Selected restaurants

LITTLE ROCK — Weekly theme listings reflect a range of dining possibilities in central Arkansas, across a spectrum of settings and price ranges. To read recent restaurant reviews in their entirety, visit www2. arkansasonline.com/restaurants/

Chinese

CHI’S DIMSUM & BISTRO

6 Shackleford Drive, Little Rock, (501) 225-8878; 5110 W. Markham St., Little Rock, (501) 604-7777; 17200 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, (501) 821-8000

Lulu Chi, retaking control at her original bluff-top restaurant (while still maintaining an ambitious menu of upscale Chinese dishes at two satellite locations), has brought back dim sum and retooled the menu to include not only Chinese dishes but “bistro” items including pork tenderloin, steaks and pasta dishes.

Lunch, dinner daily (Shackleford); lunch, dinner Mon-Sat (Markham); lunch, dinner Mon-Sat, dinner Sun (Chenal). Full bar (Markham: beer only; Chenal: no alcohol). Reservations (Shackleford location). Moderate-expensive.

FANTASTIC CHINA

1900 N. Grant St., Little Rock, (501) 663-8999

With an emphasis on quality ingredients and special touches (like a tableside Moo Shu show), Fantastic China’s food is much like its contemporary decor — interesting and bold, yet soothing and not the least bit intimidating.

Lunch, dinner daily. Full bar. Reservations. Bargain.

SAI GON CUISINE

6805 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 663-4000

The Vietnamese dishes outshine the menu’s Thai and Chinese fare at this Cantrell Road restaurant, where top choices include noodle-filled soups to which meats can be added, like Pho and Bun Bo Hue.

Lunch, dinner Tue-Sun. Beer, wine. Reservations.

FU LIN RESTAURANT

200 N. Bowman Road, Little Rock, (501) 225-8989

Able and amiable, Fu Lin offers a lengthy and familiar menu of Chinese dishes, like a truly hot and sour Hot and Sour Soup and zesty Chicken With Orange Peel, at its long-standing, subdued west Little Rock location.

Lunch, dinner daily. Full bar. Reservations. Moderate.

GINA’S CHINESE KITCHEN & SUSHI BAR

14524 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 868-7775

At its new west Little Rock site, Gina Wu’s cozy eatery combines a full sushi menu with an array of Chinese dishes to satisfy a wide range of tastes for Far Eastern fare.

Lunch, dinner daily. Beer, wine. Reservations. Moderate.

HUNAN ORIENTAL CUISINE

11600 Pleasant Ridge Drive, Little Rock, (501) 223-9966

With the understated grace of a high-end restaurant, the encyclopedic menu of the generic mall Chinese and prices squarely in the affordable range, this west Little Rock shopping-strip anchor is approachable and reliable.

Lunch, dinner daily. Full bar. Reservations. Moderate.

TASTE OF D-LIGHT

3200 N. Reynolds Road, Bryant, (501) 847-6267

A Bryant fixture for nearly a decade, Taste of D-Light serves generous portions of Chinese and Vietnamese food during the week with a popular lunch buffet on Sunday.

Lunch, dinner daily. No alcohol. Reservations. Bargain-moderate.

WASABI

101 Main St., Little Rock, (501) 374-0777

Michael Choi’s Asian fusion restaurant offers excellent and inventive sushi rolls and American, Japanese and Chinese entrees in a distinctly non-Asian setting.

Lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat. Full bar. Reservations. Moderate.

Weekend, Pages 40 on 11/19/2009

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