Dining Out

Mary Furr, For the Independent

Pauline and Kurt Wong, chef/owners of Aki Grill have been chefs and

owned restaurants from New York to New Orleans to Texas but came to

California to retire. For this active Taiwanese couple, it was impossible

-- they were bored. The cure? To open Aki Grill about two months ago.

For diners in Huntington Beach, it was an answer, too -- a place to

find some of the best Chinese/Japanese food in the area.

There is no better way to begin a meal than with appetizers and Aki

offers great crab Rangoon ($2.95), eight crisp light skins filled with

creamy crab and vegetable bits and formed into a pouch -- a great

combination of taste and texture -- a must at Aki.

Soup comes with all entrees -- an egg flower thick with strands of egg

white and darker hot and sour with a spicy bite filled with bamboo shoots

and cubes of tofu.

From among the 17 lunch specials ($4.95-$5.25) I selected shrimp

tempura ($5.25) with very light batter served with bean sprouts, broccoli

flowers and fat fresh mushrooms with an earthy taste. A mixed green salad

on the side makes the plate a meal. Aki has a fetish for freshness and a

healthy approach to Asian cuisine.

There are more than a dozen medium-sized shrimp ($5.25) with green

beans, broccoli, mushrooms and water chestnuts piled on top of steamed

sticky rice. Food comes directly from the kitchen prepared when ordered

and is very hot.

Pauline says the sauces are her specialty (she cooks them for about

seven hours) and I’ve never tasted any better than the aromatic orange

sauce with tangy chicken ($6.95) -- thin pieces of orange skin and a tart

citrus flavor to the sweet sauce in which I swirled each piece of

battered chicken. There is plenty here to share if you’re eating family

style.

From the Japanese style cuisine there is teriyaki beef ($6.75) with

tender, well-grilled slices of smoked meat in a sweet sauce piled on top

of white rice and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Pointed out on the menu is an Aki Special ($6.95) boneless crisp

chicken strips with a special homemade sauce served with steamed rice and

salad. It’s a very generous serving of tender chicken with the best silky

deep brown sauce made for dipping. Prices are low enough to lure you to

try many dishes.

For 25 years restaurants have been a family affair for the Wongs --

their son John keeps water glasses filled, their charming niece Ellen

takes your order, and Aki, owned by the brothers Wong, has Pauline to

sauce the fresh healthy cuisine -- a fusion of Chinese and Japanese

cooking.

Aki, which means “a time of harvest” for fresh fruits and vegetables,

is the right name for this grill.

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

or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail o7 [email protected]

FYI

Aki Grill

WHERE: 16482 Bolsa Chica St. (at the corner of Heil Avenue)

HOURS: lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; dinner,

5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday

PHONE: (714) 840-0030