Far East meets far-out glam

WHEN owners Tim and Liza Goodell pulled the plug on Meson G, their sophisticated small-plates restaurant this last July, they brought out what might prove to be a trump card: Red Pearl Kitchen. That’s the name of the Asian boite the two (who made their reputation with Aubergine in Newport Beach) opened a few years ago in Huntington Beach with a menu that culled dishes from all over Asia, but mostly China and Thailand. There’s one in San Diego too.

The original Red Pearl was, and still is, fun, smart, full of life -- and quite small. The Melrose Avenue space is anything but small and cozy.

Since Michel Richard’s Citrus first spread white market umbrellas under the high ceilings back in the late ‘80s, the sprawling stucco box has undergone a number of dramatic costume changes. In 2002, the restaurant space was taken over by British chef Alex Scrimgeour, who transformed it into a sober French restaurant with Art Deco touches called Alex.

In late 2004, the Goodells glammed it up as Meson G with leather booths and a lounge with a zebra skin-patterned carpet. But though the bar was hopping, after two changes in chef, the dining room was still getting spotty attendance, perhaps because the food was too complicated and fussy, but more likely because the place didn’t seem that fun.

And if there’s a trend to be noted in the last year, it’s that L.A. diners just want to have fun.

Enter Red Pearl Kitchen.

Outside, the mood is set by a new bright-red paint job and Valet Girls decked out in ski jackets with furry trim. A couple kisses as they wait for their car to be brought around, doggie bag dangling from the gentleman’s finger. A foursome of women decked out in belly-baring black bounds up the now dazzling-gold steps. The goofy paint job isn’t just put on for the holidays, but is permanent. Inside, the decor plays up Chinese kitsch with a sly wink.

A giant court chair in a particularly vibrant Chinese red near the entrance looks like something that escaped from the Red Queen’s domain in Lewis Carroll’s looking-glass world. Mounted on one wall of the enclosed dining patio at the front of the building, dozens of Chinese dolls look down on a holiday party group passing family-style plates at a long table surrounded with Ming-era repro chairs.

A dream world

IN the bar, which is furnished with brocade chairs and lacquered mahogany daybeds, a couple of agonizingly well-turned-out beautiful people play billiards as if they’re posing for a luxury-something ad. Others, wearing jeans that fit like a second skin, lean back in the daybeds, toying with exotic cocktails.

It’s all a fantasy, of course. But as a theatrical backdrop for a dinner on the town, Red Pearl really works.

Over-the-top Chinese design references as evidenced in Chinatown architecture and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre have been a powerful lure to L.A. imaginations. Those images from the “Lady from Shanghai” and other films of the ‘30s and ‘40s conjure a vision of glamour and mystery that Angelenos still love. And designers Max Schlutz and Ginger Thomas have mined the imagery of the Far East to make Red Pearl Kitchen sizzle.

It helps that the food is pretty good, but it’s certainly not essential to the success of a restaurant where packing people into the lounge and furnishing them with cocktails is as important as getting them to commit to dinner. And yet neighbors and others less interested in the scene aspects of the place will appreciate the fact that prices are much more affordable than anything that came before at this spot.

Red Pearl is also open seven nights a week and they do takeout. What more could a neighborhood want?

To run the kitchen of their third Red Pearl, the Goodells brought in Ped Phommavong, a Thai who has worked in Texas at Lemongrass Grill and in Woodland Hills at the cowboy steakhouse Reata Grill. His menu is certainly the largest of the three, and just exotic enough to appeal to adventurous eaters but not so entirely foreign that more conservative palates are left casting about for something to order.

Just look at those dreamers languidly swirling pot stickers through a dipping sauce or taking a first tentative bite of Red Pearl’s steamed shrimp dumplings. The dim sum offerings are decent enough for this part of town but don’t hold a candle to those at some of the San Gabriel Valley’s top dim sum spots.

Shrimp spring rolls are fresh-tasting and bright, the shrimp just barely cooked through. The vegetarian version, though, is bland. Salt and pepper shrimp passes muster, but crispy beef wontons are disappointing because there’s just the tiniest dab of filling at the center.

Steamed barbecue pork buns and the siu mai don’t taste freshly made but rather have the more solid texture of something made earlier in the day and reheated to order. A better choice might be the rice noodle rolled around a filling of shredded short ribs with a nice gingery kick. Skip the spicy larb of minced beef. It’s not all that spicy and tastes just like ground hamburger stirred around in a pan. In fact, in my experience, not many dishes are all that fiery. The Thai dishes here are not for the hard-core hot-food enthusiast.

