SAM WOO SEAFOOD
Address:
15333 Culver (at Irvine Center Drive), Irvine
Phone:
(949) 262-0688
Cuisine:
Hong Kong style Chinese food
Open:
Lunch and dinner daily
Prices:
Special lunch entr & #233;es $5.95 to $8.95; dinner appetizers $5.95 to $10.95, entr & #233;es $7.50 to $16.95 (abalone and some special shellfish entr & #233;es are higher; all dishes will serve 4 or more persons)
We took some American friends, who are kind enough to read my columns, to Sam Woo Seafood in Irvine; not an unusual occurrence for us since this happens to be one of the best Chinese restaurants in OC. However, the conversation on this night took a turn toward them loving Chinese food, but always being a little out of sync in places like this because they wanted to eat the best dishes the chefs cooked, but were afraid to just order something that looked good at a nearby table. So, they, like so many Americans, admitted to sticking with the few dishes they already knew. One of them said I should write an article and list some dishes that I thought American palates would understand, but authentic items that would broaden their experience. Aha. The best idea for a column once again came from a reader’s suggestion.
So, here are my picks from the very vast menu that will fit the American palate, yet are the foods Asians consistently order. Perhaps, if I really do this right, it will be your clip-and-keep guide. Knowing that you will go to the restaurant armed only with the piece of paper, and not me as a private tour guide, please do speak to the general manager Elbert Wue. He is so personable and helpful and, having met you, he will remember and take care of you every time you come back. I consider this an important factor.
Chinese kitchens make terrific soups, coaxing so much flavor from every ingredient. The one that I think sings the tune best at Sam Woo is the three-flavor sizzling rice soup. The nutty flavor from the rice browned on the bottom of the wok mingles with seafood and meat and vegetables. A trio of others is worth noting, as well. There’s the winter melon soup managing to be mellow and tender, yet intense at the same time. Hot and sour soup parades a yin-yang of tangy vinegar balancing the heat of a few little red chile peppers and the texture of wood ears (a crunchy relative of the mushroom). And, the West Lake beef soup sports little chunks of meat in a clean but rich broth strewn with egg white.
This is the place to order a mixed appetizer plate of roasted meat and poultry. No other restaurant in the county can compare when it comes to roasted pork with crispy skin, barbecue pork tenderloin, crisply roasted chicken and duck. No wonder so many people do double orders and take one home.
Fresh seafood and shellfish reign supreme here, as you can tell from the tanks with swimmers of all kinds in them. Order the big, fresh scallops in sweet and pungent sauce (not very spicy) or have them simply seared with black peppercorns. Lobster and crab are fished for you from the tanks. They are best when stir-fried with ginger and scallions or, in the case of crab, with the classic sprinkling of Chinese spicy salt. At this time of year, you will notice one tank with pure white “crystal” crabs in it. These are by far the sweetest crabs of all. Shrimp are at their most tender and when simply saut & #233;ed (tossed briefly in an almost smoking wok) and then seasoned with a little white wine. We Americans also have a love affair going with honey-walnut shrimp. Dredged in a little tempura-style batter, wokked until crisp and tossed with a little mayonnaise and honey, they are then sprinkled with candied walnut halves. It’s one of the most popular dishes the restaurant serves.
You will like fresh fish filets with sweet and sour sauce. And, don’t let anyone tell you only Americans order dishes with sweet and sour sauce. It’s one of the beloved sauces of the Chinese, even in home cooking. Duck saut & #233;ed with pineapple and lichee is a fine marriage of flavors, while Hong Kong crispy chicken translates to fried chicken taken to a nice level of flavor and moistness with a coat of crackling skin. You can never go wrong with crispy Peking duck served with those little buns to tuck the meat into, along with scallions and a slathering of hoisin sauce. Another classic Asians often order and I know you will like is Peking style pork chops. They have the flavor of sweet and sour, but it’s a dry coating rather than a liquid sauce.
As for vegetables, the three most delicious ones, standing on their own, are saut & #233;ed fresh green beans, saut & #233;ed spinach with garlic and eggplant with garlic sauce. All of our American friends have also liked the tofu (the very soft kind) steamed over lotus leaves that we have introduced to them. It is permeated by the swell flavor of the leaves, and topped with scallops, shrimp, duck meat and black mushrooms. It’s a pretty amazing dish. A few other outstanding things you probably don’t know about and should consider trying include the crispy shredded beef strips with spicy salt, cross-cut ribs with black pepper sauce on a sizzling hot platter, stewed lamb hot pot and fat chunks of steak with asparagus.
So now, you have no excuse to ignore the terrific flavors that reside in these dishes. You can order with confidence. It will take several trips to work your way through my suggestions, but you will surely have fun tasting all this. I would remind you that gathering some friends to join in the culinary excursion through the Far East is not a bad idea. Tables of six or eight are ideal for sharing such an adventure.
This restaurant’s clean, linen-level sophistication, use of marble, handsome artifacts and black lacquer furnishings make a very modern statement. Good friends, good food, good surroundings. What a way to live.
Chao publishes Chao’s Dinesty, a food, wine and travel newsletter, in Irvine.
