EAT AND DRINK
Chinese Restaurant Readers' Pick: P.F. CHANG'S CHINA BISTRO4165 Paradise RoadThe modernist American-Chinese flair of this popular high-tech eatery - it would fit in just as well in Malibu or some other nature-imperiled California community - most impressed contest balloters for the second year in a row. Obviously, the easy-reading menu presented by mostly Anglo, jeans-wearing servers makes customers feel more reassured about actually getting what they ordered instead of, say, a dish filled with strange sea creatures looking for a last-second platter pardon. Very steady food (lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, chicken in black bean sauce and plenty more) is well-served at slightly upscale prices minus the need for a language interpreter. It's really bustling at lunchtime and there's almost always a local celebrity there to be harassed from a fitting distance. Multiple-year winner Chin's at the Fashion Show mall is modern as well, but contest entrants dropped the upscale room into second-place status. Our Pick: PLUM TREE INN4215 Spring Mountain RoadOne of seven Asian restaurants developed in the multi-ethnic Chinatown Plaza project - don't forget its Korean and Japanese outlets - the top-floor Plum Tree Inn is the most tastefully appointed of them all. What gets us in the door to join a mostly Asian clientele is Sunday afternoon dim sum spreads where quality bite-sized "pieces of heart" are served from heated steel carts that roam from table to table. We still shy away from trying rubbery octopus or hot chicken feet, preferring more plentiful and palatable Chinese hors d'oeuvres where shrimp, barbecued pork, diced chicken, mushrooms and other semi-familiar foods are tucked into thin-membrane dumplings or inside even thicker flour bows that look like small fluffy pillows. And we don't worry about language gaps that make it tougher for Anglos to get all the details about their choices. We just close our eyes.
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