Chinese restaurants may come and go - but Bamboo Cuisine has been a Ventura Boulevard fixture since 1990, and the restaurant continues to thrive. On many Saturday nights, crowds can be seen hanging out the door - and even with a reservation, you'll often have to wait. A neighbor recommended the place, noting that he's been frequenting the establishment for years with consistently good food results.

The menu is overwhelming, at least for first-time diners, with an extensive number of choices in lots of categories, among them 44 items in the Bamboo chef's specialties alone. That doesn't include the selections listed under appetizers, soups, fried rice, noodles (soft or pan fried), vegetarian, chop suey, chicken, duck, pork, beef and lamb, seafood and desserts. In addition, complete dinner specials are available for two or more people ($17.50 or $19.95 per person).

To navigate the long list, we prevailed on our friendly server to give us a bit of guidance about the popular specialties - and answer a few item-specific questions.

The vegetable egg roll appetizer (four to an order; $5.75) got the meal off to a tasty start. Generously filled and plump with a well-seasoned vegetable mixture, they hit the spot with their crispy shells. The won ton soup ($2.90/small cup), laden with whole (large size) shrimp, spinach, sliced chicken breast, carrot slices, bamboo shoots and minced white meat chicken won tons, had good flavor and body and was another excellent choice.

Bamboo chicken and black pepper sauce ($12.95), one of the restaurant's signature dishes, was a delicious blend of white meat chicken pieces in a brown sauce (made with hoisin, soy and oyster sauces) with thin fried noodle pieces and crisp broccoli flowerets that made for a pleasant texture contrast with the chicken. Don't be afraid of the combination - the sauce didn't taste very peppery, as we thought it might.

Beef and scallions ($12.25), similar to Mongolian beef, was also appealing with thin strips of beef (some more tender than others), both green onion pieces and white onion strips, along with garlic in a different brown sauce than noted above (no hoisin sauce here).

Also attractive, satisfying and completely different from the other entrees was the Bamboo special ($15.25). A mélange of scallops, flat pieces of chicken breast, barbecue pork slices and an assortment of mushrooms halves, carrot slices, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn pieces and snow peas in a delicious white wine sauce, it was as pleasing to the eye as the palate - a definite winner.

Although we've enjoyed hot and spicy eggplant at various restaurants over the years, avoid the rendition ($9.25) here. With its slimy texture and taste and larger-than-anticipated eggplant strips, it's disappointing.

When it comes to plain steamed white and brown rice to accompany your meal, count on an extra 50 cents or $1 per person here (one order can easily serve two) - rather petty, we thought. However, hot tea arrives at the table when you are seated and is included with the meal.

If you pick and choose carefully, you can enjoy a good meal here, but be prepared for fast, rushed, almost too-efficient service. Perhaps those at the helm feel a high level of efficiency is what diners desire. However, a slower pace would be welcome, making for a more enjoyable dining experience.

At its best: Much of the food (decent size portions), is well-prepared, well-seasoned (hot and spicy, if desired) and presented attractively on dishes of different shapes, sizes and colors. A wide array of choices to appeal to all kinds of palates.

Could be better: While fast and efficient service might be applauded in some instances, a somewhat slower, more leisurely pace could make the dining experience here a bit more pleasurable. Staff could be more considerate of diners and avoid carpet sweeping/cleaning around and on top of them (which was most annoying and off-putting). Surroundings could use some updating.

Natalie Haughton, (818) 713-3692

natalie.haughton@dailynews.com

Photos by John McCoy

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BAMBOO CUISINE

>Details: 14010 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Open continuously from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. (818) 788-0202; www.bamboocuisine.com.

>Cost: Appetizers $3.95 to $9.50, soups $6.25 (for two) to $12.50 (for four), salads $9.50 to $10.50, rice 50 cents to $7.95, noodles $8.95 to $9.95, vegetarian dishes $7.25 to $9.50, chop suey $9.25 to $10.25, entrees and specialties $8.25 to $35, desserts $2.75.

>Noteworthy: Respectable Chinese food (prepared with no MSG) - a huge selection and array of creations from the major regions of China - including Szechuan and Cantonese dishes. Dine in one of two separate casual adjacent rooms with tables sporting white tablecloths and napkins. Take-out available. Full bar. Valet parking behind restaurant.