Panda Country’s New Restaurant Takes a Stab at Going for the Gold

There’s something rather engaging about the shrimp tails that stick up from the corners of the shrimp toasts at the new Panda Country in the Golden Triangle.

Since these properly are called Phoenix shrimp toasts (in reference to the mythical bird, not the city), it may be supposed that the shrimp tails represent cascading tail feathers, or something of that sort. Their practical effect is to serve as handles to lift the savory, sesame-and-shrimp-paste-coated toasts, detouring, perhaps, for a quick dunk in mustard or plum sauce.

The less obvious side of this little refinement, since ordinary shrimp toasts, like most foods, do not come equipped with handles, is that it is a refinement. Panda Country offers several innovations on its menu and, perhaps more importantly, has chosen to present this menu in an atmosphere of some style and elegance. The place certainly is a far cry from the neighborhood cafes that, just a decade ago, dished up most of the Chinese food served in San Diego. Servers are polished, polite, informed and somewhat formal, and the airy decor has more in common with big-city chic than with ethnic identification.

The restaurant is the offspring of the Panda Inns of Santee and Clairemont, which recently were renamed Panda Country, and is not related to the Panda Inn at Horton Plaza. The name change evidently has resolved a certain friction between these competitors. The Golden Triangle location is also a definite upgrade on this mini-chain’s other locations and seems Panda Country’s shot at the gold. It probably ranks among the top three Chinese houses in the city.

Most of the dishes that qualify the restaurant for this high status appear on the specialties page, which also lists some quite inferior offerings. Choosing among them can in some ways resemble roulette, although the servers often prove reliable guides through the maze.

The dish that seems most specifically Panda Country’s own (memory does not recall its presence elsewhere) is the “house special duck.� This relatively elaborate presentation requires that a duck be roasted, then boned and cut in squares; these pieces in turn are stuffed with ground shrimp, then crisped in deep fat and coated with a savory and somewhat pungent sauce. This is a very successful way to serve duck, not only for the pleasant flavors but also because it is essentially greaseless, a rare comment about this bird.

The menu offers shrimp, beef and chicken in similar presentations, with the exception that none is stuffed. The sauce used for these dishes also is spicier and more sharply defined, and it works especially well with the shrimp, which are thoroughly delicious. The trick of batter-frying the foods until crisp, then sauteing them in the sauce, gives each a mellow, special character.

Another dish that appears on the specials list, the minced chicken, is in fact served everywhere, but this restaurant turns out a notably delicate version of what the servers here (and nearly everywhere in San Diego) rather proudly call a “Chinese burrito.� At the table, the server piles this blend of finely minced chicken breast, black mushrooms and vegetables into lettuce leaves spread with hoisin sauce, which the diners then roll into bundles and eat rather quickly (speed is important, since the lettuce leaves like to split and dump their cargo down shirt fronts). The contrast between hot, soft filling and cold, crisp lettuce cleverly extends a dish that, served without lettuce, would still be excellent.

Among other specialties, there is a choice of shrimp or scallops yum nam , to which the key is a saute with green onions and a final garnish of ham. The chicken with celery turns out to be a typical Cantonese mix of chicken breast and vegetables, among which celery does not seem to predominate; it is mild but well done, and a good balance to any spicy dish that may also have been ordered. Among the spicy dishes is sha dee beef, an inelegant and disappointing stir-fry of shredded beef with onions and peppers. Neither the meat nor the vegetables had much to recommend them, and none seemed the least bit happy in the others’ company.

The menu denotes quite a few dishes as “hot and spicy,� but, as has become a common problem in Oriental restaurants today, it does not consistently follow through. For example, the imperial shrimp, though so noted, were simply shrimp in a tomato sauce that had much in common with American chili sauce--there was barely a trace of heat. When this was mentioned to the waiter, he responded that, if one wants a dish spicy, one must speak up. “Not everybody likes it hot; you have to tell us,� he said. Still, it hardly seems that the customer need specify that he wishes a dish to be served in the manner promised by the menu.

Like most Chinese menus, this one runs on nearly forever and covers much familiar ground, usually with competence. Especially likable are the chicken dishes, mostly variations on the diced breast meat, mild white sauce, garnish theme (garnishes include broccoli, cashews, almonds, mushrooms, pea pods and all the other usual suspects). What recommends these dishes is the simple skill of their preparation, since the meat seems uniformly succulent and well-allied to its sauce.

The appetizer list includes the increasingly popular steamed dumplings, which have become fairly standard but are quite well done here. An unusual variant upon the everlasting egg roll is called, quite amusingly, “Goldfinger,� and consists of rolls stuffed only with small shrimp and diced bananas. These taste much better than they sound, and are, in fact, quite good.

The star of the starter list, however, would have to be the “five spice� pork spareribs, which the kitchen just slightly undercooks so that they remain wonderfully juicy. The heavy, pungent “five spice� coating gives a crisp finish and a fine flavor that, for whatever reason and as unlikely as it may sound, makes the ribs taste somewhat like the best fried chicken.

DAVID NELSON ON RESTAURANTS

* PANDA COUNTRY

4150 Regents Park Row

552-1345

Lunch and dinner daily.

Credit cards accepted.

Dinner for two, with one glass of wine each, tax and tip, $25 to $55.