Considered one of the world’s great cuisines, rivaling the French, Chinese culinary traditions link history, geography and religion. With a few untensils--wok, bamboo steamer, chopsticks and cleaver--and simple cooking methods to utilize precious fuel, the Chinese created a remarkable, diverse cuisine that’s now enjoyed almost everywhere.
The large menu at Fu’s Palace is a passport to explore regional Chinese cuisine. Gary Fu’s spacious restaurant offers something for everybody with specialties from Beijing such as shark’s fin soup, Peking duck and mu shu pork and fiery Szechwan dishes of kung pao chicken and long green beans. The restaurant site is a neighborhood landmark beginning with Wang-Q, later Sugar Shack, and for the last six years as Fu’s Palace.
Early in the evening, there’s a senior crowd, later couples and families. Groups of young men and twenty somethings enjoy brews while watching televised sports in the cocktail lounge. With a patio, a private dining room, gregarious bar, we preferred seating in the well-lit and well-populated main dining room with Chinese art on the walls.
The old-fashioned pupu platter sounds Hawaiian but is an assortment of Chinese appetizers: succulent spareribs, fried butterflied shrimp, vegetarian spring rolls, beef stick and foil-wrapped chicken, with a hibachi for warming the tidbits. Many people like the combination dinners with egg roll, soup, fried rice and a choice of nine entrees such as chicken chop suey and shrimp in lobster sauce. Chefs recommendations include the top-selling sweet and sour shrimp with chile, tangerine chicken, and sizzling beef with black pepper sauce. Honey walnut shrimp with a mayonnaise sauce and crunchy candied nuts is nicely done.
From wheat-eating Northern China, come shao mai dumplings, won ton soup and low mein noodles. Adding a stir-fried vegetable to complete our meal, we spooned the oyster sauce from the Chinese broccoli over the noodles for extra flavor. Lunch, served from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., is even a bigger bargain with a choice of 30 entrees. It includes vegetable spring roll, soup, fried rice and entree. A steamed dish is available for the health and diet conscious. New manager Ken Lin has upgraded and expanded the moderately-priced wine list. Hopefully they will include vintage dates on the list. We liked the 1998 Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, but the new list will offer Chinese-food friendly 1997 Villa Mt. Eden Pinot Noir and other selections. The pupu platter is $8.95, combination dinners from 6.95, chef’s recommendations from 8.95, honey walnut shrimp is $12.95, Chinese broccoli is $5.15, lunch specials start at $4.55.
The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Fu’s Palace
8751 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles
(310) 271-7887


"Try today, don’t wait until tomorrow," said owner Zhaohe Luo of Today Chinese Cuisine.
Luo and her husband Liango "Mike" Gao, originally from Beijing, fulfilled their lifelong dream, opening their small restaurant in Burbank six months ago. They have simply furnished the former Cindy’s Corner space with green "Formica" tables and green and black lacquer chairs, decorating the walls with Chinese prints and fan.

Building on the diversity of Chinese cuisine, they list 94 items on their luncheon and dinner menus at reasonable prices. Spicy Szechwan dishes and "Mandarin" for an elegant style from Peking and the northern region, characterized by soy sauce, are featured. But they also prepare Cantonese specialties with light, delicate sauces. Upon request, Chef Mike will cook with no salt, sugar or oil for guests with special diets.
Says Luo, "To make our Chinese restaurant stand out from others, We offer won-ton soup with baby bok choy, carrot and mushrooms instead of egg drop or hot-sour soup." Dishes are served family style, all at once or in the order cooked, with no meal complete without rice and soup.
The key to Chinese cooking starts with preparation. With cutting and seasoning done in the kitchen, chef slices, dices or shreds ingredients, particularly for stir-frying, to cook uniformly, to pick up with chopsticks and for eye appeal. The philosophy of yin and yang that underlies Chinese custom and culture brings harmony to their cuisine. Few people would order several hot and spicy dishes, seasoned with dried red chiles, but Luo recommended house specialties of orange peel beef, fried once so its tender and crispy, Szechuan pork and kong pao shrimp dotted with peanuts, prepared with the proper amount of heat and flavor. To lend balance, we added Mongolian chicken, Cantonese mixed vegetables of crisp pea pods, broccoli florets, carrot, onion and baby corn with fried tofu, and steamed rice.

Favorites of barbecued spareribs, Cantonese-style sweet-sour pork, shrimp in lobster sauce and lemon chicken still are popular choices. Meatless dishes such as the egg roll, fried won-ton, chow mein and fried rice, a number of vegetable and tofu specialties not only round out a meal but appeal to vegetarians.
While a la carte items are reasonable, from $2.25 to $10.75 for shrimp, dinner specials, served with fried won-tons, egg roll, wonton soup and steamed or fried rice, are a bargain, from $7.45 to $9.45. Luncheon specials range from $4.50 to $5.50. And seniors receive 15 per cent off. Service is prompt and efficient, especially at lunch when business is brisk. Since they’ve been open, they’re building a regular following, including take out and delivery. There is free delivery within three miles with a minimum $10 purchase.
The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Today Chinese Cuisine
3501 West Magnolia Boulevard
Burbank, California
(818) 848-7781