Ho Wah Chinese

Ho Wah Chinese restaurant in Marina was a dark place I’d driven by hundreds of times. I’d always passed it up, opting instead for one of 10 other tried-and-true Marina establishments in my lunch rotation.

But recently Ho Wah has become one of my favorites.

After noticing some new signs of life over the past few months – cars in the lot, a new paint job, fancy Chinese lamps – I decided to give it a try.

My first impression was good. Very.So much so that I’ve chosen to eat there once a week for six weeks. Five of those times have been weekdays for lunch. One was a Saturday when my wife and I decided to do a little more thorough sampling of the menu and see what kind of buzz there was.

I hadn’t thought about reviewing the place. I just wanted a spot where I could have a satisfying, healthful, well-balanced, no-MSG lunch in a clean, comfortable, quiet environment. Then my editor gave me a poke to see if I had run across any places that our readers might miss and deserved some ink. Ho Wah, in a Del Monte Avenue strip mall, totally qualifies.

Daily lunch specials feature fresh, mostly seasonal vegetables and a choice of shrimp, chicken, beef, pork, fish, some combination of those, or tofu.

Lunch dishes run $7.50 to $9.50. My favorite so far: the asparagus combo with beef, chicken and shrimp in black bean sauce ($9.50). The same dish is available with green beans (also $9.50).

Another good one was the Szechuan beef ($7.50) with zucchini, carrots, jicama, onion and mushrooms. Lunches include a generous mound of steamed rice, two fried wontons and a bowl of egg-flower soup to start. Veggies are expertly stir-fried in all the dishes, hitting that sweet spot of tender yet crunchy, without morphing into soggy overly-sauced mush.

Chef/owner Steve Chow is getting it done with his lighter, less sauce-laden Hong Kong/Cantonese style recipes as well as the more familiar Hunan/Szechuan (rich, spicy, sweet, sour) and Mandarin (sweet, spicy, no sour) sauces, slowly but surely winning a loyal following. I’ve run into fellow court workers, residents and many of Marina’s finest.

Chow tells me Lions Club meetings and county mayor meetings are also held there. His wife and co-owner Decen Chan is both a business manager and cheerfully greets, seats and serves guests while ably managing the dining room.

Chow and Chen explain that when they took over ownership of Ho Wah they kept the name despite its previous lack of success because it was just too costly and complicated to change it.

My wife joined me for lunch on one occasion and ordered the eggplant shrimp special ($9.50), also available as a shrimp, chicken and beef combo ($9.50). A delicious choice for lovers of Asian-style eggplant, this was nicely coated with savory, slightly spicy Szechuan sauce.

Our Saturday night dinner did not disappoint either. We started with the sizzling rice soup ($7.75 small; $9.95 large). Richly flavorful, homemade chicken broth is the base, with just enough shrimp and chicken to keep it interesting. The sizzling rice adds a wholesome nuttiness to the soup. Proudly stated on the menu:nothing can beats (sic) the flavor of our homemade chicken broth. Right on.

Next we had the salt-and-pepper-fried chicken wings ($11.95), one of the night’s specials. Eight pleasingly plump pieces served piping hot, topped with flash stir-fried green onions and jalapeños, adding color, heat and savoriness. Fried chicken lovers will appreciate the ungreasy, golden brown crispiness and the tender juicy meat inside remains on my mind.

Another special was the asparagus delight ($16.95), featuring generous amounts of shrimp, squid and filet of sole. Once again, perfect stir-fry; all the ingredients nicely coated with black bean sauce. No doggie bag necessary.

We tried the fried mochi sesame red bean puffs ($5.95) for dessert. Glad we did. Firm and pleasantly chewy balls of mochi rice pastry with a sweet bean paste filling (six per order). The sesame seed coating gives it some nuttiness and crunch. Goes nicely with the hot ginger and lemon tea ($3.50; add honey $1.50).

We were there from about 7:30 to 8:45pm, food flowing from the kitchen at a good pace. Our smiling server ably answered questions about the extensive menu choices. I was a little disappointed, however, that only three other parties came through the door. Chen says business is not as steady as she would like. I think some good old fashioned schmoozing would help but her and Chow’s minimal command of English makes that somewhat difficult.

I understand that this sleepy town is off the beaten path for many of our readers, about 10 miles from Monterey. But it’s worth the drive, or maybe a ride along the Rec Trail, for Chinese food in a clean, comfortable environment. Good food and service is always the best advertising. I’m singing Ho Wah’s praises because that’s exactly what it offers.

HO WAH CHINESE RESTAURANT 3116 Del Monte Ave. • 11am-2:30pm, 4-9:30pm Mon-Fri. 11:30am-9:30pm Sat-Sun. Limited area delivery service ($20 minimum). Banquet room, catering and private parties (15-90 persons). 384-7951.