Kenny's Kitchen offers familiar Chinese favorites

I leaned over and asked my dining companion, "Is this Kenny's Kitchen?" It turns out that the owner is Kenny Wong and he does, in fact, operate another restaurant, just not the one I suspected. He owns New Asia in the Northway Mall, which serves a similar menu and is a popular stop for take-out.

This sparkling new space has much more room for tables and is conveniently located in Tikahtnu's dining, shopping and movie-watching mecca. Kenny's "Chinese comfort food" is another culinary passport stamp in an area that also includes burgers, all-you-can-eat pasta, bowls of pho and international-style pancakes.

There is a built-in customer base here that Kenny's entices with a two-pronged approach; one can dine in and order off of a menu or quickly grab some items out of the hot case to go.

On my first visit, a friend and I sat down for lunch. The menu held no surprises, offering up lo mein ($11), kung pao chicken ($12) and crab rangoon ($4). There is a Japanese section, consisting of yakisoba ($10-$11), katsu ($10), various tempura and teriyaki dishes, and a sushi roll ($8).

Kenny himself waited on us, and he is a sweet, friendly soul. Our appetizer platter ($11) came out quickly. It featured an egg roll, Chinese barbecue pork with hot mustard, tempura shrimp and fried potstickers. The potstickers were good -- meaty and succulent. The rest of the platter was run-of-the-mill, standard pupu fare.

The grilled beef short ribs ($12), one of Kenny's specialties, were draped over a mound of white rice, oozing sticky marinade. The flavor was there, but the ribs lacked the seared goodness that only true grilling can bring.

My friend's curried chicken ($12) also seemed to be missing the top note that would have made it sing. It needed more brightness and an element of texture.

On my second visit, I perused the hot case, which is available from opening until 3 p.m. The selections are subject to change but usually include chicken lo mein, Mongolian beef, bourbon chicken, sesame chicken, General Tso's chicken and kung pao chicken ($8 for lunch specials). I asked the manager, Ruben Lin, for his favorites. He pointed out the sesame chicken, bourbon chicken and Mongolian beef.

I ordered the bourbon chicken to go and went home to enjoy it. Lin did not steer me wrong; a slick of tangy sauce enhanced the tender chicken, rather than overpowered it. Here was the char I had been looking for on the short ribs. There was a generous portion of juicy thigh meat for the mere $8 I had paid for lunch. It seems that I had found Kenny's Kitchen's sweet spot -- a quick stop-in in the midst of running errands for a cheap, sizable meal.

The choices are not limited to the menu or the hot case. Wong also invites diners to be adventurous. He stands by the comfort food advertised in his slogan. If a particular Chinese dish is not offered, he will be happy to satisfy a craving.

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