Hunan. (Inside Eating Out).

Hunan was to be my power play: I wanted to show my colleagues that haute Chinese cuisine does exist in Mexico, and that there is something beyond the cafes chinos that proliferate Mexico City's comida corrida scene. I hate to hear, "I told you so," but I really took it in the face this time.

Let me be the first to say that Hunan does serve up very good food. But nothing so extraordinary that a plate of food should cost four times as much as one in a Chinese cafe. Don't get me wrong, we all left the table stuffed and satisfied, but I did not leave with a more enriched sense of what authentic Chinese cuisine might be.

The ambiance might have been part of the problem: I couldn't get over the feeling that we had made the trek to Mexico City's upscale Las Lomas neighborhood just to go to a restaurant that looked like a hotel. While the main dining area was spacious and open, with lots of light seeping through the jungle-like foliage covering the two walls of window, the unfortunate addition of fake plants set up in islands around the tables only added to the hotel-like atmosphere.

We started off with vegetable dumplings, Mo-Shu pork and tangy spicy shrimp. The vegetable dumplings are light puffs filled with a flavorful mix of veggies and a trace of egg--the perfect backdrop to try the array of sauces on the table. The Mo-Shu pork surprised with its presentation: It looked like a wrap, with sliced vegetables providing a nice accompaniment to the sweet pork But the tangy spicy shrimp was by far the favorite appetizer of the evening: Served cold as though it were a cocktail, the sauce was slightly dense and hinted at sweetness over a nutty base.

With every plate more than enough for one person, our party decided to share, and we were all glad we did. The Hunan lemon fish was not fishy at all, with a subtle lemon sauce bathing the lightly battered and fried sea bass, shrimp and water chestnuts in refreshing zestiness.

Stick with the beef curry if you're in the mood for something a bit heavier: A middle-of-the-road curry sauce neither overwhelmed nor showed-off the meat it accompanied. However, skip the inconsequential and too dry Hunan Tea smoked duck.

The shrimp with cashew boasted a plum sauce that proved to be less fruity and more on the nutty side a relatively thick, sweet sauce with a dense flavor. However, the tangerine orange shrimp might need to be chosen with a bit more care: large fried shrimp, completely saturated with an extremely sweet--but excellent--sauce. Make sure to mix in some steamed rice to tone it down a bit.

The O'mei vegetables was the only dish we all agreed on in terms of overall savoriness. O'mei is one of the sacred mountains of the Buddhist religion, and we definitely paused for a moment of meditation after the first bite of the fresh selection: asparagus, seta mushrooms, bell peppers, baby corn and onions, with a light sauce that only accentuated the vegetables' true flavor. Before we could worry about the desert menu, the waiter dropped by with what tasted like a nieve de limon with a fortune cookie hooked over the side--a most unexpected palate cleanser.

But unfortunately the desert menu is something to worry about. There is absolutely nothing Chinese about it, save the lychees--Chinese fruit (harvested in Toluca) in syrup. The rest of the menu includes such classics as apple pie and Haagen-Daz ice cream.

Go to Hunan if you want good, solid food in a generic environment. Do not go in search of the most authentic Chinese experience to be found in Mexico City.

Paseo de la Reforma 2210 * 8

Lomas Virreyes * 6

Mexico City * 10

Mon. to Sat. 1:30 p.m. - 1 a.m., Sun. 1:30 - 6:30 p.m. * 10

Tel.: [phone] * US$20