand Dynasty brings a welcome new face to the Valley's restaurant row in a location where many memorable Chinese food experiences took place in the past.

THE FACTS

The restaurant: Grand Dynasty.

Where: 16240 Ventura Blvd., Encino.

When: Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. daily, to 10:30 Friday and Saturday.

Recommended items: Mini chicken dumplings, sauteed minced chicken, chicken with young sponge squash, crispy beef, veal with assorted mushrooms, Chilean seabass in sesame sauce, Szechwan tofu, Beijing ja chiang mein.

How much: Appetizers and soups from $4 to $8, entrees from $9 to $24, desserts from $3.50 to $5. Full bar. AE, MC, D, V.

Wine list: Well-rounded, 29-label selection of mostly Californians with a few French bottlings. Prices tend to be higher than lower, marked up as much as three times wholesale. Best buy: Stag's Leap Cellars 1994 sauvignon blanc ($20), a crisp, well-made, refreshing wine that goes well with some of the semi-spicy dishes and particularly well with the Chilean sea bass. Corkage: $10.

Reservations: Suggested. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three and One Half Stars for food; Two and One Half Stars for service; Two and One Half Stars for wine.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--2) Above, clockwise from top left, Grand Dynasty co-owner Tonieo Jew, second chef Charlie Lee, head chef Anna Huang and co-owner Ted Leung with some of the items available at the Encino restaurant, including, below, chicken with glazed cashew nuts.

Terri Thuente/Daily News