THE GOSSIPING GOURMET: Big taste on small plates at ‘recession’ pricing

The last time we chatted with Michael Kang, none of us had gray hair. We were just planning A La Carte and he had just opened Five Feet.

Astonishing to all three of us is the fact that it was 25 years ago! At that long ago moment, he was generously offering us advice and expertise on the difficulties of the restaurant business.

Typical of Kang, even then, was his willingness to help other people. As his restaurant became a Laguna institution, so did he, involving himself in any number of charitable causes, particularly those that focused on feeding people.

These days, with the economic downturn, the restaurant business has become more challenging than ever, but Michael has survived two recessions and has a new strategy for the current one.

He has reconfigured his menu from the exclusively prix fixe tasting menu that he had for several years and has brought back individual entrées as well as the exciting new Light Fare Menu featuring smaller plates at smaller prices, although, they are still larger than on a typical small plate menu and a good value too. The other great deal is the weekly listing of recession buster wines, reduced in price by approximately 30%. The night we were there, the prices ranged from $16 to $115.

In addition, he is offering “Back to Five Feet Family Night” every Thursday and donating 10% of each check to Laguna Beach’s SchoolPower. With a four-person minimum, he serves two starters, two entrées, two sides and two desserts family-style for $99 with free beverages for the kids.

We came for the Light Fare Menu, which has 13 choices and four desserts, plus daily specials. Also, fish entrées from the regular menu can be ordered in half portions, including his famous crispy catfish in tomato, citrus and ginger sauce.

Kung pao is to Chinese food as tikka masala is to Indian “” hugely popular and one of our favorites as well.

Chicken is offered on the light fare menu but for a little more, you can have it with calamari from the starter menu. The special taste of kung pao depends on the smoky blackened chilies that flavor the dish, although it is important to remember not to eat these fiery pods.

Kang’s version is more distinctly flavored than the usual Chinese restaurant preparation. The chilies were deeply smoky, which made the sauce taste less generic. There were the requisite peanuts and green onions but typical of Kang, there are added ingredients that make the dish his own “” the fusion component that distinguishes his cuisine.

Classically, the dish is made with chicken, although Western cooks have also used shrimp, but this variation features calamari and adds radicchio and Napa cabbage for his audience of vegetable-hungry Californians. The calamari steak was cut into meltingly tender pieces with an occasional odd, very chewy one. The seafood flavor and juices married perfectly with the kung pao sauce. Considering that this was an appetizer, it was a very large portion.

New to the light fare menu is coconut prawn and noodle salad. We loved the salad with its riot of ingredients: cucumbers, tomatoes, green papaya, celery, red onion, green pepper, peanuts, and black and white sesame seeds tossed with soft rice noodles and perfectly dressed with a light peanut dressing that had a spicy little kick. A few crispy noodles were sprinkled on top. We were less enchanted with the coconut shrimp. Though nicely fried in a tasty batter, the shrimp themselves had an unusual, off taste. We just couldn’t figure it out.

The fish of the day was opah, and we ordered the light fare half-sized portion. Kang’s cooking is characterized by an abundance of ingredients and there was no shortage in this preparation. Shredded radish, shitake mushrooms, asparagus, corn and flower petals provided a bed for the gingerbread-crusted fish.

All were drizzled with a delicious miso, sesame vinaigrette and accompanied by sticky black rice. This kind of rice is seldom seen outside of Southeast Asia where it is most commonly used to make a sweet pudding; however, its rich, nutty flavor made an unusual and tasty complement to the fish.

The menu describes the moo shu as “classic” but classic at Five Feet means something a little different. Gone are the fried egg and mung bean sprouts, but we didn’t miss them at all because of the lovely mélange of shitakes, onions, spinach and cabbage, lightly tossed in a freshly made, delicate, ginger plum sauce (not the stuff that comes out of a jar) that were folded into a delicious pancake. The chef’s moo shu preparation of the day added rock shrimp, which is a fine idea but once again we had a problem with the taste of the shrimp.

Created especially for the new light fare menu, in addition to the prawn noodle salad and the half catfish, are Maine lobster puffs in kefir lime vinaigrette with greens as well as pan-seared jumbo scallops with fresh organic polenta. Some old favorites include: Mama Kang’s pot stickers, crispy shrimp tortillas, Chinese pepper beef and Kurobuta pork short ribs.

Smaller portions of their four desserts are also available. We selected the warm apple cinnamon tart with cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce. Thin apple slices are layered on puff pastry and drizzled with excellent caramel. Macadamia chocolate chip crème brulée comes with fresh berries. There is a flourless chocolate torte with white chocolate raspberry ice cream, and a homemade lemon ice cream with berries and tropical fruits.

The chef’s “menu without menu” (nightly tasting menu) is still available with your choice of four or five courses.

In these days of small plate menus, Kang’s are not all that small. Two dishes can make a meal without breaking the bank.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Five Feet 497-4955 fivefeetrestaurants.com

WHERE: 328 Glenneyre St.

WHEN: 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

PRICES:

Appetizers: $9 to $16

Light Fare: $5 to $15

Light Fare desserts: $4 to $7

Menu without menu: $65 to $75

WINE:

Recession buster wines: $16 to $115

Corkage Fee: $25

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned a la Carte for 20 years and can be reached at themarkos755@yahoo.com.