East Emerald

The menu boasts that this elegant Hollywood strip-mall eatery serves "the finest and latest in Chinese cuisine." The latest can be found in only one dish, really - a moist fillet of salmon topped with ground pork, chopped peppers and green onions, and black-bean sauce presented on a bed of spaghetti. But the finest is unquestionable, from East Emerald's barbecued roast-pork appetizer and velvety chicken-corn soup to the eggplant shrimp entrée and multicourse Peking duck, a bargain at $26.