“Live Japanese river crabs.” That’s all I had to hear to eat sushi with my friend Ben and his girlfriend on Espanola Way. Sure enough, when we arrived, a fishbowl sat atop the sushi bar, full of scurrying sawagani. We ordered five fried crabs, which Ben liked enough to suggest as a movie theatre replacement for popcorn. Unfortunately, with each additional dish, the meal became less rewarding. Not wanting to sacrifice any more valuable stomach space, Ben cancelled our impending teriyaki chicken order, we settled our bill and set out for Dinner #2.

Not that we had another restaurant in mind. Luckily, I’m a massive food geek, so I had Victoria Pesce Elliott’s article in my back pocket: “Where To Go Next: Miami,” from the December 2005 issue of Food & Wine. Mr. Chu’s Hong Kong Cuisine has O.A. Chu, the former chef from Tropical Chinese, a restaurant I ate at years ago and liked. Plus, it was only five blocks away. I called. It was open. We were off.

For years, Toni Takarada ran Thai Toni in the same location before recruiting Mr. Chu as chef and co-owner. They converted the space to Mr. Chu’s Hong Kong Cuisine, drawing on Mr. Chu’s deep knowledge of Chinese cuisine, which he began building in his Taiwan youth.

Mr. Chu’s restaurant is sumptuous, almost imperial in its elegance. Colossal red Chinese lanterns hang from the ceiling. Plush red booths line the walls. Waiters dressed in silk uniforms.

We’d already eaten a full meal, but we still selected four dishes from the massive menu.

Crispy pork tenderloin ($7) marinated in homemade red rice wine sauce came garnished with honey glazed soybeans, AKA edamame. The chewy pork was delicious with nouveau baked beans.

Pan-fried shrimp and leek dumplings (2 for $6) were served with dishes of lip-blistering chile oil and hot mustard. The tender dumplings featured thick, crisp skins.

Curry-flavored Singapore rice noodles ($16) with shrimp, ham, roast pork, egg, onion, and mushrooms probably didn’t warrant such a high price. Still, solid stir-fried noodles that incorporate high quality ingredients still has value.

Chilean sea bass fillet with black bean sauce ($29), which our waiter described as Mr. Chu’s “#1 dish,” filled our main course. The plate offered layers of juicy bass that separated at the push of a fork. The fish may have been steamed a couple minutes too long, but it was certainly still flavorful.

For dessert, we each received a complimentary bowl of almond pudding layered over cold tofu, topped with two pineapple cubes and a papaya square. The best thing I can say about the tofu was that it was refreshing. At least the almond pudding was tasty.

I could get used to this two-dinner concept. It may require more time, effort and money, but considering I’m out to taste the best food possible, it’s probably worth it. Especially when it leads to dishes like crispy pork tenderloin with honey-glazed soybeans.