Dining Out

Mary Furr

Niya, a new seafood restaurant and sushi bar took Kiki’s former

location in the strip mall near the 24 Hour Fitness Center at the

intersection of Warner Avenue and Springdale Street in Huntington Beach.

It’s a gem -- an amethyst with light lavender interior and deep purple

ceiling. Designed by Jeannie, wife of owner/chef Rex Kim, its walls are

covered with classic black and white photos like Ruth Orkin’s “American

Girl in Italy, 1951”, “Night Time Coffee, London” and a great one of

Audrey Hepburn from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

It is the perfect setting for a fresh and distinctive Asian cuisine

prepared by experienced restaurateur Rex, whose philosophy is “to cook

with my heart.” It’s fresh quality food prepared when ordered.

A good introduction is the Lunch Box ($7.50), a red and black lacquer

“bento box” dish of compartments. First comes an excellent miso soup,

more dense and flavorful than most with lots of creamy tofu cubes and

diced spring onions.

For my “Lunch Box” I chose the chicken cutlet -- slices of white meat

coated in a light crust -- there is no visible oil here, just a fine

brown crispness. In another compartment is shumai -- six flavorful

Ping-Pong size pork dumplings. Another section held shrimp and vegetable

tempura -- carrot, yam and string bean. And finally, a good-sized crisp

lettuce salad with slivered almonds and chicken in a tart vinaigrette.

The box is a great example of what the Japanese do best -- fresh food,

contrasting textures and color in an artistic picture-perfect

presentation.

Another lunch selection is The Boat ($8.50), a foot-long bamboo boat

(really) with a dab of green wasabi and flakes of red ginger on the tip

ends. In the shallow bottom of the boat are pieces of beef, dark with

shiny Teriyaki sauce, three small California rolls of sticky rice around

crab meat, avocado and cucumber -- just plop one in your mouth for a

great taste mix. The Boat also includes tender, dewy fresh salmon sushi

with just the hint of flavor, pearly tuna sushi and thin slices of yellow

pickled radish.

The atmosphere at Niya has a neat perfection -- servers in black pants

and white shirts on carpeted floors. Perhaps the only jarring note is the

music/advertising of the radio -- silence or soft music would be more

suitable.

Desserts are limited to a la carte cheese cake, tira misu and ice

cream. Our scoop of green tea ice cream had a chocolate-tipped cookie

chop stick -- a perfect salute to an excellent lunch. Owner Kim, in the

Japanese tradition of fruit as dessert, gave us a small orange cut to

represent a rabbit, filled with pieces of juicy orange bits -- what a

treat for a child.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail o7 hbindy@latimes.com.f7

FYI

WHAT: Niya

WHERE: 5910 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach

HOURS: Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday; Dinner 5 to

10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m.

Closed Sunday.

Phone: (714) 840-3024.

FAX: (714) 840-7934.