Isla Verde Restaurant
el: (506) 296-5068 / 296-5067
Specialty: Cantonese-style Chinese Cuisine
Chefs: Fen Siun Tang and Kock Wong
Recommended Dish: Peking Duck, a boneless roasted duck and Hoisin Sauce, made with plums and scallions, served with warm Chinese flour tortillas.
Prices: Regular dinner entrées range from U.S. $4 to $17, special-order entrées range from $20 to $30, before adding service tax (10%).
Location: Pavas, western suburb of the capital city of San José.
Directions for Taxi Driver: En Pavas, 300 mts. oeste de la Embajada de los Estados Unidos.

Does the thought of Chinese Turnovers, Fried Wonton with sweet-and-sour sauce and Fish Craw Soup with Chinese mushrooms, chicken and bamboo shoots inspire your appetite? How about Stir-Fried Squid in hot soy paste with Chinese red peppers, Pork Chops topped with pineapple sauce or Gian Yi, a whole boneless fish stuffed with shrimp and water chestnuts?

Isla Verde Restaurant, at the Hotel Isla Verde in Pavas just west of the capital city, brings the authentic taste of Cantonese-style Oriental food to your table. Isla Verde is owned and operated by the Shum family, from the Guangdong (formerly Canton) Province in China. The restaurant’s two chefs and two cooks are from the same culinary region of the country, which includes the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong as well as the Hainan, Taiwan and Hong Kong islands.

For starters, Isla Verde diners guests can choose from among a lengthy list of appetizers and salads that include Roasted Pork with Honey Sauce, Roasted Spiced Pork Ribs, Paper-wrapped Chicken or Shrimp, Chicken, Heart of Palm or Mixed Vegetable Salads. Diners more inclined toward soup can choose from among Egg Drop Soup, Wonton Soup, Sai-Wu Beef Soup, Hot-and-Sour Soup and Cream of Sweet Corn with chicken chunks. Or how about the chef’s favorite, Shark Fin Soup with ham and cheese?

Isla Verde’s extensive menu contains more than 125 different dishes of Cantonese, Zechuan and Thai influence and five family menus for two to 10 people. The spacious restaurant, which combines Chinese and Costa Rican influences, has been in business for more than four years.

The family has been involved in the restaurant/hospitality industry since it arrived in Costa Rica 25 years ago. Isla Verde founder Tsang Au Shum was a college history professor in China, but left because of political problems. Soon after arriving in Costa Rica, he rented a bar in the banana-producing region along Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast.

Shum designed and built the Hotel / Restaurant Isla Verde’s main building, as well as the new annex across the street. The family’s eldest daughter, Verónica Shum, manages the hotel and restaurant with the help of her three siblings and about 20 employees.

“The idea for the hotel was born a number of years ago when we had to bring some friends here from China. We couldn’t find a hotel where they could feel comfortable that also had a Chinese restaurant with good food. So we built one,” Shum said.

Recommended entrées at Isla Verde Restaurant include the Whole Steamed Sea Bass with ginger and scallions, Chicken and Vegetables with Cashew Nuts served on a crispy taro root nest, Isla Verde’s Vegetarian Dish: soy noodles with Chinese vegetables, mushrooms and tofu; and Ants Climbing the Tree: rice noodles with Chinese mushrooms, bamboo shoots and pork.

Rice entrées include Shrimp Fried Rice or Chinese Sausage Fried Rice, also available with Vegetables in Sauce, and Chicken or Beef Fried Rice. Among the noodle specialties, diners will find such delights as Hong-Kong-style Chop Suey; Dry Sahofan with beef and bean sprouts; Rice Noodles with Curry, Shrimp and Pork; and Spaghetti with Tongue in a savory tomato sauce.

Seafood entrées on the seemingly endless list of choices include Deep-fried Sea Bass in a hot soy paste sauce; Stir-fried Sliced Fish with pork and mushrooms; Fish Nuggets with Vegetables; Stir-Fried Lobster with ginger and scallions; Deep-fried Squid with celery and Butterfly-style Shrimp with bacon and oyster sauce.

Guests can choose from among dozens of meat dishes such as Chon Yok Kai: steamed chicken with scallions, ginger, soy sauce and sesame seeds; Yian-Po: chicken cubes lightly blended in three types of Chinese sauces; Filet Mignon in a Mushroom Sauce; Kon-Sui Beef sliced and sautéed with bamboo shoots and bell pepper; Pork Ribs with Sa-Zha sauce; and Muk Soy Yok: stir-fried pork strips with bamboo shoots and mushrooms served with spicy Chinese tortillas.

Guests must call a day in advance to order the chef’s recommendation, Peking Duck. Other dishes that require advance reservations include the Imperial Duck, stuffed with nuts and water chestnuts, pork and salty eggs; Lo-Mai Kai, a whole boneless chicken filled with sweet rice, meat and water chestnuts and Gian Hai, pork in liquor and Chinese spices.

Desserts include local Costa Rican specialties like Tres Leches and Coconut Flan, Vanilla Ice Cream with Peaches and Litchis in Syrup. The bar offers mixed drinks and cocktails, such as piña coladas and margaritas, and Chilean wines like Concha y Toro Merlot, Undurraga Caber Sauvignon and Ponit Noir.

Isla Verde Restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. English, Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin are spoken. The spacious restaurant has capacity for up to 120 people, and can be set up for parties, meetings and special events.