Hong Hua - All the elements in place
for a fabulous meal
By: MOLLY ABRAHAM , Special to The Oakland Press 08/11/2000

Hong Hua
27925 Orchard Lake Road,
Farmington Hills
489-2280
***

HOURS: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Lunch specials are served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
PRICES: Lunch specials $6.95-$8.95, including spring roll, soup and rice; a la carte appetizers $1.75-$8.95, soups $2.95-$3.95 for one, $8.95-$12.95 for tureens serving up to 8; main dishes, excluding shark's fin and abalone, $8.95-$32; desserts $2.95-$3.95.
CREDIT CARDS: All major
LIQUOR: Expected by the end of this month
NON-SMOKING: 75 percent
PARKING: Self parking in attached lot
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
RESERVATIONS: Yes

**** Top of the line
*** Recommended with enthusiasm
** Very good
* Good but routine

Chinese restaurants are typically informal, brightly lit, noisy and unpretentious. But there is another kind, as chic as any French restaurant, and Hong Hua is one of them.

Its tastefully simple setting, from the discreet sand-colored facade of its free-standing building to the mellow cherrywood-lavished main dining room with tables set with linens and white china, sets it apart immediately, as do the words "Fine Chinese Dining" above the entrance on Orchard Lake Road.

Until just a few months ago, the premises housed a Bill Knapp's. After a $1 million remake, Mr. Knapp himself wouldn't recognize the place.

Hong Hua - the name was suggested by a fortune teller the proprietors consulted in Hong Kong - refers to the majestic bird that nests in the tree called hua (pronounced hwa), a tall, strong, maplelike tree that resists even the worst storms, says Seto Shetwai, one of four owners. (That's a pretty good metaphor for the volatile restaurant business, which must resist its own kind of storms to survive.)

It is hoped to be a lucky omen for the enterprise, which, after just seven weeks in existence, already is the most sophisticated Chinese restaurant in town. In the foyer, a display of dried shark's fin, abalone, scallops and sea cucumber, among the most prized ingredients in Chinese cuisine, are arranged like artworks on glass-enclosed shelves. That sets the tone even before entering the carpeted dining room, furnished with handsome chairs upholstered in a subtle brocade at linen-covered tables that at lunchtime are overlaid with crisp white paper.

The menu, brought by a staff in dazzlingly white pin-tucked evening shirts, black tie and black trousers, includes both Cantonese and Szechuan dishes among some 110 choices. Listings are written in English, with brief, clear descriptions, followed by listings in both Chinese and Japanese characters. The restaurant expects to attract Japanese visitors and residents with its seafood dishes.

About a quarter of the selections involve seafood, typified by a wonderfully spicy dish, prawns with pepper salt, a mix of Chinese white pepper and salt, deep-fried but without a hint of oil when they come to the table ($14.95); stir-fried scallops with asparagus ($13.95); a number of fish including black cod and grouper in treatments ranging from steaming and sauteeing to deep-frying ($14.95); and braised sliced fresh abalone with Chinese greens, at $69.95, the most expensive dish on the menu.

While dishes from the kitchen of chef Peter Chan are authentic, they are accessible. No one should have the feeling they've stumbled into a secret society, even if they are newcomers to authentic Chinese cuisine.

Chan, one of the four partners along with Shetwai, Gary Yau and Danny Yu, has 25 years experience in Hong Kong and Montreal, where he emigrated 15 years ago. For several years, he was chef for the Far East Business Association, a private club in Hong Kong. In Canada, he established Keung Kee restaurant, still a popular spot in Montreal's Chinatown.

Chan's food is memorable. In two visits, it was only possible to scratch the surface of what the kitchen is capable of, but every dish sampled was impeccable and attractively served.

Of the 10 soups, crab meat and fish maw thick soup, as it is described on the menu, is especially notable, rich with shredded Alaskan crab in a broth with the consistency of a soft-boiled egg and delicately subtle. It looks, at first glance, like eggdrop soup, but it is much more complex and elegant - a word that comes to mind with many of Chan's dishes.

Another outstanding soup is one called shredded duck and mushroom in a thick soup. It is completely different from crab meat and fish maw, offering instead of the subtle seafood combination, a hearty blend of rich duck stock and meat, enoki and shiitake mushrooms.

Among the 11 appetizers, only a few are the expected ones, such as spring rolls and roasted spareribs. More unusual choices include salad seafood rolls, thinly wrapped, finely chopped mixed seafood and vegetables, deep-fried and served with mayonnaise; diced meat and mushrooms to be spooned at the table into leaves of fresh lettuce with hoisin sauce for dipping; and steamed won tons with hot peanut sauce, the only appetizer marked with a tiny chili pepper symbol as hot and spicy. The little symbols appear on less than a quarter of the dishes.

While the menu notes that Peking duck, which is served in two courses, must be ordered in advance, Shetwai says the kitchen prepares several orders each day, and that it is sometimes available without pre-ordering. First comes the crispy skin to be wrapped in pancakes, then shredded meat with Chinese vegetables ($32).

Also on the list of special suggestions is roasted golden pigeon, the skin of the tiny squab glisteningly brown and served chopped into small pieces so that the tender dark meat can be nibbled from the bones. This is the only dish our server tried to talk us out of ordering, expecting we wouldn't like to deal with the bones, but the succulent dish turned out to be one of our favorites, as were the black mushrooms stuffed with shrimp mousse, another interesting blend of textures and flavors.

In addition to the main dining room, there are two other separate rooms, on either side of the building, where there are lazy Susan-centered tables for large groups.
About the only thing I can find to complain about at Hong Hua is the bland elevator music playing in the background. But that is easily drowned out by the symphony of flavors coming from Chan's kitchen.

Hong Hua's four proprietors also run Troy's Jumbo Buffet, where the star of the all-you-can-eat buffet is king crab legs and the cuisine is tailored to American tastes.
It's a different story at Hong Hua, which has the potential of being a four-star restaurant when all the elements are in place.

©The Oakland Press 2000