22. ~ Friday, October 7, 1988 - North Shore News

YEN JIN RESTAURANT, 116 EAST
_ 15TH STREET, NORTH VAN-
COUVER, 988-1711. . ot
VISA’ AND MASTERCARD AC-
CEPTED. WHEELCHAIR AC-
CESSIBLE. ,

Crunese FOOD has oc-
casionally left a bad taste in
my mouth. oo

Much of it is churned cut to sat-
isfy the lowest common
denominator palates and sweet
and sour.tastes. a
_ A lot of Chinese restaurants
consequently produce a kind of
generic international omni-oriental
grub designed for misguided con-
cepts of what North American
diners want from Far Eastern
cuisine.

But that old threadbare sweet
and sour, deep fried and wonton-
ed kitchen dirge is no Jonger _
pleasant music to the ears of
cosmopolitan ‘80s diners.

There is so much more to dining
out these days than merely filling
guts and so many more places at
which to do it.

« And, too, with diners more than
willing and eager to make the cu-
linary trek, the great frontiers of
Chinese cuisine are beckoning the
adventurous and cautious alike.

Thus the steady rise of restau-
‘rants offering Szechwan, Hunan
and other more interesting facets
of the great Chinese cooking
character. .

Yen Jinis a good example.

Though it sounds like it might be
an Oriental martini speciality
house, the East 15th Street restau-
tant is really a small, but well-
equipped outfitting station for cu-
linary journeys into those distant
regions of Chinese cuisine.

Its menu is massive.

Dishes are listed in Chinese,
English and are also numbered.

Szechwan
not for the
faint of heart

The list runs to over 130 main
dishes, and, for such a tiny kitch-
en, is staggering in its variety.

1 mean, do they really make all
those dishes in that steaming
backroom? After all, who's going
to order the Garlic Cuttlefish in
Special Sauce ($7.75) on their
lunch break? You? Well read no
further. Reserve a table and ready
the digestive juices.

| TIMOTHY
IRENSHAW

table hopping

Food served at Yen Jin is not

- gourmet, but it does have more

character than the round-toed
elevator food served at most pe-
destrian Chinese-Canadian
eateries. .
The restaurant's decorisa  —
mish-mash of knick knacks col-
lected from the numerous dining
outfits that have been through the
location in the recent past: cap-
puccinos (not normally a Chinese

staple) are still advertised on the
window and an odd spider plant
loops from the four corners of the
ceiling like a malnourished jungle
vine.

But the food is all Yen Jin: Man-
darin, Peking and a few welcome
and inspired dashes of Szechwan.

An Imperial Soup ($5.25 small;
$6.25 large) is a meal in itself.

It comes plugged with tofu,
chicken, egg, peas and shrimp and
has a good savory soup stock fla-
vor that makes the whole dish a
good change from its ever-popular
wonton cousin. For budding
mathematicians or those otherwise
numerically infatuated, a number
24,

Moo-Shi Beef ($6.25, a number
39) is also worth exploring.

Though | prefer this dish served
with lettuce wraps, which 1 find
are more refreshing and provide a
better contrast of food textures,
Yen Jin serves its Moo-shi with
four Peking pancakes.

The burly Chinese version of
Mexican enchiladas come flecked
with green onions and make good
overcoats in which to stuff to
bursting the Moo-Shi mixture of
wok-fried beef, bamboo shoots,
eggs, cabbage and various
Mooshian spices.

See Exctic Page 23

Every day we're serving the finest, freshest
seafood (and landfood). So, if you're doing
business or pleasure or just doing lunch,
set sail for the Seven Seas!

LUNCHEONS
$625.54 225
Salad and coffee included
with every meal

LUNCH 21am — 2:30pm daily

_ SHIP OF THE
SEVEN'S!

dealt
NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

JOE CHANG of the Yen Jin Restaurant presents a steaming plate of
diced chicken with hot peppers. The new North Vancouver restaurant
offers a welcome selection of more exotic examples of Chinese cuisine
along with traditional favorites. , :

ee

3 PIECES
OF COD

WINNER OF FREE DRAW .
of 2 nights at Harrison Hot Springs
Mr. & Mrs. Joh Nililigan
Courtesy of Lue’s Lageon and Sicele’s Travel.

noe me Sun COUPON

_ LUE’S 2OON

200 off any meal over {7°

Oct. 7th - Oct. 16
(Alcoholic Beverages Excluded)

117-260 W. ESPLANADE, NVAN. 986-2228