No surprises, just good Chinese food

DINING OUT

China Moon, a warm and cozy store front restaurant and buffet on

Goldenwest Street and Warner Avenue, offers freshness and

friendliness. The attraction here is simplicity. The buffet has no

menu -- just labels (thank goodness) above each selection of the

double-sided steam buffet.

To one side are two big kettles of soup -- egg flower and sweet

and sour. Try the mild egg flower with a ladle of spicy sweet and

sour to begin with. It’s thick enough to stand a spoon in and warm

enough to untangle your cares.

What you get at the lunch buffet ($5.50, dinner $6.95) is what you

see. Is it good? You bet it is -- a buffet you won’t tire of, fresh

and deeply aromatic.

Crisp lettuce is offered at the beginning of the buffet and you

can also add honey dew melon, orange sections and pineapple cubes.

Strawberries, which are now in season, would be a good addition here,

though.

Then it’s on to the hot buffet. The pinch-topped wontons are crisp

and filled with creamy cheese. The egg rolls are excellent with the

paper-thin pastry wrappers folded around fresh strips of cabbage and

then deep fried until crisp. With the buffet close to the kitchen,

helpers replenish the trays continuously.

Stars of the buffet for me are the orange and lemon battered

chicken dishes, which seduce you with their citrus aroma. Be sure to

try the tasty strips of battered lemon chicken with pieces of lemon

in the sauce to create the lively flavor. There is also an excellent

chicken dish loaded with mushrooms in a dark soy sauce.

Vegetable chow mein is a squiggly mound of bean sprouts, celery

and noodles. There’s also hot kung pao chicken, sweet and sour pork.

In fact, the small buffet offers the usual popular Chinese dishes

spread before you like a palette to combine as you wish -- no trying

to decide what’s best, just sample it all.

China Moon was opened nearly 10 years ago by chef and owner Pak

Chan and manager Ming Ng, who were previously at May Yu Restaurant in

Fountain Valley. This is the kind of neighborhood restaurant that

attracts families, as there are several big round family tables and

booths, while still being the place you’d meet a friend or plot a

business venture.

There are no surprises here, just good Chinese food.

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

comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail

hbindy@latimes.com