Sometimes, when the buzz surrounding a restaurant is too great, rather than generating more excitement, it can have a deleterious effect on a meal. Is this menu as exciting as I imagined it would be? Is the room as beautiful? Are the servers as gracious?

My first dinner at Richard Chen Pittsburgh, about six weeks after it opened, was a bit rougher than I had hoped. Our server wasn't certain of her terms; she didn't quite take command. There was some confusion at our and other tables about which food belonged where and to whom. The kitchen, headed by executive chef Simon Lewis, was still working out some issues of timing. Some entrees were a little cold (the lobster) others were not quite what was expected (the Sichuan Chile Prawns). Yet through these missteps, one saw, and tasted, a glimmer of something more.

Triangles of fried wanton wrappers were stuffed with chunks of delicately seasoned scallop arranged like puzzle pieces to perfectly fill the interior ($8). A salad of hamachi tataki ($12), yellowtail grilled quickly over a high flame and seasoned with ginger, was perfectly offset by the acidity of a disk of tomato gelee -- a combination with subtle and not-so-subtle references to French and Japanese traditional techniques and even ultra-modern cuisine.

Scallop played a more understated role in a side dish of dried scallop and egg white fried rice ($14), where tiny pieces interspersed throughout the rice created a delicious contrast of textures in every mouthful. Side dishes are plentiful enough that our table for four would have been amply served by a single vegetable dish and either one rice or one noodle dish.

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Richard Chen Pittsburgh

4 stars = Outstanding
Ratings explained

5996 Penn Circle South
East Liberty
412-924-0080
richard-chen.com

• Hours: Monday-Thursday 5-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5-10:30 p.m., Sunday brunch, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunday dinner 5-9 p.m.
• Basics: Asian ingredients and dishes, with an emphasis on Chinese cuisine, interpreted through the lens of European techniques and modern fine dining.
• Recommended dishes: Tuna sashimi, hamachi tataki, asian pear salad, hot & sour soup, seafood rice noodle soup, crispy scallop, bean curd sheet, Kurobuta pork chop, pan-seared quail, vegetable fried red rice, braised eggplant, ahi tuna flat bread (brunch), crunchy chocolate caramel bar, coconut tapioca, lemon cream.
• Prices: Appetizers, $6-$12; dim sum, $6-$8; entrees, $16-$42; side dishes, $2-$14; desserts, $8; wines by the glass start at $9; by the bottle, $35.
• Summary: Wheelchair-accessible; park in any Eastside complex lot; credit cards accepted; reservations strongly recommended.
• Noise level: Loud to extremely loud.

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When things went right they went tremendously right, and the minor mishaps were cushioned by the splendor of their setting. Nothing can detract from the restaurant's loveliness. Twigs weave a graceful geometry throughout the restaurant. Bright white walls stand in high relief against the dark, almost black, wooden tables. Colorful lanterns reflect in the window against the night sky. The dining room is a glittering, glowing stage for the street.

After a brief wait I returned for several more visits. Each outdid the last.

Thick slices of tuna sashimi added a substantial meatiness to a sweet, slippery pile of slivers of snow peas, carrot, jellyfish and daikon radish, suffused with ponzu (citrus soy sauce) and truffle oil, whose aroma wafted above the plate.

Daikon played a more prominent role in an Asian pear salad ($9) where it was cut in long, wide, very thin pieces and tossed with red cabbage, tons of cilantro, and large slices of Asian pear. The interplay of sweet, bitter and spicy made this salad as exciting and satisfying as its seafood counterpart.

Pan-seared quail, stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, leg meat, and sun-dried tomato and served with mung bean risotto ($23) was by far the least traditionally Asian of the dishes; yet, in style and complexity of flavor, it compared favorably to the other entrees.

Kurobuta pork chop ($29) was the best pork chop I've had all year, and the simplicity of this dish speaks volumes for the superiority of heirloom pork, with a thick cap of fat that keeps the chop moist and lends it its meatier, richer flavor.

