MARY FURR -- Dining Out

Co-owners Terry and Johnson Wei adopted Caucasian first names when

they emigrated from Taiwan 20 years ago to become more quickly

assimilated into their new country. Lucky for us, they kept their

traditional Sichuan cuisine -- one of great variety and subtle shadings.

Tables fill quickly in the rose-carpeted double dining room -- mostly

with groups eager to order and share one of the 86 menu choices or one of

the lunch specials ($4.95 to $5.75).

Begin with Three Flavor Sizzling Rice Soup ($7.95), which serves four

to six people. It’s a full-flavored chicken broth overflowing with

chicken pieces, scallops, the freshet shrimp, mushroom slices and snappy

green snow peas. When the server pours in the fried rice to sizzle and

steam, you have a soup with the thickness of a stew but the lightness of

a consomme.

Chef Johnson Wei began cooking in Taiwan when he was 15. Thirty-eight years of experience there and in Anaheim have honed his skills.

Shrimp with Lobster Sauce (lunch $5.75, a la carte $10.50) is like a picture in pastels. The pink de-tailed shrimp swim in a sauce thickened

with soft yellow egg dotted with tiny green peas -- very mild and mellow

for Sichuan cuisine. It contrasts well with the spicier-than-usual egg

flower soup that comes with lunch.

Mu Shu Chicken ($7.95) is the traditional tissue-thin crepes spread

with fragrant plum sauce and filled with a mix of egg, crunchy vegetables

and chicken -- a simple preparation with the extra sparkle of fresh

ingredients.

Another dish to share is Three Ingredients Taste (Lunch $5.75), a

dark-sauced dish of chicken, beef and curled-up shrimp with fresh green

snow peas and broccoli flowers. Its pungent soy sauce blends well with a

side order of sauteed green string beans ($7.50) sprinkled with tiny

green minced garlic and ground pork -- a wonderful way to get your

vegetables. This dish travels well if you’re thinking of takeout.

Another good traveler is the Pork Chop with Salt and Pepper ($8.50).

The tender sauteed pieces of pork chop -- some with bones -- have

practically no fat, just wonderfully seasoned meat.

If you usually try to finish with a dessert, try the cool pieces of

white almond gelatin, different and refreshing in these muggy days.

After moving from Anaheim to Fountain Valley eight years ago, Wei’s

quickly became the place for authentic and varied Chinese food -- a place

for a quick lunch or a casual dinner with a dining room that Terry moves

through weaving a web of friendship.

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

or suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

Wei’s Chinese Restaurant

WHERE: 17046 Magnolia Ave., Fountain Valley

HOURS: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner

Tuesday through Saturday. 4:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday dinner. Closed Monday.

CALL: (714) 842-9778

MISC.: Credit cards accepted.