Rate-A-Restaurant, #36 in a series

Restaurant: Kung Pao Kitty

Location: 6445 Hollywood Blvd. (at Wilcox), Hollywood

Type of restaurant: Hipster Chinese

They stipulated: You find your own parking -- and in Hollywood, on a Saturday night, that's not always easy. But the parking gods were smiling on us, and we found a spot almost immediately, one block south of Hollywood. Otherwise, reservations aren't required.

What we ordered: Chili-crusted Calamari with spicy lime dip ($6.75); Kitty's Kung Pao Chicken ("Our main squeeze, with mango," $9.50); Steamed baby bok choy ($6.50); Steamed fish in ginger onion sauce ($10.00)

High point: First off, how cool that this restaurant, along with Paladar around the corner (and a handful of others), is finally bringing some real late-night eating life to Hollywood. The food is cheap and a bargain for the amount you get. Menu is also very eclectic, and doesn't just stick to Chinese: Kung Pao Kitty also offers several Filipino dishes, including lumpia and Chicken adobo.

Low point: Strangely enough, their signature dish -- the Kitty's Kung Pao -- was my least favorite dish. It was sort of on the bland side, compared to the tasty steamed fish and the calamari, which was the most tender I've had in a while.

Overall impression: Cool, urban eating experience. The restaurant's bright red decor and ambience give it an almost New York feel -- Maria compared it to Kelly and Ping in Soho. Service was top-notch, while the bathroom was clean. Place wasn't too crowded, particularly for a Saturday night -- but wasn't empty either. On the Chinese food authenticity scale, well, you're not going to mistake it for the real thing. But what the hell, you're not going to Hollywood to eat authentic Chinese food.

Chance we will go back: Maybe not immediately, but I think we'll find ourselves there eventually, especially if we're in the neighborhood.

For a complete archive of our Rate-A-Restaurant reviews, check out our companion ratearestaurant.blogspot.com website.