By Andrea Lin For the Journal China is a nation of nearly
one-fifth of the world's population, but that's well known. The Chinese
excel at producing goods cheaply and supplying us with treats like fried
rice and egg rolls, but you knew that, too. Buried
in the vastness of such a huge nation, however, is a lifetime of food
experiences, many difficult to find on our shores. Northern China, in
particular, serves up everything from fiery hot pot to delicate steamed
whole fishes, and a wonderful taste of that region can be found at
Chopstix, in the Midtown part of Albuquerque.
Buffet-style Chinese is well known along with potent flavors found in
most sugary and soy-rich sauces at typical Chinese restaurants. Beyond
those American adaptations there exist flavors so perfectly matched that
despite exotic-sounding entree names, ultimately they are far from
strange. Simple appetizers spanned a wide range of
old recipes, such as Sesame Shaobing ($2.50), a baked bread hiding
layers of rich sesame that might cause you to swear off other
restaurants' "garlic bread." Homemade by the restaurant, sliced and
gently spicy Szechwan Sausage ($4.95) revved up the meat eater's
appetite, while a thick Hot and Sour Soup ($1.50/cup) had just enough of
the vinegar punch to liven up an otherwise heavy
broth. Many of the menu items are photographed and
proudly shown, making the guessing game of "what's in that dish?" a rare
occurrence. Boiled meat dumplings ($4.95) look just as plain on the
plate as they do in the picture, but appearances are not everything. A
quick dunk in the dipping sauce brought mellow wheat dough together with
savory filling for each delicious bite. So far,
the appetizers were tame and easy to love. The main dishes list contains
many familiar names, such as Cashew Chicken, and Sweet and Sour Ribs,
but the names are where the similarities to other Chinese restaurants
end. All stir-fried plates were sauced minimally and with flavors that
complement the ingredients, rather than overloading your tongue with
salt-sweet-pungent. Even the fried rice was cooked with freshly cut
carrots rather than that usual frozen mixture of carrots and
peas. Once you've accustomed yourself to how well
the "usual" dishes are treated, take a look at the specials displayed on
one wall of the room— all homestyle Beijing preparations that might
sound adventurous at first blush. Stewed Pork Neck ($6.95) was not too
far off from what you'd find at a barbecue place. The bones gave the
meat deep flavor, and no knife was needed for the falling-apart savory
bites. Chinese Broccoli ($6.95) started out with
rapini, a visual relative to the broccoli we all know. It was steamed
until the bright green color was locked in, then quickly tossed in a
garlicky sauce and served up, hot and fragrant.
Unlike the mild dishes at local Chinese restaurants, Chopstix offered a
few treats that would satisfy the fiery appetite of any New Mexican.
Szechwan Style Chicken ($8.95) took small cubes of juicy chicken and
stir-fried them with an equal number of tiny red chile peppers, lending
their heat to the chicken and accompanying sauce. Customize the heat
level to your preference by deciding how many of those chiles you are
going to eat, whole, with your chicken. Soon the sweat will be running
down your neck and the inevitable endorphin rush following quickly
thereafter. Of course, rice was served so that you can cut the heat a
bit if necessary. Once you've consumed several
glasses of water to put out that fire in your mouth, only two options
for after-meal sweets were presented, and the favorite was a pair of
warmed Chestnut Cakes ($1.95), only mildly sweet and filled with a rich
nutty paste. After just one visit you might find
yourself planning out several more trips in
advance.
Chopstix Chinese
Cuisine ***1/2 LOCATION:
6001-L Lomas NE, 268-8777 HOURS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tuesdays-Thursdays and Sundays; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Closed
Mondays. NO ALCOHOL
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