MeiWei China Bistro

ADDRESS: 15332 W. Bell Road, Suite 132, Surprise

PHONE NUMBER: 623-271-8719 or 623-271-8722.

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

MANAGER: Johnny Yu.

CUISINE: Contemporary Chinese food.

SEATS: 44.

OPEN SINCE: February.

WEB SITE: www.MeiWeiChinaBistro.com.

SPECIALTY OF THE HOUSE: Orange peel chicken (lightly breaded chicken, tossed in a fresh orange peel sauce); honey walnut prawn (lightly battered and quick-fried in a flavorful sauce, presented in a noodle nest); YuXiang eggplant with optional choice of pork strips (traditional Chinese stir-fried eggplant tossed with scallions in a savory YuXiang sauce).

POPULAR APPETIZER: Handmade pork potstickers; MeiWei cucumber (traditional Shanghai-style cucumber marinated in ginger wine, sweet, but no sugar is used).

POPULAR LUNCH ENTRÉE: Sweet and sour chicken; Mongolian beef. For dine in, all lunch specials are served with rice, spring roll, soup, salad and fruit.

POPULAR DINNER ENTRÉE: Sun Devil Pork (pork strips stir-fried with bell pepper, bamboo strips and wood ear mushrooms in a spicy garlic sauce); cashew nut chicken (sautéed chicken with mixed vegetables in a brown sauce, topped with cashew nuts); sesame beef or chicken (crispy coated meat sautéed in a special sauce with sprinkled sesame seeds); shrimp with lobster sauce (stir-fried shrimp in black beans, bell peppers, garlic, onions and egg flowers in a traditional lobster sauce garnish with green onions)

POPULAR DESSERT: Mochi ice cream.

AVAILABLE FOR: Dine in, take out, catering, parties, delivery.

PRICE RANGE: $5.50-$6.95 for lunch, $6.50-$11.50 for dinner.

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW: The restaurant is family owned and operated. MeiWei translated in Chinese means delicious. Yu said the restaurant prides itself on its freshness of foods and friendly services. Grandpa, the top chef, worked in kitchens his whole life. Together with Yu, they hope to bring contemporary Chinese food with a traditional Chinese flavor to the neighborhood. The restaurant has a full liquor license and serves varied beers and wine, cocktails and hard liquor. Lunch special is available from open to 3 p.m. daily. Happy hour is 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Neighboring businesses receive a 15 percent discount, “because together we can better serve our community,” Yu said.

UNIQUE TIDBITS: “We create flavorful dishes, so we start everything fresh,” Yu said. “The two things that link every human being on the planet are food and environment, and we do care about them both. To make this a reality, we acknowledge everything starts with the guest. The voice of our guest drives our actions.”

FUTURE PLANS: Yu said he and Grandpa hope to make guests feel like part of the family. “We would love to stay here in Surprise and open more MeiWei family restaurants,” Yu said. “We try to serve our community better and give back to our community with donations to local schools.”

SLOGAN: “Family Restaurant, Simply Delicious.”

Do you know of a great West Valley restaurant you’d like to see in our Dining Out feature? Let us know! Call Brittany Woodruff at 623-876-2527 or e-mail bwoodruff@yourwestvalley.com.