Shenzhen

707 NE 82nd Ave, Portland, 97220
*This is a Plain Jane favorite.*

When I was in Madrid I used to go to a Chinese restaurant that was literally underground. Known by the locals as "the Blade Runner restaurant," the place was small, cheaply decorated, not super clean, and run by actual Chinese people. A silent TV hanging from a corner of the ceiling showed Chinese karaoke music videos. There was almost always a line to get in, but it never took long to get seated because the abrupt-mannered staff would rush you out as soon as they'd cleared your last plate.

There were two menus: one for the Chinese customers written only in Chinese that contained traditional dishes, and one for the Spaniards and ex-pats written in Chinese and Spanish that contained dishes more palatable to foreigners. The display case up front contained enormous white chicken feet, the bloated purple bodies of octopi, and several things I could not (and probably wouldn't want to) identify. There were additional menu items on posters tacked up on the walls--at least I assume that's what they were, because they were written only in Chinese, which I do not read or speak.

And the food. was. delicious. Addictive as crack-cocaine: we couldn't get enough of it.

When I walked into Shenzhen for the first time and saw a larger version of that little Chinese restaurant--saw the whole roasted ducks hanging behind glass by the front door, the aquarium tanks of large fish and lobsters that were destined to end up on someone's plate, the posters on the wall that no one had bothered to translate into English, saw that I was the only non-Asian person in the place--I knew I had struck gold. It has been my go-to for Chinese food for the last three years.

Shenzhen's self-proclaimed specialty is seafood (hence the fish in tanks), but they have plenty else to offer as well. Although I almost always end up ordering the same thing, I take delight in flipping through the huge, hard-bound, glossy-paged menu. Here I can see full-color photos of such house specialties as "chilled white chicken feet," "couple pieces lungs," and (my personal favorite) "pepper with pig rectum." Someday I will get drunk enough to actually try eating these things.

Of the dishes I have tried, some of which actually contain vegetables, nothing has disappointed. My favorite, though, is the combination dinner #6: fried rice, BBQ pork, fried shrimp, and sesame chicken. Probably my least favorite part of this meal is the BBQ pork, which tends to be on the dry side and lying in a little pool of grease. Pity. But the rest of it is delicious, and the shrimp--oh my god the shrimp--practically melts in your mouth. Sometimes I'll throw in an appetizer of pot stickers, which are at once crispy and a little doughy. All this costs about $13, and I consistently get two, sometimes even three, meals out of it. The price is right.

If you, like me, appreciate a cultural experience when you eat out; if you like Chinese food that is greasy enough to make your lips shiny but not so greasy as to leave a puddle on your plate; and especially if you think it right and proper that your Chinese food should come all in that special shade of golden brown which indicates being fried to perfection--then I highly recommend you give Shenzhen a try.

Wan Q

13535 NW Cornell Rd, Beaverton, 97229

I don't know about you, but I like my Chinese food greasy. Not so much so that it drips when you pick it up, but definitely so that the bottom of the plate is coated in grease and so are your fingers and your mouth and anything else that touches the food. Which is why Wan Q has been my favorite Portland-area Chinese restaurant for the last 8 or 9 years despite the fact that it's way out in Beaverton.

The huge portions of cheap, greasy food in every shade of brown; the black, red & gold decor; the cheesy early 90's music barely discernible in the background; the separate lounge area filled with cigarette smoke, red vinyl booths and 50-something regulars who pump bills into the video poker machines; the aquarium with neon fish; the aggressively pleasant waitresses who box your leftovers at the end of the meal...these are the things that make a great Chinese restaurant in the NW.

So imagine my disappointment when tonight the portions were halved for the same price, and the food had been de-greased. The egg roll, fried to a lovely color though it was, lacked its usual luster. The orange chicken actually looked and tasted like cubed chicken breast rather than the delightful grayish meat I had come to know and love. The rice looked like it had been fried in a pan coated with Pam rather than oil or fat. I didn't once have to wipe the grease away from my lips or worry about next-day pimples.

I know that most people wouldn't have a problem with healthier Chinese food, but I for one am not happy to see all the flavor being sucked out of restaurants and replaced with low-fat, non-artery-clogging options. Fat tastes good, period. Give it to me.

None of these cream sauces made with half & half and thickened with flour. None of this fat-free sour cream or cottage cheese. None of this margarine instead of butter. None of this skinny mocha no whip. Gimme the fat! Gimme the flavor! Let me worry about walking that extra mile to ditch the calories.

Despite my disappointment in the changes Wan Q has made, it will retain its status as my favorite Chinese restaurant in the Portland area until I can find a suitable, greasy replacement. The portions, though half of what they used to be, are still more than enough. And despite the de-greasing, the food still tastes pretty darn good. I particularly recommend the fried shrimp.

Update: Although I still have not found a new favorite Chinese place, my last visit was so disappointing that I had to remove this restaurant's favorite status. I still love the feisty servers, but the food was terrible. It was all lukewarm as though it had been sitting out all day, and the fried rice was far too fried. Wan Q, what happened to you?!?