Admittedly, in the flurry of plates and the lively atmosphere with birthday parties, girls’ nights out and friends meeting up to drink and to eat, food is not the focus. That said, the kitchen is erratic. The five-spice chicken wings I love one night -- lacquered a deep mahogany and infused with aromatic spices -- is flabby and dull another night. The dim sum seems a little tired and the flavors in the spicy black bean calamari don’t come together.

One night, almost every dish is executed with exacting skill and I’m thinking this place is not only fun but a great value. There’s nothing like it in this part of town. The next time, the food is good but not great.

On yet another visit, after just a few bites I can tell something’s off. Is the chef even there? No, comes the reply. He’s, er, stepped out. Stepped right out of the kitchen. Of course, with a place open seven nights a week, he deserves a day or two off. But the kitchen crew can’t cut it without him. Or at least not that night.

Hot and cool

STILL, when the crew is cooking its best, Red Pearl Kitchen’s playful menu can charm. The choices are many -- maybe too many. Since I’ve tasted my way through most of it, I can tell you some of the best dishes are listed in the hot pot section of the menu. They’re well-priced too, and like all the dishes here, meant to be shared family-style.

Short ribs with pumpkin in a Massaman curry from southern Thailand plays gentle spices like cardamom, cinnamon and cloves against red chile and lemon grass in a coconut broth. Duck in a rich, intricately spiced yellow curry comes with fat, slithery udon noodles. American Kobe beef stars in a red curry served with rice noodles, but Kobe beef for this dish is a bit silly: You can’t really taste the quality.

Tops on the wok-fired section of the menu is shaking beef, here made with trendy Kobe beef tossed in the wok with scallions, tomato, papaya and mint -- and a little chile. With a bowl of steamed rice, it’s delicious. The cubes of beef are remarkably tender. Black-pepper caramel shrimp is a study in sweet and hot. Again, it’s not all that spicy. And it may be my imagination, but I think the kitchen has cooled things down since Red Pearl opened its doors. Memo to self: Try asking the waiter to have the dishes made extra hot.

Fried rice is consistently excellent, whether it’s the chicken version, which sings with fresh basil and mango, or the garlicky shrimp fried rice enriched with bacon. Vegetable dishes, too, like the roasted yams wok-fried with chili or spicy garlic eggplant sauteed in the wok until the eggplant is soft and sumptuous stand out too.

The mixed-bag wine list includes a slew of bottles that go especially well with Asian food. That would be Rieslings from Austria, Germany, Australia and Alsace, a couple of Gruner Veltliners from Austria and Pinot Grigio from northern Italy. For sake fans, the list also includes a dozen or so sakes, six of them by the glass.

The dessert menu, too, has been designed to complement the Asian dishes. Tapioca pudding perfumed with vanilla and kaffir lime leaves is served with a wonderfully refreshing litchi sorbet. Banana cake with jasmine caramel and chai ice cream is a great idea that flounders because it’s too sweet. The best is the silky pot de creme laced with ground cardamom and accompanied by banana fritters for a contrast of textures.

Take a note: On Mondays, bring a dated receipt from a previous visit any day of the week and your food on the bill that night is half price. On Sundays, bottles of wine are half price.

With Red Pearl Kitchen, the Goodells have come up with a winning formula that works for the neighborhood -- whether it’s Huntington Beach, San Diego or, now, Los Angeles. The price is right, the portions are generous, but maybe more important, it’s festive and fun.

virbila@latimes.com

*

Red Pearl Kitchen

Rating: * 1/2

Location: 6703 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 525-1415; www.redpearlkitchen.com.

Ambience: Lively Asian-themed restaurant and lounge with Chinese lanterns bobbing overhead, an open kitchen seen through a scrim of orange and a seductive lounge furnished with lacquered daybeds and a billiards table.

Service: Helpful and no-nonsense.

Price: Dim sum, $7 to $12; salads, $8 to $9; skewers, $7 to $9; hot pots, noodle/rice dishes, $8 to $12; wok-fired dishes, $14 to $19; desserts, $6 to $8.

Best dishes: Shrimp summer roll, shaking beef, chicken mango basil fried rice, cardamom pot de creme.

Wine list: Nice array of wines that match the cuisine. Corkage, $10 for first two bottles, $15 thereafter. On Sundays, bottles of wine are half price.

Best table: A corner booth.

Special features: On Mondays, 50% discount on food portion of bill with dated receipt from previous visit.

Details: Open from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Saturday. Late-night bar menu daily until 1 a.m.; lounge open until 2 a.m. Full bar. Valet parking.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.