Culinary Pluralism Key To Success Of Roy's

----------------------------------------------------------------- Restaurant review

XXX Roy's Seattle, Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Ave. ($$$) Breakfast ($5.25 to $12.75) 6 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. daily. Lunch ($5.50 to $14) 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Dinner ($7.50 to $26) 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Full bar. Major credit cards. No smoking. Reservations: 256-ROYS (7697). -----------------------------------------------------------------

Previewing Roy's.

It's too early to fully evaluate the new Roy's Seattle, but when up to 400 folks a night are already trying to get into what was once the rather staid (and sometimes slow) Palm Court at the Westin, attention - as Arthur Miller wrote - must be paid.

Roy Yamaguchi was in Seattle for five days a couple of weeks ago to oversee the final installation of the world's latest Roy's - the 11th.

Yamaguchi is now ensconced (enshrined?) from Pebble Beach to Guam, from Kauai to Hong Kong, including two stops in Tokyo. In short, he has transcended to position of youthful genius/chef/entrepreneur. At 40, he's become a global phenomenon.

And with some justification. Japanese-born, American-trained (at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.) he made his mark in this country (California chef of the year in '86; Hawaii, 1988) before shipping his formulas across the Pacific in multiple directions.

The key to this success is a genuine culinary pluralism; essentially high-end Asian and Island items with techniques adapted to (but not dumbed down for) American appetites. To that, elements of French and Italian, Thai and Chinese accents are thrown in. He calls it Euro-Asian.

No kitsch in this kitchen

There is none of the artificial, grass-hut, pan-Pacific kitsch of Trader Vic's (I overheard one woman wondering why there were no paper umbrellas jabbed into the cocktails) and none of the mass market, gastronomic ethnic flattening of, say, Asia Grille.

It all works. Presentations are as visually stunning (and other than a few obligatory spears of scallion, without architectural excesses) as they are taste-bud enticing.

It all takes place in a sophisticated but relaxed setting framed by nautical themes and mixed hardwoods in the original semicircular, two-level dining room with its look-at-me views of the center of the city. The design was by Mesher Shing & Associates.

Yamaguchi's menu leads off with some exotic appetizers. Don't miss the Warm Shrimp Cocktail on a Stick ($8.75), served with a killer wasabi ketchup. If you can't get enough of it as a starter, you may also order a larger version, paired with crispy, deep-fried Nairagi as a main course for $23.95. The latter is served with a compelling sweet chili/chive butter sauce.

Roy's Style Dungeness Crab Cakes ($10.95) are lighter and a bit spicier than is usual, with touches of pepper and a scant amount of white-bread filler. Hand-patted to order, they are almost fluffy, but the sweetness of crab shines through.

Also appealing are the Seafood Potstickers ($6.95), sweet, fresh and spicy - served with a pool of a honey-soy chili sauce.

Blackened Island Ahi may be ordered as a first course ($8.95) or as an entree ($23.95). It's done almost sashimi-rare in a very lively hot soy/mustard butter sauce.

Don't-miss dishes

In the must-try category: Basil-seared Opakapaka ($25.95), aptly described by one of the chefs as " . . . the Maine Lobster of fresh fish; sweet, soft-textured, melt-in-your mouth." It's presented in a Wasabi Ogo vinaigrette.

All of the seafood, incidentally, is pristinely fresh and filleted in public view at a blue-granite slab work table at the end of the open kitchen that borders on the dining room.

Loved the Charbroiled Garlic Mustard Short Ribs ($18.50), not very cross-cultural or pan-Pacific, but beautifully moist and fork tender, served with very American mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.

One curious lapse, the Dungeness Crab Benedict ($9.75) at a weekend breakfast, looked great, a split crab cake layered over a mix of cubed yukon gold potatoes and julienned potatoes, but one of the poached eggs was hard-boiled - not just a little, but a lot. It demonstrates that you can engage all of the creative talent in the world, but on a daily basis, it is still the attention to details paid by ordinary line cooks that ultimately determines the quality of what goes onto the customer's plate.

Roy's seafood menu will be added to for another couple of weeks, one cook said, with all of the chain's elaborate exotica expected to be in place by January 1.

(Copyright, 1996, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.) John Hinterberger, who writes the weekly restaurant review in Tempo and a Sunday food column in Pacific, visits restaurants anonymously and unannounced. He pays in full for all food, wines and services. Interviews of the restaurants' management and staff are done only after meals and services have been appraised. He does not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.