Some dishes may seem similar to easy-to-find Chinese restaurant staples, but their taste is so superior you may never be able to go back to ordering them to-go.

The "classic" hot and sour soup ($6) is served in a porcelain bowl with a bell jar lid ceremoniously removed upon delivery. With each bite, one tastes the distinct flavors of the broth, its generous heat stemming from a combination of white pepper and chile oil, the mild taste of thin batons of tofu, the meatiness of the pork, and the gentle earthiness of bamboo shoot and wood ear mushrooms. Tiny, delicate shards of beaten egg enhance the silky smooth texture of the lightly thickened soup.

Kung Pao chicken ($22) is one of several dishes more friendly to family-style eating. The golden brown sheen of fried peanuts, the elegant symmetry of neatly cut peppers, and the blackened red of gorgeous fire-roasted chiles immediately signal that this dish is out of the ordinary. But proof is in the eating, and it's the incredibly moist (free-range) chicken and the subtle sauce that lightly coats each piece that elevates this dish to fine-dining fare. The combination of Sichuan peppercorns and the chiles results in a mildly numbing, clean spiciness that enhances, rather than overwhelms, the flavors of the dish.

There is only one vegetarian entree listed on the menu, a surprisingly stand-out clay-pot of braised tofu with mushrooms and bok choy ($16), but the menu promises that "vegetarian accommodations" are available for the asking, and between appetizers, dim sum and side dishes, vegetarians will have no problem constructing a memorable meal.

My experiences at the restaurant were colored by the fact that on all but one visit I was eventually recognized, due to a staff member who knows what I look like. There is little a restaurant can do to change the caliber of the food -- they cannot, after all, hire more talented cooks or redesign their menu. However, service becomes a bit more difficult to evaluate.

It is entirely possible that my table received extra attention and the promptest possible service when I was recognized. I can say that I experienced exemplary service from several members of the staff, which means they are certainly capable of exemplary service, and that to the best of my observational ability, other tables were as carefully looked after as I was.

Many restaurants with promising food fall short when it comes to other aspects of the menu. The cocktail program at Richard Chen is already one of the best in Pittsburgh, simply because drinks are made consistently well and offer some unique choices -- the RC#4 is wonderful concoction of sake, lemon and mint leaves -- and a variety of unusual ingredients, such as jackfruit syrup, Soho lychee liqueur, ginger simple syrup and Zen Green Tea Liqueur. I would, however, like to see the drink list expand its base liquor options beyond the vodka-dominated selections.

The wine list is interesting and diverse without being overly long, and pairing suggestions were consistently successful. Markups vary more widely than is typical, but seem to hover around 300 percent of cost, though wines only available by the bottle are consistently better deals than "by the glass."

Sake also pairs well with the food, and although there's only one by-the-glass selection ($14), it's quite nice, with lovely aromas of apple and pear and a fairly smooth finish. There are nine other sakes offered by the split, approximate half-bottle or bottle.

And as for dessert, from my first visit to the last, the desserts were unfailingly astonishingly beautiful and delicious. From the coconut tapioca ($8) with its gorgeous layers of yellow-red passionfruit, pineapple and creamy white tapioca just begging you to dip in a spoon, to the rich yet balanced crunchy chocolate caramel bar ($8), these desserts are adult creations that manage to capture the whimsy and opulence of a child's fantasy ice cream sundae.

At the very least try a few of pastry chef Bill Schwerin's astonishingly perfect sorbets and fabulously rich ice creams, which come in flavors such as passionfruit, coconut and green apple (sorbet), and chocolate-peanut butter and hazelnut (ice cream).

Richard Chen Pittsburgh may not fulfill every prescribed quality of a special-occasion restaurant. The room is loud and tables are packed quite close together. There are no tablecloths -- a trend that I expect will become even more popular in the coming year. There are no amuses bouches and no "breadbaskets." But it is the loud clamor, the sleek appearance, the almost frenzied sense of enjoyment which pervades this dining room that make this restaurant feel like such an escape. Every meal here inevitably feels very, very special.