Wah Kue Cafe Fare Still Pleasing, Plain

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Wah Kue Cafe, 13434 First Ave. S., Burien; 242-5454. Tuesday-Thursday; 4-11:45 p.m.; until 12:45 a.m. Friday and Saturday; Sunday, 3-11 p.m. Closed Monday. Bankcards and personal checks accepted. Wheelchair accessible. Full bar. ------------------------------------------------------------------

The Wah Kue Cafe is a bona fide Burien institution dating back to 1944, a clean, busy neighborhood joint that keeps its regulars happy with inexpensive, tasty Chinese-American fare and brisk, efficient service.

At first glance, Wah Kue seems to break every convention of modern Chinese restaurant design. The decor is decidedly non-ornate, consisting, in the no-smoking section, entirely of three large, blue marlins mounted on the wall. The black-and-white menu isn't large, and doesn't feature any appetizers (the absence of pot-stickers was a surprise). The food isn't the popular, spicy cuisine of Hunan or Szechwan, and Chinese music doesn't play in the background.

Sophisticated palates may not be attracted, but Wah Kue nonetheless offers hearty, filling, well-prepared food, with crisp vegetables, flavorful sauces and satisfying seasoning. The combination has been enough to keep families coming back for generations.

The menu includes standard Chinese-American dishes such as chow mein, chop suey, egg foo young, fried rice and noodles, with virtually everything under $8. Presentations are simple and uncomplicated. Don't expect the kind of spiciness that makes your eyes water. As in many Chinese restaurants, if you want hot, you have to make sure to request it.

A very good Mongolian beef ($8.75) features lots of tender beef strips and crisp vegetables in a flavorful sauce.

Chinese greens with shrimp ($8.45), a house specialty, comes with 12 big, sauteed shrimp in a bed of large and tender, braised bok choy pieces. The sauce, which relied on chicken broth for seasoning, was cloying after the piping-hot dish cooled, and could have used some ginger and garlic.

A good sweet-and-sour pork ($7.75) features almost two dozen large, breaded meatballs in a sweet brown sauce with canned pineapple.

The generous portions of the various combination plates or family-style dinners ($7.50-$12.75 per person) are a lot of food for two people. The No. 2 dinner starts with a chicken noodle soup with a strong broth that is flavorful without being salty. The chicken subgum chow mein is don't-miss delicious, a large and colorful dish of fried noodles and crispy vegetables.

Also included are two of the most gigantic egg rolls you'll ever see, arranged like bookends on either side of eight excellent fried prawns; some very good sweet and sour (bite-sized) spareribs; a huge helping of pork-fried rice; and surprisingly tasty fortune cookies.