RETURN VISIT: CHINA WAVE SEAFOOD CITY CATCHING THE SECOND WAVE AT SEAFOOD CITY.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic When China Wave, Seafood City opened in 2001 in a Northridge building that had previously housed Josephina's, Golden China and Lotus Blossom, it was the first really ambitious attempt to duplicate a major San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. Chinese restaurant See:
But the chef-owner had personal problems that caused the restaurant to eventually close for five months before a new owner took it over in March of this year. Name: CHINA WAVE/SEAFOOD CITY Address: 8930 Corbin Ave., Northridge. Phone: (818) 886-7988. When we last reviewed: Feb. 16, 2001. How long in business: Since January 2001. Menu/cuisine changes: The original menu that contained numerous dishes that weren't selling well was discarded completely when the restaurant reopened earlier this year. The tanks holding live lobsters, crabs and fish were retained. Up to 100 varieties of dim sum dim sum n. A traditional Chinese cuisine in which small portions of a variety of foods, including an assortment of steamed or fried dumplings, are served in succession. , probably the Valley's largest selection, is available on Saturdays and Sundays and up to 60 dim sum items are displayed on the carts during lunch hours weekdays. The new China Wave menu carrying 182 dish listings presents everything from cold appetizers to strictly steamed plates. With the use of the cocktail bar turned to boba drinks, there are now 118 items on a separate boba bar menu. Hard liquor hard liquor A popular term for beverages with a high–often > 30% by volume–ie, 60 proof alcohol content–eg, gin, rum, vodka, whiskey; HLs are preferred by alcoholics as a steady state of low-level inebriation is easier to maintain. See Standard drink. is still sold here, but is poured from a service bar. Decor/physical changes: New owner Wanda Ortiz has placed her stamp on the design and decor of the revitalized re·vi·tal·ize tr.v. re·vi·tal·ized, re·vi·tal·iz·ing, re·vi·tal·iz·es To impart new life or vigor to: plans to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods; tried to revitalize a flagging economy. China Wave. She started with the wooden front door, replaced with glass. The interior has been painted sunny yellow and white. There are new booths, new tables and a new floral patterned carpet. The boba bar has been livened up with a Hawaiian motif and its entry from the dining room expanded. Personnel changes: All-new personnel were hired when the restaurant reopened in March after a five-month shuttering. Head chef is Sin Shu, previously at Wok Kok in Chinatown. Dim sum chef Wing He Far used to fashion and cook these delicious tidbits TidBITS is an award-winning electronic newsletter and web site dealing primarily with Apple Computer and Macintosh-related topics. Internet publication TidBITS has been published weekly since April 16, 1990, which makes it one of the longest running Internet publications. at the Full House in Arcadia. Recommendable dishes: In addition to any dim sum item, steak in the form of diced beef Loc Lac (French style) at $11.95 a platter One of the disks in a hard disk drive. Each platter provides a top and bottom recording surface. There may be only one or several platters in a drive with each platter having its own pair of read/write heads. See magnetic disk. and lobster lobster, marine crustacean with five pairs of jointed legs, the first bearing large pincerlike claws of unequal size adapted to crushing the shells of its prey. done in the house special manner (changing seasonal price) currently ticketed at $14.95 per pound and cooked live out of the tank are the top choices here. The beef is served on a lettuce and onion bed with a secret brown sauce brown sauce n. A sauce made from butter and flour browned together and stock. Noun 1. brown sauce - a sauce based on soy sauce Chinese brown sauce that has black pepper black pepper or pepper Perennial, woody climbing vine (Piper nigrum) of the family Piperaceae, native to India; also, the hotly pungent spice made from its berries. and honey accents. The lobster, usually 1 1/4 pounders or 3 1/2 to 6 pounders, is cooked to order with a number of preparation possibilities, the most popular being a house special, mildly spicy, brown sauce. Service quality: The new staffers at China Wave are very attentive, continually smiling and fairly knowledgeable. Considering the number of items - especially those on dim sum carts - that they have to describe in detail to curious customers, they do quite well. Pricing: Costs seem to be reasonable, especially when portion sizes are considered. Certainly, the 30 lunch specials at $4.95 each (served with soup and eggroll) prove it. Otherwise, starters (some shareable) run from $3.25 to $12, entrees from $7.75 to $24. Most dim sum plates holding two to four pieces are tabbed at $1.80 or $2.50. Large dim sum items like roast duck or barbecued pork Barbecued pork may refer to:
Wine list/service: A small list of 16 wines includes five chardonnays ($15 to $28) and three merlots ($15 to $32). Popular Beringer white zinfandel white zinfandel n. A medium-sweet rosé wine made from zinfandel grapes. is only $14 per bottle and there's a pinot grigio from Gabbiano at $20. Four wines by the glass are $3 and $4 each. Tsing Tao beer is $3.50. Policies worth mentioning: China Wave never keeps its dim sum overnight. Made fresh daily, any overage Overage Apples mainly to convertible securities. Difference between how much common stock one party must sell and the other wishes to buy for the same amount of convertible in a swap. is either eaten by employees or sent to a local hospital. The restaurant serves its dim sum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It is open for lunch, dinner and snacks daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., serves cocktails and accepts major credit cards. Deluxe cold appetizer platters of barbecued fare ($35), Hong Kong-style food ($45) and Chiu Chow region recipes ($45) that are big enough for 10 people can be ordered in advance. Miscellaneous comments: Our thanks to Daily News reader Nancy Rogers, a regular customer of the new version of China Wave, who tipped us off about it. Our latest ratings: Food: Three and one half stars - Wine: Two stars - Service: Three stars. Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Yong Hui He, dim sum chef at China Wave/Seafood City in Northridge, stands behind his work. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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