In
just four years, Grand Fortune Chinese
Restaurant has attracted a fan base
for its authentic food and winning
service.
Tracy
Huey, a native Chinese, runs the restaurant
in a friendly chatty manner with her
brother, Wei Huang.
Two
of Huey's fans, in fact, insisted
on taking my wife and me to the restaurant
on a recent weekend. They recommended
their favorite dishes: sizzling scallops,
honey walnut shrimp, black pepper
steak and Cantonese chicken chow mein.
We
grazed on several appetizers, including
lettuce wraps($9.95) from the entree
menu, and hot and sour soup.
The
wraps - seasoned chicken, nuts and
Asian vegetables in a shell of cool,
crisp lettuce - were served with a
plum sauce and a spicier sweet-and-sour
sauce. I prefer the second sauce because
the slight spiciness offsets the cool
lettuce. There was enough for each
of us to eat a wrap, with filling
left over.
The
honey walnut shrimp($11.95) is one
of the 23 house specialty items. Huey
said s
he
learned the recipe while living in
San Francisco.
The
preparation begins with battered and
fried jumbo shrimp. The fish is coated
with a sweet sauce of coconut milk,
mayonnaise, citrus juices, and other
ingredients. Whole walnuts, dusted
in sesame seeds, contribute a strong,
nutty flavor.
By
request, the chicken chow mein($6.25)
was served Cantonese style, which
emphasizes simple falvors and sauces,
often stir-fried. (The restaurant
has a second, Chinese language menu
and isn't averse to special orders
if given enough preparation time.)
The
chow mein had wok-sauteed, crispy
noodles on the bottom, topped with
chicken, mushrooms, onions, bok choy
and broccoli, by special request,
served with a piquant sauce.
We
also ordered a prk fried-rice side($6.25)
served Cantonese style with a darker
soy sauce.
For
me, the big dish of the night was
black pepper steak($8.35), a large
portion of tender beef seasoned with
pepper for a spicy bite, served sizzling
on a griddle.
Throughout
the meal, service was unflaggingly
prompt. Waitress refilled drinks and
provided information about the food.
My friends, eager to show off their
favorite restaurant, constantly introduced
us to people and asked Huey questions
about the restaurant.
The
total for four was $69.59 before tax
and tip.
Perhaps
it was the good company, perhaps it
was the good food and service - Grand
Fortunce was an enjoyable evening.
