Eats From the East

With Spago Chicago having opened a week before, Obachine, the latest restaurant concept from the indefatigable Wolfgang Puck, seemed like a ship adrift when it debuted in Beverly Hills in November. Executive chef Naoki Uchiyama and chef Chik Fong had been experimenting with dishes for the new venture months beforehand, but their crew hadn’t melded into a cohesive unit by opening day. Now, happily, the mid-priced Asian restaurant and satay bar has found its focus. Each meal I’ve eaten in recent months has been better than the last--a sign that the kitchen is paying attention and working hard to make ObaChine the restaurant Puck envisioned--that is, the first of a series of affordable, clone-able contemporary Asian cafes.

ObaChine’s name combines oba, a type of shiso, and the French word for China, but a lower-priced Chinois on Main this isn’t. Instead of Chinois’ exciting fusion of French and Chinese cuisines, ObaChine’s menu reads like a hit parade of dishes from all over Asia: Chinese pot stickers, Vietnamese spring rolls, tandoori chicken, pad Thai, south Indian lamb curry. Sure, Puck could have stuck to his popular pizza cafes (four were slated to open this year), but part of his success is his ability to recognize trends in the making. He’s done that here by reinterpreting the exotic for mainstream tastes, and no doubt he’s set his sights on yet another empire.

His new two-level restaurant features an enormous hammered-copper bar downstairs, with a handful tables tucked under the staircase at the back. Designer Barbara Lazaroff, Puck’s wife and partner, has given the place uncharacteristically understated interiors. Instead of the gaudy cacophony of broken tiles she created for the pizza cafes and Granita, she’s used plain glazed tiles in muted colors, inset with tiles bearing whimsical Asian and food motifs. Framed antique Japanese brocades and intricate stone carvings decorate the walls, and a smiling Buddha has taken up residence at the bar.

The main dining room, a vast loft-like space with exposed beams and massive ventilation ducts painted a dusty terra cotta, is upstairs. Sleek booths line the walls. Graceful cane chairs decorated with an oba motif are pulled up to tables; stools surround the tiled bar that wraps three sides of the open kitchen. ObaChine is a casual place, lively and fun--and you can eat for well under $25.

Early on, it didn’t always feel like such a bargain. But the once-pallid Dungeness crab shiu mai are now plump pleated dumplings that taste intensely of fresh crab. The tea-smoked Peking duck has crackling mahogany skin and moist, rich flesh and comes with rolled-up taro root pancakes. Chinese-style pork spareribs are succulent and perfumed with star anise. Overall, sauces and garnishes have been tweaked to contrast and heighten flavors. The kitchen still seems to have trouble with the sizzling whole catfish, though. Sometimes it’s overcooked; other times, it has the unappealing, murky taste that puts so many people off catfish.

Vietnamese spring rolls, rice wrappers filled with crunchy raw vegetables, cellophane noodles and fresh herbs, get a flavor boost from barbecued eel. Tandoori shrimp spring rolls are crisp little cigars stuffed with vegetables and chunks of bright-tasting shrimp. The Cambodian shrimp crepe is a delicious appetizer of tender crepes rolled around sweet shrimp and presented with a graceful sweet and sour shiitake mushroom sauce.

When it comes to entrees, the south Indian lamb curry could use a blast of heat. Pad Thai made with fresh jumbo prawns rather than the usual salty dried shrimp doesn’t improve upon the original--and isn’t very hot either. And not all of the menu ideas, such as the Beijing stir-fried lamb, succeed. Instead of the minced lamb and sweet peppers arriving in individual lettuce leaf cups, they’re served in an iceberg lettuce “bowl,” which I didn’t know whether to eat with the bland stir-fry or not.

Pay attention to the few specials offered each night. Thick, tender, extremely flavorful Mongolian lamb chops with penetrating cilantro-oba aioli are every bit as good as Chinois’ celebrated version and are slated to be added to the regular menu soon.

ObaChine has a remarkable, one-page wine list of interesting bottles at moderate prices. Spago sommelier Mike Bonaccorsi has obviously given a lot of thought to pairing wines with Asian food. His choices include some particularly interesting Austrian wines made from the Wachau’s indigenous Gruner Veltliner grape and rieslings from Germany. In the red category, he’s got not only zinfandels and syrah, but also a tempranillo from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.

If you want just a snack--and a glass of the Goesser Pils from Austria on tap--order from the satay bar menu. So far, however, the satays haven’t quite hit the mark. Beef, chicken, shrimp or tuna all look beautiful, three skewers to an order and garnished with salad or pickles on rectangular ceramic dishes. But they taste as if they’ve only been warmed on the grill, not nicely charred around the edges.

As for desserts, the “exotic fruit” soup of diced mango, papaya and other tropical fruit, topped with a magenta scoop of granita made from dried hibiscus flowers, is wonderfully refreshing. The dense rice pudding with grated coconut layered between crisp, lacy cookies makes a stupendous “napoleon.” And the pastry chef’s twist on creme brulee really works: It’s a deep-dish version infused with fresh ginger and has a delicious chunky applesauce lurking below.

ObaChine remains a restaurant in progress, but with the kitchen working double time to fine-tune the menu and add more specials, things are just beginning to get interesting. I, for one, plan to stay tuned.

OBACHINE

CUISINE: Pan-Asian. AMBIENCE: Lively bistro upstairs with satay bar downstairs. BEST DISHES: Pork spareribs, Dungeness crab shiu mai, shrimp crepe, “exotic fruit” soup. WINE PICKS: 1995 Nigl Grner Veltliner, Austria; 1994 Condado de Haza, Ribera del Duero, Spain. FACTS: 242 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills; (310) 274-4440. Lunch and dinner daily. Dinner for two, food only, $40 to $60. Corkage $10. Valet parking.