Dong Ting Chun

General Information

Description

Located upstairs in the well-traveled Focus Plaza (sometimes called San Gabriel Plaza), Dong Ting Chun boasts somewhat elegant surroundings, some of which remain from when the space held the Green Village Shanghainese restaurant.

At lunchtime here, the $4.25 specials are a wonder for vegetarians and vegetable lovers: tofu with sun-dried vegetables, braised tofu, nappa cabbage with dried chile peppers or pickled (fermented) soybeans.

The menu can be a bit confusing -- even for Chinese speakers -- or simply incorrect (crab with chopped garlic, ginger and hot pepper turned out to be shrimp).

But fantasize that you're on vacation in China, where such tiny infractions mean little when the food is this good.

The shrimp (not crab) are plump, succulent and, despite the fiery-sounding seasonings, not incendiary once the easy-to-remove shell comes off.

Fine versions of the familiar fish head, or whole fish paved with tart and hot chiles, sing.

And the liu-yan lamb clay pot comes with pungent chunks of meat and slippery clear noodles in a roiling scarlet broth.

Offerings of nonchile dishes are a wonderful way to balance a meal: steamed kabocha squash sprinkled with sweet, date-like lotus seeds; tiny pumpkin pancakes (listed with the noodles); savory shredded beef with cumin-infused Chinese celery; a savory custard-like baked egg casserole; and long beans stir-fried with eggplant.

--Linda Burum, Special to The Times, 4/15/09