by MARK SLUTSKY

The unassuming Restaurant Wing-Fa sits tucked away on Parc just below Prince-Arthur, and has been quietly offering Szechuan and Pekinese food tasty enough to rival some of Chinatown's best for some years now. Wing-Fa is a cozy spot, with dim lighting and an exposed-brick and wood-panel interior, making it nice for a chilly night's meal. On a recent visit, my friend I and were seated in the back corner, next to a large aquarium whose only occupants seemed to be a pair of tetras and some dazed-looking goldfish. The place was empty, though a couple diners arrived throughout the course of our meal; Wing-Fa always seems a little empty and quiet, which actually makes for a very pleasant, if subdued, atmosphere.

We started by ordering an appetizer of fried salmon rolls (though bowls of pickled vegetables and crackers were placed on our tables before the rolls arrived). Composed of a rolled filet, deep-fried and sliced, they were oval-shaped and covered in a light batter, and seemed like they would have been appropriate in a Japanese restaurant. The soy-based dipping sauce was tasty, but the fish wasn't very fresh - though my pal liked the rolls more than I did, snapping up the ones I left behind.

Though Szechuan cuisine is Wing-Fa's specialty, the friendly waitress advised us to try the Thai-style shrimp, which was delicious. A vague citrus flavour permeated the sautéed and very tender shrimp, which was sprinkled generously with snow peas and carrots. The sauce hit the perfect note of sweetness without going overboard. Next to arrive was the General Tao chicken, a standard Chinese restaurant dish that Wing-Fa managed to pull off with style: the outer, breaded layer was firm but not too thick, and the sauce was spicy and quite deliciously savoury. The pieces of chicken were also a good deal larger than your average General Tao, denser and more filling. Both dishes were presented beautifully, with diced radishes and carrots in the shape of flowers adorning the sides of the plates.

We were surprised by the Yang Chow fried rice, as it was prepared a little differently than we'd expected. The rice was white, not brown, and with the exception of the egg, the additional ingredients (pork, shrimp, assorted vegetables) sat in a heap on top, not stirred in with the rice, which suggested that they'd been fried separately. It looked very nice and enticing, but overall the dish was rather bland, with no strong flavour managing to stand out among the varied ingredients.

Last to show up at our table was the jewel in Wing-Fa's crown, the Hu-Siang eggplant. They do magical, mysterious things to eggplant at this restaurant. Drenched in the same sauce that adorns the General Tao chicken, the dish is light and crispy, and it practically melts away when you bite into it. I've never tasted eggplant prepared this way, and it sure beats me how they do it, but it somehow was oily without tasting overly greasy. This is true of most of Wing-Fa's dishes - none of them are light by any stretch of the imagination, but despite the quantities of oil used in their preparation, they never come across as heavy or greasy.

The meal concluded with a plate of fortune and almond cookies and a special little treat. Now, this doesn't happen every time I dine at Wing-Fa, but after the cookies the waitress brought over a pair of ceramic shot glasses of fermented rice liquor. We were surprised and delighted to observe that at the bottom of each was a glass ball, about the size of a small marble, through which one could discern a very naughty little picture. It was a neat little optical illusion - once we drank down the booze, the picture disappeared. The taste of that scrumptious eggplant, though, lingered on.

Wing-Fa
Address: 3474 du Parc (@Milton)
Phone: 282-3938
Hours: 11:30am–2:30pm, 5:30pm–10:30pm
Best features: tasty Hu-Siang eggplant
Alcohol: yes
Vegetarian friendly: yes - there's an entire vegetarian menu
Credit cards: yes
Wheelchair access: one step up
Price: $15–$20 per person, including appetizers and dessert, before tax and tip
Rating: **1/2 out of ****