Fu Wing Low Restaurant, Fountain Valley

Fu Wing Low Chinese Restaurant

16545 Brookhurst St.

Fountain Valley, CA

(714) 839-4481

(Mile Square Plaza)

Unassuming Storefront at Night

Traditional Chinese Menu

 A family funeral and a high school soccer game brought me south last week, and hunger and a desire for Chinese had me combing the streets of Fountain Valley, looking for something off the beaten path. I pulled into Mile Square Plaza because there were a bunch of different restaurants. I parked and looked in all the windows, and Fu Wing Low had a big crowd in the small dining room and prices that I could afford.

Good Fortune Symbols

It seems that family owned Chinese restaurants have a look. They always seem to have red naugahyde booths, red table clothes and red menus. Red is the fire color in Chinese, and the color of good fortune, so small Chinese businesses, like restaurants, always have a lot of red. Goldfish, another common element in Chinese restaurants, also symbolize good fortune, and they brought the only contrasting color to an otherwise plain room.

Small, crowded room.

Chinese restaurants also seem to have a similar smell, warm and comfortable, the smell of cooking oil, soy sauce and rice. The smell of Chinese comfort food enveloped me as I walked out of the cold night air and into the dining room.

The owner, an older Chinese gentleman, immediately welcomed me and took me to a booth. A red menu similar to ones I've seen in most family owned Chines restaurant was quickly handed to me, and water and tea were at my table before I asked, brought by other family members.

There were only 14 tables in the place, and just about all were full. The owner seemed to know most people in the restaurant, inquiring about family, talking about a special meal and generally making everyone feel at home. It was Friday in Lent, so I was looking for some seafood, and had settled on Shrimp Chop Suey and Won ton Soup. I placed my order when the owner came back to my table and refilled me water glass.

The owner is in the blue shirt

"No, let me get you No. 2 dinner. It's only 50 cents more, and comes with soup, fried rice and an egg roll. You'll like that better. I'll add chop suey. Otherwise, the chop suey would be a la carte." On the menu, it had said that No. 2 was for groups of 2 or more, which is why I hadn't really looked at it.

The addition of fried rice and an egg roll sounded good to me, so I readily agreed. I settled in, continuing to listen to the owner and patrons as they chatted in a familiar fashion. It was almost 8, and the place was still crowded, with customers coming in all through the time I was there. At a table next to mine, a patron was asking a question about an item, and the owner responded that they'll probably like it, but if they didn't he would take it back and they can order something else, no charge.

Soup, egg roll and won ton

My soup, egg roll and fried won ton arrived shortly after, along with more water. The soup had a good cabbage base and flavorful broth, and both the egg role and fried won ton were crisp and warm, but not oily. Before I could finish, the rest of my meal arrived. All throughout, I had various members of the staff checking on me and filling my water glass.

Dinner

The chop suey was delicious. Fat, juicy shrimp, and crisp vegetables. Often, when having chop suey, the vegetables will be soggy or overcooked, but that certainly wasn't the case here. The bean sprouts, mushrooms and water chestnuts were all firm and flavorful. Sometimes, too, the sauce will be overpowering, but this added flavor but didn't overpower.

A fortune cookie and and almond cookie arrived just as I was finishing, and though I ate them both, I strangely didn't look at my fortune. I didn't even realize that I hadn't looked at my fortune until I was back in my car.

I paid the bill, which came out to $11.73 before the tip, and then headed to the restroom before my long drive from Fountain Valley to Ventura. Ordinarily, I don't think much of the bathroom, but this one had a bottle of Calvin Klein Man as an air freshener. I almost put some on, and then opted not to.

On my way out, the owner asked where I was from while shaking my hand and thanking me for coming. I said that I was from Ventura, to which he responded that I should come back again next week. I said that was a touch far, but that I very much enjoyed the meal. He said that I should come back anyway and bring the family, to which I agreed.

I'm not sure when I'll be back that way, but Fu Wing Low would certainly be on the short list of places to go.