Perfect salad just down the street

  NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Feast from the East on Westwood
Boulevard boasts that it has "The Best Chinese Chicken Salad in
Town." RESTAURANT REVIEW Feast from the
East Address: 1949 Westwood Blvd. Los
Angeles, CA 90024 Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9
p.m. Phone Number: 310-475-0400 Price
Range: $4.00-$7.00

By Sharon Hori
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

These days it’s hard to find a salad that’s filling,
healthy, crisp, flavorful, well-proportioned with its veggies and
won’t vacuum out your wallet.

Maybe that’s a lot to ask, but meat-eaters and vegetarians
alike have reasons to be picky. Unless you head for Souplantation,
with commercialized make-your-own salad appeal, you’d be
better off growing your own Romaine.

Lucky for Los Angeles, the perfect salad is waiting on Westwood
Boulevard. For nearly two decades, Feast from the East restaurant
has boasted “The Best Chinese Chicken Salad in Town,”
and that’s not far from the truth. With shreds of chicken,
thick Wonton strips and hearty Romaine tossed in a tangy sesame
dressing, the salad comes freshly-prepared and ready to be
devoured.

Feast from the East prides itself on its freshness and quality
““ the employees know the difference between a light and
healthy salad and a soggy, sorry mix of vegetables. That’s
why they serve dressing on the side, not already mixed into the
lettuce. They garnish their salads with almond slices, chopped
green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seed; and will omit any
ingredient upon request. Altogether, a serving of their Chinese
Chicken Wonder (which provides a meal in itself) is $4.90 (a larger
portion can be ordered for less than $7).

You’d never guess that this hole-in-the-wall restaurant
““ now expanded to three storefronts, including a pastry and
drink bar called Cafe East ““ would carry such a healthy and
popular dish. Glancing through the front window, the dining room
does not seem crowded to capacity. But the restaurant avoids the
burden of long lines by encouraging its customers to call in and
pick up their orders.

Feast from the East also offers a limited selection of Chinese
and Japanese dishes all for less than $5. The combination plates,
steaming with simplicity, come with a generous portion of rice
(white, brown or fried). The chicken teriyaki ““ chunks of
baked chicken glazed with a sweet teriyaki sauce ““ consists
of about two chicken breasts worth of tender meat. The kung pao
chicken is flavored with the usual peanuts, green onions and
peppers, in a spicy sauce. The spicy chicken wings are satisfying
in their barbecue sauce.

For vegetarians, the spicy tofu dish, with chopped green onions,
is $3.90. A mix of broccoli, zucchini, water chestnuts and carrots
in an oil-less stir fry dish is another favorite for the same
price.

Each entree is a satiating meal, but no meal is complete without
an order of Chinese salad. Three or four diners can have their own
combination plates and split a small salad among themselves without
feeling too overwhelmed. They’ll recognize a good salad when
they taste one.

Nothing is too rich in its flavor nor too diluted in plainness.
If anything, Feast from the East can guarantee a well-spent,
filling meal. And with or without the Chinese chicken salad, the
price is right (but had they taken the salad off their menu,
employees joke, the restaurant might have gone out of business long
ago).

With nearly their entire restaurant thriving on their heavenly
salad, you’d think they’d hesitate to give away their
secret recipe. But instead, Feast from the East sells bottles of
their sesame dressing and packages of their wonton strips at the
front counter, encouraging customers to prepare the salad at home.
A 12-ounce bottle of dressing costs $3.89, a six-ounce bag of
wonton strips $2.89. Since both items can be ordered online, now
the inspired chef can try their luck at creating their own
masterpiece salad.

So the perfect salad is as close as Westwood Boulevard and maybe
even your own kitchen. No more tasteless, drab vegetables drenched
in ranch dressing. Feast from the East provides the solution in the
form of Chinese chicken, so that even the pickiest, cheapest diner
has no more excuses for not eating their vegetables.