One that shouldn’t be overlooked, but easily could be, is the venerable China Station, tucked behind the National Furniture Warehouse store just a hoot and a holler over the road from the Rogue Valley Mall. Don’t expect bright lights and valet parking.

Rather, look for a modest sign over the parking lot and an even more modest facade.

Push open an unassuming door and be greeted by a somewhat muted inner chamber adorned with a few indifferent nods to standard Asian restaurant decor.

To be sure, China Station is neat and clean and the staff friendly and professional. But there is no glitz. I’ve been there many times in the past, but for this review did two recent lunches and a large family dinner — just to get a handle on a variety of dishes.

Let’s cut the jive and shuck. Many such eating places are just going through the motions. Want a steak, some fried chicken, a hot dog? Heck, they got ’em. Others are new and trendy, flashy as the dickens and plunking down delicious but tiny portions for big-city prices.

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China Station takes on only Eastern cuisines and does an entirely serviceable job at prices about one third less than many and in amounts that send you home with another dinner or lunch for the microwave.

I had a zesty Singapore Style Noodle curry featuring heaps of chicken, shrimp and vegetables on a turmeric-infused mound of rice noodles ($6.75). Subsequently, I had Szechwan Style Beef, a dish of high-quality beef chunks swimming in a sweet-hot brown gravy and snuggled among every vegetable Zao Jun favored and maybe a couple he’d never come across ($6.50).

I never could spell "Moo Shoo Pork" right, so who am I to quibble with China Station? The wife ordered this dish in which Tree Ear Fungus (tasty) along with eggs and vegetables are mounded on wafer-thin pancakes daubed with Hoisin sauce for something like a "Far East Burrito." Hoisin is thick, sweet and mildly spicy. The pancakes are homemade, something you won’t often find ($6.75).

I had an eccentric interpretation of Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, the sauce darker and less delicate than I’m accustomed to ($7.75). Our friends enjoyed Cashew Chicken with moist and tasty chunks of breast meat and Shrimp Lo Mein, a dish in which soft noodles are braised in the wok to give them a slightly smoky flavor ($6 with chicken, $7.75 for a really generous heaping of very nice shrimp). Most China Station dishes go up $1.75 if shrimp is included.

There are combination dinners at $8.75 with soup, egg roll, barbecue pork, fried shrimp, steamed or fried rice and any one of 12 different main dishes. One can also order four Thai specialties, including Pad Thai and Red Curry and four vegetarian dishes.

The daily buffet is priced at $5.25 — a real bargain. For some family fun, take the kidlets on a Saturday and let the 6- to 9-year-olds eat for $3.25 while the tots (2-5) get away for a mere $2.

I really like China Station and its steady, dependable cooking. And I really like Chinese food. Years ago I made an utter fool of myself in Beijing when, overcome by the delights of a superb meal, I bounded into the kitchen burbling my Mandarin version of, "Mes compliments au chef!" I skidded to a stop in front of a roomful of exhausted men, all seated on upended buckets and having a cigarette break. Our guide snatched me away from their bewildered faces and the wife slapped me around until I regained my senses.

The point of the story? There’s no real point. I am just showing off.

— Hubert Smith

Word of Mouth Dining out with the Mail Tribune news staff China Station is located at 1960-B Table Rock Road in Medford. Call (541) 779-2288 Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday No beer or wine