Taking Chinese Food to the Next Level

If I were to write a thesaurus, I’d designate Chinese food as synonymous with comfort food.

So what happens when Chinese food goes upscale, turning your typical fried rice and lo mein options into an Asian fusion cuisine menu, and your casual, hole-in-the-wall restaurant of tables set with cabbage and fried noodles into a dining experience complete with candles on the tables and a live piano player?

You get in the Hunt Valley Towne Centre, a tasty way to get your Asian food fix.

I had visited Maryland restaurateur Jesse Wong’s Hunt Valley location before but I tried only the sushi, and I thought it was time to sample more of the menu.

The atmosphere at Jesse Wong’s is elegant, but still casual with dimmed lighting, burgundy walls and a curving sushi bar. A friend and I were able to make Open Table reservations, but although dinner was early at 6 p.m. and the restaurant had only a small crowd, the hostesses ignored us for at least five minutes while one trained the other. Thankfully, the waiters were warm and attentive.

My friend and I started off with the lettuce wrapped chicken ($6). The cool, crisp leaves of romaine perfectly complemented the savory chopped chicken mixture that I felt compelled to finish even after the lettuce was gone.

Other appetizers range from classics such as crabmeat cheese wontons ($6), wonton soup ($2) and sweet and sour cabbage ($4) to updated favorites such as shrimp toast on French baguettes ($6), crabmeat with asparagus soup ($6) and lobster dumplings ($6) served with sweet and sour sauce.

We continued by splitting two meals. The first, the Malaysian style kwau teu ($9), was a version of chow fun made with flat, wok-seared rice noodles and cooked in a slightly sweet but spicy sauce with shrimp, chicken, bean sprouts, scallions and eggs.

The second meal was a traditional honey sesame chicken ($11). Although Jesse Wong’s typically serves this meal battered and deep-fried, they were happy to accommodate my request to sauté the chicken without the batter. Over rice, the chicken and broccoli were delicious and tangy without being too sweet or goopy like in many sesame chicken dishes.

My only regret is that we couldn’t finish our meals, and there are many other dishes I will have to go back to try.

Jesse Wong’s Kitchen seems to have something for everyone, offering house specials such as General Tso’s chicken ($11) and filet mignon with black pepper sauce ($13). In addition to the wide range of poultry, seafood and beef dishes, classic favorites such as fried rice ($7) and lo mein ($7) are available.

For vegetarians, Jesse Wong’s offers more than just tofu, creating dishes such as kung pao chicken ($11) and moo goo gai pan ($11) with vegetarian chicken and beef substitutes.

Jesse Wong’s Kitchen offers lunch specials, a prix fixe dinner menu, a full sushi menu and carryout. If you’re looking for Asian-style comfort food, this is the place to go.